Compliance Assurance Manager

Overview

We’re 1st Central, a market-leading insurance company utilising smart data and technology at pace. Rapid growth has been based on giving our 1.4 million customers exactly what they want: great value insurance with an excellent service. And that’s the same for our colleagues too; we won Insurance Employer of the Year at the British Insurance Awards 2024 and our Glassdoor score is pretty mega too!

We’re on the lookout for a Compliance Assurance Manager to join us here at 1st Central. This is a brilliant opportunity to take ownership of our Compliance Assurance Plan and shape how we deliver it across the Group. You’ll be leading a talented team, working closely with senior leaders, and making sure we’re on top of our regulatory obligations while adding real value to the business. We’re looking for someone with solid experience who can step straight into the role and deliver from day one.

We’re big on flexibility. Our Governance team are based at Haywards Heath, West Sussex, Salford Quays, Manchester, Gibraltar and Guernsey but we work from home most of the time. We think collaboration is pretty great though, so we like to get together about 1 day per month – just to keep those creative sparks flying. Prefer being in the office more often? That works for us too. We’re even open to remote working – all we ask is that you join us in person about once a month to stay connected and keep those face-to-face vibes alive.

Skills you’ll need

• Insurance Sector Knowledge – you’ll understand and have experience of the regulatory environment in general insurance services.
• Strong Stakeholder Management and Influencing Skills – you’ll know how to get senior leaders on board, present findings with confidence and influence decisions.
• Leadership and People Development – you’ll inspire, coach and develop a team of monitoring officers, creating the right environment for them to succeed.
• Proven 2nd or 3rd Line Compliance/Assurance Expertise – you’ll already have strong experience in compliance assurance, monitoring or internal audit, and be confident taking ownership of a complex plan.

What’s involved

• To design, deliver and lead, in liaison with HoC, a suitable Group Compliance Assurance Plan (CAP) as part of wider Risk & Compliance planning. The CAP should have detailed annual deliverables with a multi-year view of areas to address with assurance activity.
• Lead the annual Assurance planning process liaising with Executive, Senior Management and key stakeholders presenting the output of risk assessments for each area of the business and proposing the overall programme of assurance activity for the Group
• Provide effective leadership to the Compliance Monitoring team; building a team which contains the right mix of skills and experience necessary to deliver the range of assurance activity required by the Group. Create an environment that enables the team to learn and develop, keeping technical skills up to date and fully abreast of regulatory developments through coaching and regular review of output.
• Own and drive the approach to assurance and oversight, working closely with the HoC. Act as a subject matter expert to champion the Group’s overall assurance methodologies (i.e. Control Testing Framework).
• Operational oversight and management of co-sourced and outsourced arrangements in place specific to compliance assurance activity.
• Delivery of the CAP in line with agreed Compliance Procedures; manage and oversee completion of prescribed activity within agreed timeframes, managing changes to the CAP and reporting such changes to the relevant forums.
• Act as Compliance representative at Executive and Management stakeholder meetings. Support with review scope agreement and findings discussions. Act as the escalation point using influence from expertise, to persuade stakeholders and agree findings, priority ratings, assurance gradings and appropriate actions on matters relating to the CAP.
• To provide oversight and management of the implementation of all agreed actions arising from the CAP to include escalation of overdue actions, obtaining agreement to extensions from relevant Executive and action closure (evidence reviews).
• Deputise for the HoC where appropriate and assist in the delivery of key Compliance initiatives
• Responsible for reporting on risk and compliance culture in relation to output of assurance activity and progress against agreed actions
• To have a satisfactory understanding of the key regulatory and statutory rules, regulations, principles and codes of practice incumbent upon FCIM in so far as they are relevant to the delivery of appropriate Compliance requirements, and to keep such awareness up to date
• Production of insightful reports for review by the HoC, Risk & Compliance Director, Risk Committees and relevant Boards, as appropriate.

Experience, knowledge & skills

• Strong knowledge of FCA requirements, including Consumer Duty.
• Previous experience in and background of managing a compliance monitoring team
• Experience building effective relationships across financial and insurance services.
• Recognised compliance, audit, or legal qualification (preferred).
• Excellent communication (written and verbal), organisation, and time management skills.
• Strong attention to detail, analytical ability and problem-solving skills.
• Skilled at balancing regulatory and conduct risks with commercial needs.

Behaviours

• High level of integrity and reliability.
• Calm, confident, and resilient under pressure.
• Supportive yet demanding in driving performance.
• Self-motivated, proactive and organised.
• Flexible, positive and a strong team player.
• Focused on continuous improvement and delivering results.

If you’re ready to lead from the front, make an impact and shape the way compliance assurance is delivered in 1st Central – we’d love to hear from you. Apply now.

What can we do for you?

People first. Always. We’re passionate about our colleagues and know the best people deserve an extraordinary working environment. We owe it to them so that’s what we offer. Our workplaces are energetic, inspirational, supportive. To get a taste of the advantages you’ll enjoy, take a look at all our perks in full here.

Intrigued? Our Talent team can tell you everything you need to know about what we want and what we’re offering, so feel free to get in touch.