Head of Assurance

The world of investment is changing. Our vision at Legal & General Investment Management is to create a better, more sustainable future through responsible investing. We work in partnership with our clients around the globe to deliver positive long-term outcomes, while rising to the challenges of a rapidly changing world. Our clients include institutional pension funds, financial institutions, local authorities and sovereign wealth funds. To meet our clients’ complex and evolving investment needs, our investment strategies cover a broad array of asset classes and styles, including equities, bonds, property and alternatives, as well as multi-asset funds. We’re focused on continuously innovating our investment products, maintaining our reputation as experts across all asset classes, and striving to build a more responsible and sustainable future.

Salary: Up to £110,000

We are currently hiring for a Head of Assurance to join our team.

The role holder will join our team of risk professionals as part of the global CRO function to further develop and run our 2nd line Assurance Function. The role holder will take responsibility for developing the assurance team and programme of work, partnering with the business to provide value added assurance reviews, playing the role of “critical friend” to further help enhance and improve our internal control environment.

Our Assurance Function is evolving, so the role requires being hands on and being part of the journey as we partner with the business and co-ordinate with the rest of 2nd line and Global Internal Audit to help the business manage risk.

What you'll be doing

Leadership and Stakeholder Management

• Liaising with business areas and sharing knowledge to make sure the Assurance Team is up to date with strategy, business initiatives, major projects and areas of high risk. Maintains an open and effective dialogue with all stakeholders, including business and team members.
• Defining and executing an annual assurance review roadmap covering LGIM's core business activities.
• Building an effective assurance team providing the required level of support to build confidence in the team and ensuring they are adequately trained and developed, understand expectations and gain knowledge of the LGIM businesses.
• Liaising with 1.5 lines, second and third lines of defence, and making sure we are interacting with the business in a cohesive manner and that assurance coverage and reporting are consistent.
• Developing close working relationships with senior influencers throughout LGIM to resolve barriers and to further enhance and improve our internal control environment.

Globalisation

• Helping take forward our globalisation agenda, working with stakeholders across the LGIM business and embedding assurance reviews globally.

Assurance reviews

• Working collaboratively with the 2nd line Risk Advisory team and the output of Risk Certification Self Assessments (RCSA’s), assessing areas and processes of high risk in the business to prepare an annual assurance plan. Reviewing Internal Audit and Compliance review plans to achieve maximum assurance coverage and reduce duplication and pressure on the business. Ensuring the plan approved by the Executive Risk Committee.
• Identifying the areas of highest risk in the business and seek to reduce residual risk by assessing risk and control design and testing operating effectiveness, making recommendations to strengthen these where necessary.
• Collaborating with the Business Process Modelling team as and when required to provide process mapping and assurance as part of joint reviews.
• Working closely with the 1st line Operational Resilience team to better plan and embed our 2nd line oversight and testing of operational resilience within BAU processes.
• Managing execution of the plan to ensure all reviews are completed with the business, reports are written to a high standard, actions are appropriate, agreed and followed up.

Education and Communication

• Applying an effective communication strategy that keeps both the team and the business updated on our assurance reviews, including continued education to the business in effective risk management.
• Continuing to build out or refresh self service guides for the business, ensuring the business are aware of these and they are easily accessible.
• Maintaining a detailed knowledge of Group policy and framework requirements, keeping abreast of changes and developments, discussing relevant topics and articulating risk profiles in an informed manner and acting as risk subject matter expert for LGIM.

Provision of Tools and Processes

• Supporting the use of the risk system OSX for First and Second Line to manage Assurance action tracking. Ensuring there are mechanisms in place to monitor the actions and ensure they are complied with by their due dates.

Provision of Effective MI and Reporting

• Playing a role in developing the quality of the reports we produce, how we rate our assessments and ensuring that input into management dashboards and MI accurately reflects the control environments we provide assurance on.
• Ability to present to the Executive Risk Committee as considered appropriate.
• Input into Group internal control environment meetings and reporting as and when required.

What we're looking for

• Accounting or Audit Qualification
• Asset Management Industry, Financial Services preferable.
• Excellent interpersonal and both written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to fully participate and successfully influence effectively at all levels in the business.
• Must be organised and delivery focused, possessing high levels of resilience and determination, can multi- task, work under pressure and in a complex environment.
• Experience of proactively engaging with senior management, demonstrating an inquiring mind and the courage to follow through to sound conclusion.
• Previous assurance or audit experience.
• 1st line risk and controls experience and transferring into a 2nd line role assurance role.
• Experience managing a team; setting and directing the objectives and responsibilities of the team with demonstrable success in driving the team to deliver desired and timely outcomes to those objectives. Regular feedback and management of expectations with Manager.

When you commit to Legal & General, we’ll commit to you too. That means we’ll recognise and reward your hard work, your performance and your contribution.

If you join us, you’ll get access to some great benefits, including private medical insurance, 27 days holiday (excluding bank holidays), a generous pension scheme, life assurance, and Income Protection. You'll receive a car allowance of 12% of your annual salary, and you can participate in our electric car scheme, which offers employees the option to hire a brand new electric car through tax efficient salary sacrifice. We’re also proud to offer competitive family leave.

You’ll have the opportunity to participate in our annual, performance-related bonus plan and valuable share schemes. And then there are the many discounts we offer that you can take advantage of – both for our own products and at a range of high street stores and online offerings.

The brand with the brolly is choosing today to change tomorrow.

Since 1836, we’ve grown to become one of the world's largest asset managers, homebuilders, pension providers and insurance brands.

We’re all here to improve the lives of our customers, build a better society for the long term, and create value for our shareholders - helping to shape a better future for society and the planet.

We need people who share our ambitions, agility and entrepreneurial spirit to help us do it.

At L&G, you’ll find a balance that helps you be your best. Empowered by hybrid working, we’re supported by technology and workplaces that enable us to work effectively wherever we are. We come together in offices to collaborate and connect, and use time at home for individual, focused activities. And, when we achieve great things, we celebrate our success and reward strong performance.

Today, there’s over 10,000 of us, working towards our mission, with plenty of opportunities to grow your career as we grow L&G. Will you join us?

Great minds don’t have to think alike, so we welcome voices from all backgrounds. Bringing together people with different life experiences helps us build empathy with our customers and drive innovation.

We don’t just talk about it, we actively promote diversity and equitable opportunities for all. That means our employment decisions are made without regard to race, colour, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability or protected veteran status. In fact, we embrace every dimension of diversity to reflect the customers and communities we serve.

We think it’s important to create an inclusive environment where we can all belong, contribute and drive progress, where you can develop and grow, and be empowered. We want you to use your voice to help us build a better tomorrow.

We all work differently, and have different needs, which is why. we’re always open to discussing flexible working arrangements. Likewise, we’re committed to finding reasonable accommodations for candidates with specific needs during our recruiting process.

So whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever your story, we'd love to hear from you.