Senior Assurance and Compliance Manager

Applications must be submitted by;

The Innovate UK Loans Assurance and Compliance Manager will report to the IUKL Deputy Director of Risk and Governance and lead in the creation and implementation of a comprehensive assurance programme for Innovate UK Loans.

*Please note this advert will close on the 4th of June 2026 at 23.59pm.

Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here.

Title:                  Senior Assurance and Compliance Manager

Band:                UKRI Band F (UKRI Ts & Cs)

Salary:              £58,589 gross per annum

Reports to:     Deputy Director – Risk Governance

Location:        Swindon (Hybrid Working)

Contract:        Permanent

Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements.

Context:

The role holder will operate within the Innovate UK Loans Team which is part of the Innovation Finance Directorate.

Innovate UK Loans Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

and  is  managed  by  Innovate  UK  (IUK),  a  council  of  UKRI,  a  non-departmental  public  body

funded  by  Grant-in-Aid  from  the  UK  Government.  As such, Innovate  UK  Loans  Ltd  is  a  non-

regulated lender with its financial products outside the scope of the NCCP (National Consumer

Protection Act) however, it seeks to achieve quasi FCA regulated standards.

We particularly welcome female applicants as women are under-represented within Innovate UK in this type of role.

Job Purpose:

The Innovate UK Loans Assurance and Compliance Manager will report to the IUKL Deputy Director of Risk and Governance and lead in the creation and implementation of a comprehensive assurance programme for Innovate UK Loans.

The Compliance & Assurance Manager will work closely with colleagues across the Operational Governance, Risk, Funding Assurance and Information Governance teams and other corporate colleagues to support decision-making, ensuring that Innovate UK Loans operates best practice throughout its governance, accountability, risk management and integrated assurance arrangements.

You will liaise with internal audit on the planning of assurance activity and will

support the UKRI Head of Governance and Management Assurance in establishing a positive and proactive culture to engaging with internal audit and completing and evidencing subsequent audit recommendations.

This role may have line management responsibility, and a critical element of role is to support the organisation to succeed, leading by example, and increase knowledge and collaboration in how we manage risk across the organisation, with our senior forums, Committees and Board.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Work with the IUKL Deputy Director of Risk and Governance to support the development of robust assurance arrangements for IUKL.
• Ensure the mechanisms, frameworks and policies meet both Shareholder (UKRI) requirements and FCA regulatory requirements.
• Lead the review and implementation of policies, standards and procedures for the general operation of the organisation in line with regulatory and government standards and best practice
• Advise on compliance matters and manage the Compliance Monitoring Plan
• Lead on the design and operation of an assurance framework and provide regular appropriate assurance support for the organisation to enable optimisation of risk taking to take advantages of opportunities and organisational constraints within delegated limits and risk appetite. 
• Provide reporting to IUKL Board and the IUKL Audit and Risk Committee on Compliance Management Information and assurance plans.
• Monitor, analyse and communicate regulatory changes ensuring the business remains compliant with regulatory requirements (including the FCA Principles for Business, relevant FCA sourcebooks, data protection regulation, and other trade bodies’ codes of conduct)
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with UK Research and Innovation’s internal audit provider, the Government Internal Audit Agency.
• Provide support to the IUKL Audit and Risk Committee to ensure the relevant updates on audit recommendation progress are provided in a timely and informative manner.
• Monitor organisational compliance with regards to governance, assurance and risk policies and processes, fraud and the related management information reporting the Audit and Risk Committee.
• Constructively challenge and advise senior stakeholders on all aspects of assurance across IUKL work with the UKRI Funding Assurance team and the IUK Assurance team to ensure  all  elements  of  lending assurance  are  effectively  integrated  into  the  overall assurance framework.
• Work closely with all teams and relevant business areas to support end to end audit and review activity in the context of risk exposure
• Conduct internal reviews and provide constructive challenge on the effectiveness of controls
• Maintain appropriate risk and assurance records in the corporate risk management system
• Provide balanced professional support and challenge to all business areas at a variety of levels as appropriate

This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.

Shortlisting criteria

(S) – Assessed at shortlisting

(I) – Assessed at interview

(S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview

Person Specification:

Qualifications: (S)

• Risk Management (CIRM) Audit (MIAA or equivalent).

• Certified Internal Auditor, IIA
• or equivalent Assurance qualification.
• Qualification in AML and Financial crime (CISI or equivalent)

Experience & Qualifications:

Essential –

• Degree level or relevant equivalent experience (S)
• Good understanding and working knowledge of: (S&I)
  • prevailing governance, risk and assurance standards and public-sector rules
  • Internal audit standards
  • Audit Committee best practice
  • RC Corporate Governance Code and its public-sector equivalent
• FCA regulations including SYSC, MIFID, SMCR, Conduct and AML rules (S)
• Experience working with senior staff and being a trusted advisor (S&I)
• Experience of working with internal and/or external auditors (S)
• Experience in developing and implementing effective assurance strategies and frameworks in an organisation. (S&I)
• Experience in provision of high quality written and verbal advice suitable for executive and senior level decision makers. (S&I)
• Ability to deliver at pace and meeting changing priorities to time and to a high standard 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to influence and build and maintain strong working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders at all levels (I)
• Insightful business awareness with the ability to understand and analyse changing business context and landscape to: assess and manage risk, capitalise on emerging opportunities, make sound evidence-based judgements, promote the interests of UKRI and research and innovation (I)
• Ability to instill confidence within stakeholders at the most senior levels, acting as a trusted advisor Enthusiastic, motivated, adaptable and proactive with the ability to work flexibly in a changing environment (I)
• A strong sense of personal resilience, accountability and ability to remain focused on the bigger picture. (I)
• Experience of working in Financial Services and FCA regulations including SYSC, MIFID, SMCR, Conduct and AML rules (S)

Competencies:

All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as:

Thinking and Problem Solving – Stakeholder management – Communication skills – Influencing – Self-awareness/self-management – Strategic awareness – Working with others– Project management

Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage, in addition to the criteria’s listed in the person specification.

Travel Requirements:

Swindon-based: There may be the occasional requirement for national travel.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. Underpinning this is a belief that it is a fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally, with fairness, respect and dignity. We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set-out in our role profiles.

Equal Opportunities:

We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments, some of which will be online and others may be in-person. If you have a disability, heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you, we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion, providing further information. In confidence, Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required.

UK Research and Innovation:

Innovate UK is partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation. If successful in securing the position, your employer will be UK Research and Innovation. More information can be found online http://www.ukri.org/.

Employee Benefits:

We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days’ annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege days, flexible working hours, an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme, and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes.

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Flexible Working:

We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants.

Artificial Intelligence:

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be rejected and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Pre-employment Screening:

To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process.

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role.  UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider how this aligns with your personal values or beliefs. To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as a crucial part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check.

Applications must be submitted by;