Risk, Assurance and Controls Director

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential. In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

Job Purpose

The Risk, Assurance and Controls Director is accountable for achieving an effective Controls Environment for the HS2 Programme, and for ensuring that the Assurance and Risk & Opportunity Management Regimes on the programme enable HS2 to deliver the remainder of the programme safely and at the lowest reasonable cost. The role is accountable for providing strategic direction for risk management, for setting the arrangements for complying with and assuring that HS2 meets its obligations of ‘Managing Public Money’. This critical role involves safeguarding project delivery, protecting assets, and enhancing organisational resilience against potential threats and uncertainties inherent in complex rail infrastructure development. They will provide strategic oversight and expert guidance to mitigate risks, ensuring all activities align with regulatory requirements and best practice within the UK railway sector.

About the Role

• Develop, implement, and continuously refine a comprehensive risk management framework tailored to the unique challenges of railway construction, encompassing project, programme, operational, financial, and reputational risks.
• Establish and maintain effective internal control systems and direct the internal audit functions to assess the effectiveness of risk management and compliance processes, providing recommendations for improvement. This includes monitoring and reporting breaches of control across project, programme, enterprise, commercial and technical controls, and commissioning (with Legal/HR and/or Commercial as required) investigations where a material breach occurs.
• Embed risk management practices throughout the entire project lifecycle, from tender and design through to construction and handover, ensuring risks are identified, assessed, and mitigated proactively.
• Ensure that systems and process exist to accurately forecast the cash flow implications of risks and opportunities and that delivery teams and their embedded functions are suitably trained in risk and opportunities management and can conduct risk management effectively with the supply chain.
• Provide regular, insightful reports to the executive board and project teams on the organisation's risk profile, assurance activities, and compliance status, highlighting key trends and emerging risks.
• Work with HM Treasury, Cabinet Office, DfT, and the HS2 Board to plan and develop an integrated and suitably prioritised assurance and approvals plan for each financial year, monitoring and reporting on it’s completion and maintaining the confidence of all parties in each of the lines of defence.
• Work with GIAA, NAO, P-Rep, DfT, External Experts and Senior Advisors to ensure the providers of assurance have the required knowledge skills and experience to produce assurance products of the highest quality and remain committed to the assurance of the HS2 programme for their relevant fields of expertise. Ensure effective monitoring and escalation of key issues and closure of management actions.
• Maintain and continuously improve the delegations framework for the programme, striking the right balance between empowerment, simplicity, and good control.
• Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

About You

Skills:

• Ability to develop and implement comprehensive, enterprise-wide risk strategies tailored to large-scale, complex railway infrastructure projects, integrating both project-specific and organisational risks.
• Ability to prioritise assurance activity and ensure that resulting products have real impact and influence outcomes on the project.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and influencing skills to articulate complex risk and assurance matters clearly and concisely to diverse stakeholders, including regulators, clients, project teams, and executive leadership.
• Strong analytical acumen to evaluate intricate project data, identify potential risks and emerging threats, and develop innovative and effective mitigation strategies within a dynamic and high-pressure construction environment, including evaluating the cash flow implications.
• Proven ability to lead, inspire, mentor, and develop a high-performing assurance and risk team, fostering a collaborative and results-oriented culture.

Knowledge:

• Comprehensive knowledge of the full project lifecycle in major infrastructure construction, specifically within the railway context, from concept and design through to procurement, construction, testing, commissioning, and handover.
• Expert knowledge of various assurance models (e.g., Three Lines of Defence), audit methodologies, quality management systems (e.g., ISO 9001), controls landscapes, Managing Public Money, and safety management systems (e.g., ISO 45001).
• Detailed knowledge of contractual terms, commercial agreements, and their associated risks within large-scale infrastructure projects, including NEC contracts commonly used in UK railway.

Type of Experience:

• Significant experience in a senior controls, assurance, risk management, or compliance leadership role within a complex engineering, construction, and infrastructure environment, with a strong preference for railway projects.
• Demonstrable experience overseeing controls, assurance and risk management on large scale, multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects, with a proven track record of successful delivery within the UK railway sector.
• Proven experience in designing, implementing, and embedding robust enterprise risk management (ERM) systems, processes, and tools across an organisation.
• Behavioural competencies: The post-holder is expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with HS2’s:
  • Health and Safety strategy and principles
  • Company values
  • Leadership framework
  • Behaviour framework
  • Policies and procedures.

We ask for a variety of detail in your online application, however we perform the first assessment of suitability for a role based solely on the information in your CV. In a further development of our efforts to create a more diverse workforce, your CV will be anonymised and personal information will be removed during the first stage of the application review. This removes bias from the process and makes it even more important that you attach an updated word version of your CV for each new application ensuring you include evidence directly related to the criteria in the job advert. Watch this video on how we remove bias in the recruitment process: Removing bias in the recruitment process

Any applications received after the closing date will not be considered.