The Head of Business Risk & Control leads MBSCL’s consolidated first-line risk and control function: the business-side ownership of advice controls, operational controls, and the oversight of DML-delivered services and third-party vendors. Two Managers report in (Advice Risk & Control and Operations Risk & Control) and the role is the senior first-line counterpart to the Senior Compliance Manager - Advice, whose independent second-line function tests and challenges everything this role produces.
The role reports to the Managing Director for how well the service is running - operational performance, customer outcomes, control effectiveness - and to the Executive Director for the arrangements themselves - the Intra Company Agreement (ICA), third-party contracts, resilience and the open SYSC 8 items. Where an issue is about how the service is performing, it escalates to the MD; where it is about the arrangement itself, it escalates to the Executive Director. Where an issue implicates advice suitability, the Director of Advice retains suitability accountability and consumes your MI and findings on that dimension.
What you'll be doing
- Function design - own the design and operation of MBSCL’s first-line risk and control framework across both domains, ensuring it is proportionate, testable and evidenced.
- Line management - manage and develop the Advice Risk & Control Manager and Operations Risk & Control Manager; set the standards for what good first-line control and oversight look like across the two domains and hold both to them.
- Integrated MI - bring the advice and operations risk pictures together into a single view of business risk and control health for the Managing Director, the Executive Director, the Advice Oversight Committee and the Board.
- Control ownership - own the first-line control environment for the advice service delivered by the Advice Risk & Control Manager: the file-review and QA programme (100% at launch, transitioning to risk-based sampling), input/output validation, engine score monitoring, stress testing, and the operational running of the T&C scheme owned by the Director of Advice.
- Engine assurance - own the evidence that the rules-based Advice Engine is producing suitable output within the House Rules
- Interface with the Director of Advice - supply the suitability MI and QA findings the Director of Advice needs to discharge their suitability accountability; consult on House Rules changes; support T&C evidence.
- Intra-group agreement oversight - own the day-to-day oversight of the ICA with DML - service definitions, service levels, performance MI, remediation and escalation - so that MBSCL can demonstrate effective, continuing oversight of its outsourced critical functions.
- Outsourcing oversight - maintain the outsourcing oversight records that support the Executive Director’s accountability and MBSCL’s obligations, working through any open items with Legal and Compliance.
- Third-party vendors - own the first-line relationship with material third-party providers with contract and service-level management, performance and capacity monitoring against agreed thresholds, service reviews, due-diligence refresh, escalation. The Director of Advice sets the requirements for advice generation and suitability; DML owns technical integration; you own the arrangement.
- Operations oversight - oversee, via the Operations Risk & Control Manager, DML’s delivery of customer support, AML/KYC processing and complaints handling which ladder into service level, quality, and the Consumer Duty support outcome.
- Resilience and continuity - coordinate with DML on operational resilience and business continuity arrangements for the services MBSCL depends on, including participation in continuity testing.
Leading the function
Advice controls
Operational & outsourcing oversight
What we're looking for
- Substantial risk and control leadership experience in a regulated retail investment, advice or platform business with hands-on ownership of first-line controls.
- Strong working knowledge of COBS 9A suitability requirements, Consumer Duty (PRIN 2A) and the three-lines-of-defence model in practice.
- People leadership experience - managing senior specialist managers and building a small team; setting standards and holding both domains to them.
- The judgement and standing to operate a dual accountability cleanly, escalate uncomfortable findings, and challenge senior stakeholders constructively.
- Track record of producing risk MI that genuinely informs decisions with concise, decision-ready reporting for senior management and committees.
- Direct experience of advice-side control including file review, suitability monitoring, QA programme design or T&C and of outsourcing or supplier oversight in a regulated context, including familiarity with SYSC 8 expectations.
- Experience of automated, digital or hybrid advice models, and of controls over rules-based or algorithmic decisioning.
- Experience of intra-group service arrangements and the discipline of overseeing a group entity as rigorously as a third party.
- Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning or an equivalent qualification.
- Experience supporting an FCA authorisation, a new regulated service launch, or pre-launch assurance work.
- Experience of TPRM frameworks and third-party lifecycle management (onboarding, in-life oversight, exit).
Essential
Desirable
Whats in it for you
- Opportunity to join a fast-growing, award-winning and super ambitious company
- Work with a friendly team of highly motivated individuals
- Be in an environment where you are listened to and can actually have an impact
- Thriving collaborative and inclusive company culture
- Company pension scheme
- Company bonus scheme
- Hybrid working environment
- Home office furniture allowance
- Personal Annual Learning and Development budget
- Private Medical Insurance
- Health Cash Plan – cashback on everyday healthcare like dental and opticians
- Cycle to work scheme – spread the cost of a new bike and accessories
Skills Required
- Substantial risk and control leadership experience in a regulated retail investment, advice or platform business with hands-on ownership of first-line controls
- Strong working knowledge of COBS 9A suitability requirements, Consumer Duty (PRIN 2A) and three-lines-of-defence model in practice
- People leadership experience managing senior specialist managers and building a small team
- Ability to escalate uncomfortable findings and challenge senior stakeholders constructively
- Track record of producing risk MI and concise, decision-ready reporting for senior management and committees
- Direct experience of advice-side control including file review, suitability monitoring, QA programme design, or T&C
- Experience of outsourcing or supplier oversight in a regulated context, including familiarity with SYSC 8 expectations
- Experience of automated, digital or hybrid advice models and controls over rules-based or algorithmic decisioning
- Experience of intra-group service arrangements and overseeing a group entity as rigorously as a third party
- Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning or equivalent qualification
- Experience supporting an FCA authorisation, new regulated service launch, or pre-launch assurance work
- Experience of TPRM frameworks and third-party lifecycle management (onboarding, in-life oversight, exit)
What We Do
At Moneybox, we help you turn your money into something greater. Millions of us want to achieve more with our money. But whether we’re looking to save for a rainy day, grow our money, buy a home, or even build a retirement fund, we leave it at the bottom of our to-do lists because we're not sure how to get started. This isn’t surprising. We aren’t taught about financial planning at school, the wealth industry was built to serve a minority, and it often feels like banks don’t care about helping us achieve outcomes. To top it off, the financial services industry is fragmented and confusing. This means that our money often isn’t working hard enough and our goals are much harder to achieve. So, we made a solution. We've brought saving, investing, home-buying, and retirement services together into one simple app. So people can reach their goals and build wealth with confidence, whatever their starting point. We want to help people build wealth, but our mission goes beyond that. We believe that building wealth isn’t simply about accumulating more money. It’s about going after the life you want and enjoying it to the fullest, today and tomorrow. This is what it means to turn your money into something greater.
