23764 - Head Of Risk Assurance and Governance

Role: Head of Risk, Assurance and Governance

Business: Office of Public Guardian (OPG)

Location: National

Grade: Grade 7

Salary: £58,511 - £65,329 – National

£63,343 - £70,725 - London

Contract Type: Permanent

Minimum Hours: Full time

Organisational Overview

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) protects people in England and Wales who may not have the mental capacity to make certain decisions for themselves, such as about their health and finance. We are an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), set up in 2007 following the introduction of the Mental Capacity Act of 2005.

OPG is responsible for registering lasting powers of attorney (LPA) and enduring powers of attorney (EPA) and supervising deputies who are appointed by the Court of Protection.

OPG is a fantastic place to work offering a range of development opportunities. The OPG is a disability confident employer and is committed to developing a supportive and inclusive environment that reflects the diverse community we serve.

OPG is currently delivering an ambitious transformation programme. This will change the way we provide services and help us meet the growing needs of our users, partners and our stakeholders. It will make sure our users experience a better level of support and will help us to respond to the changing needs of society. Transformation will ensure we can better support adults at risk and create high-quality services that are accessible and affordable.

Team Overview

The OPG is seeking a senior expert and leader for governance, risk, assurance, audit, business continuity and counter fraud. The post holder will be responsible for providing confidence to the Executive Board and Audit & Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) that OPG is being governed effectively and is managing its key risks, including ensuring that OPG has effective business continuity and counter fraud arrangements in place across the organisation.

The post holder will have responsibility for the management of two teams (OPG

Secretariat & Governance and OPG Risk & Assurance Team), and will lead, nurture and develop these teams to deliver an excellent service to stakeholders across OPG and beyond.

The OPG Secretariat & Governance team provides central governance and organisational support to the OPG Board, Executive and its subcommittees. The team ensures effective

Decision making by managing meeting cycles, commissioning and quality assuring papers, maintaining and managing action logs, drafting minutes and providing clear forward look planning. They act as the central point of contact for all governance and committee related enquiries, providing troubleshooting, guidance and operational support to senior leaders and paper authors across the organisation.

Areas of responsibility include:

• Leading the planning and delivery of OPG Boards and Committees, ensuring Terms of Reference are in place.
• Quality assuring papers, minutes, decisions and actions, including ensuring actions progress through to completion.
• Leading the development of the Secretariat & Governance team and driving continuous improvement of governance and secretariat processes.
• Facilitating the completion of annual governance statements.
• Audit & Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) support

The Risk & Assurance team is responsible for ensuring that OPG is managing risk appropriately, ensuring that the necessary processes and governance are in place to ensure that the Agency is compliant with government recommendations in these areas. Areas of responsibility include:

• Risk Management and oversight of the OPG Strategic Risk Register
• Internal audit
• Counter Fraud
• Business Continuity
• Assurance mapping
• Audit & Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) support
• Corporate Assurance Planning
• Completion of the Annual Report

Duties and Responsibilities

The role holder will work closely with the senior management of OPG, non-executive directors and colleagues from across MoJ and consequently they will require excellent stakeholder management skills and the ability to operate in a complex environment and influence others.

Specific areas of responsibility include:

• Oversight of all aspects of corporate risk management within the agency ensuring the
• corporate risk register is fit for purpose, and that risk is managed actively day to day, providing challenge and supporting risk owners through delivery of risk workshops and regular risk review meetings, advising the Executives and Board on risk appetite, risk tolerance and emerging strategic risks.
• Acting as the Subject Matter Expert for Corporate Governance, including taking responsibility for the OPG- MoJ Governance Framework, the internal OPG Board Governance Framework and the production of the OPG Annual Report.
• Responsibility for Counter Fraud within the Agency and ensuring that the Agency has an appropriate and active internal counter fraud process.
• Management of the OPG relationship with the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA), including ensuring that the annual audit plan is fit for purpose and is carried out in an efficient manner. Ensuring that actions are owned by Executives and provide an effective resolution to findings and are completed in accordance with GIAA agreed timescales.
• Leading the development and maintenance of OPG’s corporate assurance framework, ensuring an integrated approach to governance, assurance and risk management.
• Ensuring that OPG has robust and effective business continuity and security measures in place, working with the OPG Estates and Health & Safety Team to test and improve where necessary.
• Oversight of the OPG Secretariat function, ensuring that key committees and meetings within OPG are coordinated and delivered effectively.
• Leading continuous improvement of Board and Committee effectiveness, ensuring governance arrangements remain proportionate, efficient and aligned to strategic objectives.
• Team leadership, ensuring that staff are valued and supported to deliver their best at work.
• Acting as a senior leader across OPG, supporting staff members and engaging in cross agency initiatives as required.
• Responsible for co-ordinating key returns to MOJ, ensuring quality standards are met and deadlines adhered to.

Agreed Expectations

The successful candidate will be expected to work from their base location on a weekly basis in line with current Civil Service requirements, outside of any reasonable adjustments.

Occasional travel to our offices in Birmingham and Nottingham may be required.

Skills & Qualifications

Essential Skills

• The ability to communicate complex technical information clearly, verbally and in writing, to a wide audience.
• Ability to persuade, influence and diplomatically challenge senior stakeholders.
• Effective problem-solving skills with the ability to reach solutions and make recommendations based on knowledge and experience.
• Excellent line management and leadership skills, including the ability to build diverse, inclusive, high performing teams and lead through ambiguity and organisational change. (Lead criteria)
• Excellent organisation and prioritisation skills, with the ability to work effectively across a range of tasks and under pressure.
• Knowledge of risk management and assurance processes.

Desirable Skills

• Knowledge of Government Audit Agency processes.
• Knowledge of counter fraud processes, and an understanding of business continuity disciplines.
• Knowledge of Government functional standards.
• Knowledge of Assurance mapping.

Application process

This recruitment will follow the Civil Service Success Profile process. Candidates will be expected to complete the following as part of the application:

• A CV detailing your career history. CV’s will be assessed against the essential skills above.
• A statement of Suitability of no more than 1000 words, to demonstrate your experience against the essential skills required for this role.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using the lead criteria:

• Excellent line management and leadership skills, including the ability to build diverse, inclusive, high performing teams and lead through ambiguity and organisational change.

Interview Process

Successful candidates will be invited to an interview which will use the Civil Service Success Profiles. At interview, candidates should expect questions on:

Relevant strengths for the role.

The following Behaviours at Grade 7 level.

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture (5-minute presentation)
• Communicating & Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

The 5-minute presentation will be assessing the behaviour of "Seeing the Big Picture".

All interviews will be held remotely via MS Teams.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

You may want to join the virtual briefing session on Monday 9 November 2026 at 10:30am, where we will provide an overview of the role, the organisational context, early priorities, anticipated challenges, and team culture. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.

If you are interested in attending this session, please use the following link:

Reasonable Adjustments

At OPG we consider all applications on the basis of merit and want you to feel able to demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. If you require any reasonable adjustments for any aspect of the selection process, do not hesitate to get in contact with us.

As a Disability Confident organisation, we will offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for this role. If you are applying for a role within OPG and would like to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme, please indicate this in your application and let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the selection process.

For further information on benefits of working for OPG, such as our Flexible Working Policy and a FAQ, please check the candidate information pack attached to this advert.

If your application for this role is unsuccessful, we may offer you an alternative role at the same or lower grade should one be available.