Head of Risk & Internal Audit

Description

As a valued member of the team, you will be supporting the Group Environmental Policy and its associated sustainability objectives and targets.

A critical part of this role is ensuring strong alignment across the leadership team on risk appetite, governance and required behaviours. You will act as a strategic partner to senior leaders, helping define clear guardrails for decision-making and embedding risk-aware thinking into the culture of the organisation.

Effective identification and management of risk is critical to our ongoing success. Reporting to the Finance Director, you will be responsible for all aspects of risk management, insurance and internal audit within Ecotricity Group. Working across all areas of the Group, from trading and generation to retail, you will use insights gained from deep understanding of business risks to bring a cohesive approach to insurance programme management and the internal audit plan. You will also support Ecotricity’s New Venture businesses in the development of their risk management and insurance frameworks.

• Collaborate with departmental heads and risk owners to ensure risk registers are properly maintained across Ecotricity Group and Ecotricity New Ventures. Provide central co-ordination and support, setting out and communicating requirements and deadlines.
• Oversee the reporting, handling and impact assessment of all insurance claims across the programme. Drive down premiums by working with stakeholders to apply best practice and deliver risk-mitigation improvements across the organisation.
• Provide strategic leadership on risk across the Executive team, ensuring alignment on risk appetite, tolerances, and governance expectations. Translate these into clear, practical guardrails that enable effective and responsible decision-making across the Group.
• Work with insurance broker(s) and key business heads to oversee Ecotricity’s and the wider group’s insurance programme design and execution. Through understanding of key business risks, identify new insurable risks and work with broker/business owners on cover options.
• Champion a positive risk culture by integrating risk considerations into strategic planning, operational decision-making and cross-functional initiatives, ensuring risk is understood as an enabler of organisational success.
• Develop the internal audit plan, with the Audit Manager, ensuring a risk-based approach taking all key considerations into account.
• Ensure all business risks are captured and assessed on a comparative basis in line with risk policy/appetite, and with appropriate mitigating controls and actions.
• Drive the ongoing development of an effective risk policy and definition of risk appetite within Ecotricity Group and New Ventures.
• Establish and maintain a framework for monitoring compliance with existing mitigation plans, ensuring plans are operating effectively.
• Play a key role in complex projects related to risk. Help develop solutions to complex problems through an in-depth understanding of risk concepts. Provide innovative thinking that delivers practical and timely solutions that help manage risk and improve commercial outcomes.
• Manage risk reporting to all key groups including Risk & Audit Committee and Executive Board. Outside of this, deliver timely ad-hoc updates on changes in risk profile to senior management across the business.
• Lead the insurance renewal process from collection and submission of data to allocation of charges across group companies and distribution of policy documentation.
• Partner with senior management by leading the Risk & Audit Committee, providing guidance and insight on key and emerging risks and suggesting collaborative solutions where these exist.

Requirements

Ability to work at pace: Able to propose solutions and act independently, with the confidence to effectively challenge the status quo.

Interpersonal skills: Exceptional interpersonal skills, able to deal effectively with queries and build relationships with colleagues across different functions and levels. You will be able to flex your style with internal and external stakeholders across risk, insurance and internal audit.

Strategic thinking: Able to think strategically and ensure the risk management strategy flows down to an operational level and aligns to the organisation’s risk appetite.

Attention to detail: High level of accuracy in all areas of work; comfortable working hands-on as well as directing and overseeing the work of others.

Influencing and leadership: Able to influence senior stakeholders and drive alignment across executive leadership. Comfortable shaping conversations around difficult or emerging risks and guiding the organisation towards consistent and balanced decisions.

Collaboration: Able to break down silos and bring different teams together to achieve strong, cohesive outcomes for the organisation.

Prioritisation of workload: Highly organised and able to manage the workload of yourself and your team, with the ability to prioritise competing tasks.

• Experience of managing insurance would be advantageous.
• Experience in the energy sector or similarly regulated industry would be highly advantageous.
• You will be competent in using Microsoft Office packages (primarily Outlook, Excel & PowerPoint).
• Demonstrate an understanding of the three lines of defence.
• Experience of implementing frameworks in a business to manage risk whilst improving commercial outcomes.
• Have sound understanding, and experience, of risk management, control frameworks, and governance, most likely in a regulated industry.
• Relevant professional qualifications (e.g. CertIRM, CIA, ACCA, CIMA).

Benefits

• Hybrid Working
• Cycle to work scheme, car pooling and onsite parking available
• Holiday of 25 days (plus bank holidays) & ability to buy/sell days
• Healthcare plan, life assurance and generous pension contribution
• Volunteering Day
• Various company discounts (including shops, gyms, days out and events)

Training + Development

Interview process

Visa Sponsorship

Security clearance