26.128 - Associate Director - Risk, Assurance and Resilience

About the job

• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

This role is available on a remote, hybrid, or office basis.

Initially, all DBS employees' contracts are office-based at one of our two sites (Liverpool and Darlington). Employees can apply for remote or hybrid work from day one. If approved, the arrangement will start after six months for transfers from Home Office or after completing probation for new joiners. Requests will be considered based on business needs and role requirements. Informal hybrid working arrangements are also available from day one, subject to business needs and role requirements and will be discussed further following any job offer.

About the job

Job summary

The Associate Director for Risk, Assurance & Resilience provides strategic leadership for the organisation's enterprise risk management, assurance, business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) posture as well as the Government Functional Standards and Government Internal Audit Agency programme.

The postholder is responsible for developing and maintaining an integrated framework that enables the Board, Executive Team and Accounting Officer to understand, manage and mitigate risks affecting the achievement of organisational objectives. The role ensures that assurance activities are aligned, proportionate and effective, supporting informed decision-making and continuous improvement across DBS.

As the organisational lead for corporate risk and assurance, the postholder will influence at Board level, build organisational capability, drive a strong risk culture and ensure compliance with government functional standards, the Orange Book principles and wider governance requirements.

The postholder will also lead DBS’ BCDR strategy, ensuring alignment with resilience standards and security requirements.

Job description

Key Responsibilities:

• Ensuring clear policies, procedures and framework are available and develop new ideas and best practise to drive continuous improvement within your portfolio.
• Leading on the development, implementation and regular review of risk management and assurance frameworks and the development of relevant improvement plans which drive improvements in risk maturity.
• Promoting a joined-up approach with strategy and policy development, planning, change delivery, performance, portfolio risk team and other relevant functions.
• Ownership of the Risk Management system and risk reporting, which provides strong insight to drive strategic decisions and discussions.
• Providing expert advice, framework and support to Executive teams and business groups on all aspects of risk management and BCDR, providing assurance on evolving risk areas such as cyber and AI.
• Ownership of the Counter fraud and Internal Audit Government Functional Standard as well as leadership of the wider consolidation and governance of all other Government Functional standards across the organisation.
• Working closely with performance management colleagues, compliance functions, auditors, inspectors, regulators and other relevant teams to build a coordinated picture of opportunities, risks and issues.
• Delivering a positive impact on improving risk management, delivery of plans, value for money, securing good external relationships and enhancing organisational capability.
• Developing communication and upskilling tools to train staff in the risk management and business continuity frameworks.
• Building positive relationships with key stakeholders, including the wider civil service community, to ensure the local approach reflects wider best practise.
• Support the Executive Director of Finance and Commercial or equivalent post holder in advising the board when it is setting the overall risk appetite, strategy and architecture of the risk management framework.
• Persuading and influencing senior leaders about the importance of good risk management, building positive risk management relationships with key stakeholders, including the wider government community to ensure the department's approach reflects wider best practise.
• Lead DBS’ Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery response, including taking on the role of DBS Incident Manager for major incidents.
• Own and maintain the organisation wide Business Continuity Management Framework, ensuring business impact analyses (BIA’s), continuity plans and recovery strategies remain current.
• Ensure critical services, systems, data and suppliers have tested recovery plans.
• Provide assurance to executives and sponsors on organisational resilience and recovery activities.
• Conduct scenario testing, simulation exercises and lessons-learned reviews, ensuring recovery plans are validated and improved following exercises and incidents.
• Undertake corporate duties as a senior leader within DBS, including deputising for the Executive Director of Finance and Commercial and/or representing the function, including at Executive Team and Board Committees, and in meetings with external stakeholders. This includes membership of the organisation’s Executive groups and potentially fulfilling the role of Chair or Vice Chair for one of those groups.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Adaptable, maintaining effectiveness when experiencing major changes in tasks and operating environment, adjusting effectively to work within new structures, processes, requirements, or cultures.
• Constructively challenge and motivate teams and senior leaders to support improved outcomes within the department.
• Lead and inspire the risk management and BCDR team, ensuring it is equipped with the right skills and experience to deliver objectives and act as a centre of excellence for DBS.
• Think strategically and demonstrate a clear and compelling vision for the organisation that will develop join- up and promote efficiency and motivate and enthuse others.
• Work independently and flexibly with a focus on delivering outcomes in line with the Executive Directors vision
• Exercising sound judgement and adopting an optimistic and pragmatic approach to solving problems.
• Build stakeholder relationships at the most senior levels based on trust and respect, exercising discretion when exposed to sensitive information.
• Drive continuous improvement in the organisation through developing stakeholders and own team, delivering a strong risk culture, risk maturity and improved outcomes.
• Passion for developing the risk management and BCDR profession and the people in your team and ability to provide professional leadership across government.
• Work with the business to determine plans and ensure that appropriate corporate policies, controls and assurance are in place.
• Work seamlessly across boundaries, collaborating with and drawing on resources from across department and government.
• Significant senior leadership experience in enterprise risk management, assurance, and resilience.
• Experience of advising Boards, Audit and Risk Committees and Executive Teams.
• Experience of leading organisational assurance frameworks.
• Experience of managing strategic and operational risks within a complex organisation.
• Experience of leading organisational change and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Experience of GIAA audit programmes
• Understanding of the Orange Book
• Understanding of Government Functional Standards

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of operating in a regulatory agency or non-departmental public body (NDPB)
• Achieved or working towards: CBCI/ MBCI (Certificate/Member of the Business Continuity Institute)

Qualifications

The successful candidate must have achieved or is working towards IRM Certificate/ Diploma in Enterprise Risk Management (or equivalent)

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Leadership
• Developing Self and Others
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £74,061, Disclosure & Barring Service contributes

£21,455 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

The DBS offers a number of excellent benefits for its employees. These can include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Excellent maternity, paternity and adoption schemes (after a qualifying period)
• Commitment to the health and wellbeing of our employees
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Flexible working opportunities
• Eyecare voucher scheme
• Occupational Health Service including referrals for counselling and physiotherapy
• 24/7 Counselling and Wellbeing Service
• A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

The DBS vision and purpose is to make people safer by being a visible, trusted and influential organisation, providing an outstanding quality of service to all our customers and partners, where our people understand the important safeguarding contributions they make and feel proud to work here. To do this, the DBS is committed to being an employer that is able to attract, develop, retain and engage diverse talent that is representative of the communities we serve, and to be an organisation providing outstanding service to all our existing and new customers, who are diverse and have a range of different needs. We want all our staff to be able to bring their ‘whole self’ to work.

Things you need to know

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 withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

To apply for this role, please provide a CV along with a Personal Statement of no more than 1000 words outlining how your skills, experience and qualifications meet the requirements of the role, including all essential and desirable criteria.

Please be advised that the CV is for information purposes only and will not be scored.

Candidates successful at the sift stage will be invited to attend an interview which will include a presentation and will assess the following behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing & Improving
• Leadership
• Developing Self & Others
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Further details on the presentation topic and the assessed behaviour will be provided to shortlisted candidates invited to interview.

Interviews will be held virtually via MS Teams.

The following timetable outlines indicative dates. Please note, these dates may be subject to change without prior notice.

Advert closing date: Friday, 11th September at 10am.

The initial candidate sift is due to take place week commencing 14th September 2026.

Interviews are due to take place week commencing 28th September 2026.

Whilst we will endeavour to provide some flexibility with regards to dates wherever possible, it is unlikely that we will be able to offer an alternative date once an appointment has been scheduled.

Security

**SC clearance level is a requirement for this role.**

You must meet the security requirements before you can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

For meaningful checks to be carried out, you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required lev