Controls Assurance Manager

BUSINESS UNIT: Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) – Chief Controls Office

LOCATION: London, Birmingham and Edinburgh

HOURS: Full Time – 35 hours per week

WORKING PATTERN:

Our work style is hybrid, which involves spending at least two days per week, or 40% of our time, at one of our office sites shown above.

We’re looking for a motivated and meticulous Control Assurance Manager who has a restless curiosity to identify areas for testing, devise testing strategies, and distil key information from testing outcomes into actionable insights that improve controls and mitigate risk.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a Control Assurance Manager, you’ll deliver independent, objective testing of key business controls across CIB. You’ll validate control design and operational effectiveness, identify weaknesses, and recommend improvements to strengthen the control environment. This role combines technical expertise, data analytics, and stakeholder engagement to drive continuous improvement and operational resilience.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Risk & Control Testing & Assurance

• Identify new potential testing areas and deliver targeted testing of high-risk processes (e.g., trading mandates).

• Validate control design and operational effectiveness against risk toolkits and regulatory standards.

• Utilise data skills and coding capability to compare datasets and identify reconciliation exceptions.

• Document findings, root cause analysis, and remediation recommendations.

• Contribute to the development of control testing strategies and implementation of risk management processes.

• Identify systemic issues, consider read-across, and propose enhancements to strengthen the control environment.

Control Optimisation

• Support initiatives to embed “Control by Design” principles and automation.

• Recommend and implement improvements to streamline manual controls and enhance efficiency, utilising AI inputs.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as a trusted partner across the three lines of defence.

• Provide input and constructive challenge into change programmes to ensure testing outcomes are integrated.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

The successful candidate will drive continuous improvement in control design, automation, and operational resilience, leveraging data analytics and emerging technologies.

To be considered for this role, you’ll need to demonstrate:

Risk & Control Expertise

• Strong understanding of operational risk and control frameworks.

• Experience in control testing methodologies and assurance practices.

• Knowledge of non-financial risk types relevant to CIB (e.g., conduct, economic crime, data resilience).

• Familiarity with Control by Design (CbD) methodology.

Data & Technology Skills

• Coding skills (e.g., Python) to identify and leverage insights on data irregularities and exceptions.

• Analytical skills for data-driven insights and root cause analysis.

Communication & Collaboration

• Excellent communication skills for reporting and stakeholder engagement.

• Ability to interpret and apply risk policies and regulatory requirements.

• Exposure to Agile ways of working and transformation programmes.

ABOUT WORKING FOR US

Our focus is to ensure we're inclusive every day, building an organisation that reflects modern society and celebrates diversity in all its forms. We want our people to feel that they belong and can be their best, regardless of background, identity or culture.

We were one of the first major organisations to set goals on diversity in senior roles, create a menopause health package, and a dedicated Working with Cancer initiative.

And it’s why we especially welcome applications from under-represented groups. We’re disability confident. So, if you’d like reasonable adjustments to be made to our recruitment processes, just let us know.

If you’re excited by the thought of becoming part of our team, get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!