Risk and Controls Manager – People Team (12 month Fixed Term Contract)

Hello, we’re Starling.

Banking was broken – so we decided to fix it. The vision? Fast technology, fair service and honest values. All at the tap of a phone, all the time. We built Britain’s first digital bank. One hard-won banking licence later, we set about giving people a new way to spend, save and manage their money (and take better care of the planet, too). We’re changing banking for good. Back then, we were obsessed with unravelling the knotty world of finance and solving people’s problems rather than selling them stuff. We still are.

Since then, we’ve grown. A lot. Over four million accounts (and four account types!). A team of thousands. Headquartered in London with offices in Cardiff, Dublin, Manchester and Southampton. Five years voted Which? Recommended Provider and Britain’s Best Banking Brand. Still zero branches. Our culture is open, inclusive and focused on solving real customer problems, with an emphasis on doing the right thing, even when it’s not always the easy thing. From our approach to working together and sustainability to how we build our products, our decisions need to make the world – and Starling – a better place to be. Everyone at Starling is essential to our mission, which is really quite simple: to solve our customer’s problems – and build the best bank in the world!

And now we’re providing Starling to other banks, via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) proposition through our subsidiary Engine, using the proprietary technology platform that it uses to power our own bank.

The Role:

We are looking for a Risk and Controls Manager to join our People team on a fixed term contract for 12 months. This strategic role will support the Group Chief People Officer (GCPO) and wider People and Facilities Management teams by overseeing the governance and management of non-financial risks, including Health & Safety, for the Starling Group (Starling Group Holdings and its subsidiaries).

You will partner with Risk and Control Owners to serve as a trusted advisor and create a culture of effective and consistent controls assurance, risk management, oversight, and reporting. You will play a pivotal role in ensuring Starling operates within its risk appetite while driving risk awareness in the first line.

The Risk and Controls Manager will bring robust Risk Management experience within the banking sector (first or second line), ideally with experience managing 1LoD risk for a multinational organisation. You must have a proven record of risk governance and control oversight. Experience gained in People function is an advantage, as is the ability to manage Health & Safety risk frameworks. We are looking for someone with passion and enthusiasm who can build strong relationships to drive risk awareness.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities:

Risk Strategy & Governance

• 1LoD Oversight: Responsible for the ongoing monitoring and strategic oversight of the first line of defence (1LoD) People and Facilities risk and control profile, using insight and information from various sources.
• Health & Safety Risk Management: Lead the identification, assessment, and mitigation of Health & Safety risks, ensuring compliance with relevant safety legislation and internal policies.
• Advisory & Culture: Act as a key contributor to the ongoing development of a risk-aware culture within the 1LoD. Work with Risk and Control owners by providing advice, challenge, and input on key decisions, enabling them to clearly articulate and manage their risk profile.
• Policy & Emerging Risk: Engage with 2LoD, 3LoD, and other key stakeholders on the development of policy, socialising it within the 1LoD, and overseeing embedding and adherence. Collaborate with the People and Facilities Management Leadership Team to scan for emerging risks.

Operational Risk Management

• RCSA: Support the Risk Controls Self Assessment (RCSA) process.
• Testing & Assurance: Oversee the creation and execution of 1LoD Control testing plans and challenge the risk and control environment to drive improvements.
• Committee Management: Support the operation of risk governance fora (People Risk Management Forum/ Health and Safety Forum) and support the 1LoD risk reporting, providing senior management with oversight of key themes, risks, and issues.
• Event Management: Oversee Operational Event management and reviews, ensuring robust root cause analysis, containment, lessons learned, and read-across are completed.
• System Maintenance: Oversee the maintenance of Risk information in the GRC system (CAMMS).

Requirements

Experience & Knowledge

• Multinational Experience: Ideally, you must have experience managing 1LoD risk for a multinational organisation, understanding the complexities of risk across different jurisdictions.
• Health & Safety: Proven ability to support and manage Health & Safety Risk Management frameworks.
• Risk Frameworks: A deep understanding of risk management frameworks, controls testing methodologies, and experience executing or overseeing controls testing to a high standard.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Understanding of Conduct Risk, employment-related legislation, and the Consumer Duty would be an advantage.

Behaviours & Competencies

• Stakeholder Management: A natural ability to build strong stakeholder relationships.
• Analytical Mindset: An inquisitive and analytical mind to understand risks, controls, and processes, identifying control gaps and suggesting improvements.
• Proactive: A proactive approach to managing workloads with a ‘can do’ attitude, using initiative to take ownership and see complex issues through to resolution.
• Challenger: Ability to challenge the status quo, helping us shape operations to be best in class across financial services.

Skills

• Proficient in Google Suite products (Docs and Sheets).
• Exposure to working within First or Second line risk.

Benefits

• 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)
• An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
• 16 hours paid volunteering time a year
• Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme
• Life insurance at 4x your salary
• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
• Generous family-friendly policies
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work and Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships

About Us

You may be put off applying for a role because you don’t tick every box. Forget that! While we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’re always open to discussion. So, if you’re excited about working with us, but aren’t sure if you’re 100% there yet, get in touch anyway.

We’re on a mission to radically reshape banking – and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we’re proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.

Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

By submitting your application, you agree that Starling Bank may collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we may process, where we may process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.

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