Senior Risk Manager – Assurance, Insight & Automation

At M&G, our purpose is to give everyone real confidence to put their money to work. With a heritage dating back more than 175 years, we have a long history of innovation in savings and investments, combining asset management and insurance expertise to offer a wide range of solutions.
Our two distinct operating segments, Asset Management and Life, work together to provide access to balanced, long-term investment and savings solutions.
Through telling it like it is, owning it now and moving it forward together with care and integrity; we are creating an exceptional place to work for exceptional talent.
We will consider flexible working arrangements for any of our roles and offer workplace adjustments to ensure you have the support you need to succeed in your role.

Context:

M&G plc, as a major UK listed financial services provider, is required to operate effective risk management across the organisation. The Senior Risk Manager – Assurance, Insight & Automation reports to the Head of Life Non-Financial Risk (NFR) and provides dedicated 2LOD Risk oversight, challenge and assurance across the Life NFR agenda.

The role will lead and manage the Life NFR oversight, assurance and insight capability, providing independent challenge, assurance and risk opinions on material business risks, control effectiveness and customer outcomes. The role will direct team priorities, develop capability and drive delivery of the Life NFR assurance, insight and automation agenda; while acting as the subject matter expert for process effectiveness, control automation and AI-enabled transformation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Life NFR oversight, assurance and insight capability, ensuring delivery of high-quality independent challenge, assurance and risk insight across the Life business.
• Develop and maintain the Life NFR assurance universe and annual plan, ensuring alignment to principal risks, business priorities and regulatory expectations.
• Establish and maintain methodologies, standards and quality frameworks to ensure consistency and effectiveness of oversight and assurance activities.
• Lead the development and review of material Risk Opinions, providing independent insight and challenge for Executive and Board governance forums.
• Direct team priorities, workflow and resource deployment ensuring oversight, assurance and insights focus on the most significant risks, business outcomes and regulatory priorities.
• Lead Life NFR approach to Risk Appetite assessment, Control Environment Assessment, control effectiveness and related assurance activities.
• Act as subject matter expert for process effectiveness, control automation and AI-enabled transformation, providing challenge and insight on future-state operating models and control environments.

• Provide independent challenge and assurance over material business, operational and transformation initiatives, ensuring risks, controls and customer outcomes are appropriately considered
• Develop team capability through coaching, mentoring and quality review, building assurance, analytical and opinion-writing skills across managers and analysts.
• Represent Life NFR at senior governance forums and maintain effective relationships with key business and R&C stakeholders.

Experience Required

Essential

• Significant experience within Operational Risk, Non-Financial Risk, Risk Assurance or related control disciplines in a financial services environment.
• Significant experience in operating model optimisation, process design, AI-enabled processes, automation technologies and associated risk and control considerations.
• Demonstrable experience identifying and driving opportunities for control automation, process simplification and operational effectiveness improvement.
• Experience assessing future-state operating models, customer journeys and control environments, providing independent challenge and insight.
• Significant experience leading assurance planning, reviews, thematic assessments and independent challenge activities.
• Experience developing evidence-based risk opinions and Board-level insight.
• Experience leading specialist teams, managing competing priorities, coaching and capability development.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to coordinate and influence stakeholders up to  Executive level.
• Strong understanding of risk management frameworks, governance and regulatory expectations.
• Knowledge of emerging technology, data governance and digital transformation trends.
• Strong analytical capability and ability to translate complex information into actionable conclusions.

Desirable

• Experience in life insurance, pensions or wealth sectors.
• Experience establishing assurance methodologies, standards and quality frameworks.
• Experience using data analytics to support assurance, risk insight and decision-making.
• Relevant professional qualification (eg. IRM, ACA, ACCA, CIMA, IIA, CII or equivalent).

Role Level: Manager / Expert

Recruiter: Helen Simons

What we offer:

We’re dedicated to supporting your wellbeing and helping you thrive, both at work and beyond. Our benefits are designed to help you balance your professional and personal life, and financially plan for the future. Our UK benefits include:

• A valuable pension scheme of up to 18% (13% made up of employer contributions and 5% employee contributions).
• Access to our Share Save and Share Incentive Plan, alongside financial wellbeing and support services to help give you real confidence to put your money to work.
• Enjoy 38 days annual leave (including bank holidays), with the opportunity to purchase up to five extra days. Our Time Off When You Need It policy gives you the flexibility - to balance work and personal commitments.
• Our market-leading Inspiring Families policy includes comprehensive support and paid parental leave covering maternity, adoption, surrogacy, and paternity leave - because supporting families is an important part of our inclusive culture.
• Health & Protection cover includes Private Healthcare, Critical Illness cover and Life Assurance for you, with additional family options - for peace of mind.

To explore more about life at M&G and our full benefits offering, visit Life at M&G

At M&G we strive to have a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture, underpinned by our policies and employee-led networks that offer networking, support and development opportunities for the diverse communities our colleagues represent. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds – across gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation and more – including neurodivergent individuals, career returners and those with military service experience.

M&G is proud to be Level 3: Disability Confident Leader under the UK Government Disability Confident employer scheme, and we welcome applications from candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions. If you would like to participate in the initiative, you will have the opportunity to indicate this on your application.

We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. All candidates have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments when applying. If you need any additional support at any stage, please contact us at: [email protected]