Operational Risk Business Partner

We’re DF Capital – a specialist bank providing award-winning commercial finance, retail finance, and savings products to consumers and small businesses. Based in Manchester, we serve thousands of customers across the UK and into Europe, supporting their ambitions with tailored financial solutions. We help our customers realise their ambitions by doing things differently – combining the agility and innovation of a specialist lender with the security and service standards of a regulated bank. Whether it’s flexible lending structures or straightforward savings options, we focus on what matters most to our customers.

In 2025, we launched DF Capital Retail Finance – a subsidiary of DF Capital Bank Limited – to offer specialist hire purchase solutions to retail customers. Our goal is simple: to do the absolute best for our customers, our communities, and each other.

THE ROLE: The Operational Risk Partner is the primary risk contact and subject matter expert for their assigned business portfolios. They work closely with stakeholders to embed first-line risk processes, ensure robust governance, and maintain clear accountability. This role combines deep portfolio knowledge with hands-on execution of risk activities, ensuring risks are identified, assessed, and managed effectively.

Key Responsibilities:

• Risk Leadership & Relationship Management: Serve as the dedicated risk SME for assigned portfolios, building strong relationships with senior stakeholders. Provide expert guidance on risk issues, ensuring early identification and escalation of emerging risks. Drive consistency in risk documentation, governance, and reporting across all portfolios.
• Risk Process Execution: Plan, coordinate, and facilitate RCSA workshops, ensuring risks and controls are accurately documented and aligned to the Bank’s taxonomy. Maintain portfolio risk registers and ensure timely updates in the central risk system. Coordinate and execute first-line control testing, delivering independent assurance and supporting remediation of weaknesses.
• Monitoring & Oversight: Track, monitor, and report on risks, issues, and actions, ensuring timely resolution and escalation where required. Identify recurring control gaps or themes and develop remediation plans in collaboration with business functions.
• Supplier Risk Management: Support the end-to-end supplier onboarding process, including due diligence and ongoing monitoring. Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and maintain strong third-party relationships.
• Governance, MI & Wider Support: Produce monthly portfolio-level risk MI, providing narrative and insights for leadership packs. Track trends, emerging risks, recurring issues, and support functions with policy updates and SOP management. Ensure all risk documentation remains accurate, consistent, and audit ready. There may be occasions where you will have to support the wider business upon the request of your manager.

Requirements: Must possess the required proficiency to perform essential tasks. At the very heart of every DF Capital employee is a shared identity and belief in what we are and what we do. It’s about how we see ourselves and what is important to us. You will live our brand values. As such you will be an approachable, empathetic problem solver, with exemplary communications skills. You will avoid the use of unnecessary jargon and display an adaptable, “can-do” attitude.

Key Skills and Competencies:

• Strategic Risk Expertise: Advanced ability to interpret complex risk data, identify systemic trends, and anticipate emerging risks across the business.
• Influencing at Senior Level: Proven ability to engage, challenge, and influence senior leaders and SLT members to drive risk-aware decision-making.
• Risk Framework Leadership: Deep understanding of risk and control frameworks, with capability to provide expert guidance and embed best practices across diverse portfolios.
• Exceptional Communication: Skilled in producing high-quality governance documentation and delivering clear, concise reports and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Relationship Management: Ability to build strong, trusted relationships across all levels of the organisation, acting as a credible advisor on risk matters.
• Proactive and Solution-Oriented: Demonstrates ownership and accountability, with a focus on practical, actionable solutions to mitigate risk.
• Prioritisation and Delivery: Strong ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment and deliver to agreed timescales.
• Continuous Learning: Commitment to staying current with industry developments, regulatory changes, and emerging risk methodologies.
• Business Process Insight: Ability to deeply understand business processes to support assurance testing, risk reviews, and control effectiveness.
• Decisive Escalation: Skilled in determining when issues require escalation and acting promptly to ensure timely resolution.
• Adaptability: Open to new ideas and change initiatives, adjusting approach to evolving business and regulatory demands.
• Advanced MI and Reporting: Highly proficient in risk reporting, MI analysis, and production of insightful dashboards for senior management.

Experience: Must possess required knowledge and/or qualifications so that the essential functions of the job can be performed.

• Operational Risk Leadership: Significant experience in Operational Risk or first-line risk management within financial services, ideally in a senior advisory or business partner role.
• Risk Governance Expertise: Proven track record of facilitating RCSAs, control testing, risk assessments, and governance activities at senior levels.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Strong understanding of regulatory requirements, risk frameworks (e.g., Basel, PRA, FCA), and industry best practices.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Demonstrated ability to influence and challenge senior stakeholders constructively, supporting risk culture and resilience.
• Technical Proficiency: Advanced skills in Microsoft Office and risk management systems; ability to produce high-quality MI and reporting.
• Analytical and Numeracy Skills: High level of analytical capability, numeracy, and attention to detail.

Benefits:

• Private medical insurance for you and your partner/spouse
• 10% Employer pension contribution
• 30-day annual leave entitlement plus Bank/Public Holidays
• Free Gym Membership
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Discretionary share awards
• Life Assurance
• Income Protection
• Save As You Earn company share acquisition scheme
• Tax efficient salary sacrifice scheme to obtain bicycles and electric vehicles
• 4 days of paid Volunteering leave to support our local communities
• Brand new vibrant, bespoke designed offices in Ancoats.