Assurance Specialist (we have office locations in Cambridge, Leeds and London)

Genomics England is a global leader in enabling genomic medicine and research, focused on creating a world where everyone benefits from genomic healthcare. Building on the 100,000 Genomes Project, we support the NHS’s world-first national whole genome sequencing service and run the growing National Genomic Research Library, alongside delivering numerous major genomics initiatives. By connecting research and clinical care at national scale, we enable immediate healthcare benefits and advances for the future. Our mission is to provide the evidence and digital systems so that by 2035 genomics could play a role in up to half of all healthcare interactions, whilst securing the UK’s position as the best place to discover, prove and benefit from genomic innovations.

We are hiring an Assurance Specialist to join us here at Genomics England! This is a broad assurance role spanning cyber security, data protection, and operational resilience, focused on assurance, governance, and compliance rather than hands‑on technical delivery. The role supports the organisation in meeting relevant standards, regulations, and internal policies, helping ensure risks across services are understood, monitored, and addressed. You will work closely with assurance leads across the three pillars, supporting risk assessments, assurance activities, reporting, and awareness initiatives. You will help review and maintain policies, track compliance evidence, support audits and reviews, and contribute to the continuous improvement of assurance frameworks.

This role suits an Assurance Specialist already working in an assurance, risk, governance, or compliance environment, who enjoys variety, autonomy with clear guardrails, and operating across a complex, regulated organisation. Trust, resilience, and compliance are central to the role, supporting services that deliver nationally important healthcare and research outcomes. This is an excellent opportunity to further broaden and advance your assurance career, on meaningful work and across multiple disciplines and regulated environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Support assurance activities across cyber security, data protection, and operational resilience, identifying risks and recommending mitigation actions.
• Review and contribute to policies, procedures, and governance materials to ensure compliance with relevant standards and regulations.
• Support audits, assurance reviews, penetration tests, supplier assessments, and incident‑related activities, tracking findings and ensuring timely follow‑up.
• Prepare and analyse management information and assurance reporting, turning evidence into clear, actionable recommendations for stakeholders.
• Assist with business impact analyses, business continuity, and disaster recovery planning, observing exercises, documenting lessons learned, and tracking remediation.
• Contribute to staff awareness initiatives, embedding assurance, compliance, and risk awareness across the organisation.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Experience working in an assurance, risk, governance, or compliance role.
• Ability to assess and articulate risk across technical and non-technical domains.
• Experience supporting audits, assurance reviews, or compliance activities.
• Strong analytical skills, able to interpret evidence, identify gaps, and make proportionate recommendations.
• Clear and confident communicator, able to engage a wide range of stakeholders.
• Proven organisational skills, able to manage multiple assurance activities across complex environments.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Familiarity with standards such as ISO 22301, ISO 27001, or similar frameworks.
• Knowledge of data protection principles, including GDPR and UK DPA 2018.
• Experience in business continuity, disaster recovery, or operational resilience assurance.
• Experience working within the NHS, healthcare, life sciences, public sector, or other heavily regulated environments.
• Experience contributing to assurance reporting, management information, or staff awareness initiatives.
• Experience with supplier audits, third‑party risk management, or accreditation support.

Qualifications

Formal qualifications are not essential. However, certifications or training related to audit, assurance, risk, data protection, information security, or operational resilience are welcome and considered beneficial.

Benefits

• Salary From: £51,000
• Generous Leave: 30 days’ holiday plus bank holidays, additional leave for long service, and the option to apply for up to 30 days of remote working abroad annually (approval required).
• Family‑Friendly: Blended working arrangements, flexible working, enhanced maternity, paternity and shared parental leave benefits.
• Pension & Financial: Defined contribution pension (Genomics England double‑matches up to 10%, however you can contribute more if you wish), Life Assurance (3x salary), and a Give As You Earn scheme.
• Learning & Development: Individual learning budgets, support for training and certifications, and reimbursement for one annual professional subscription (approval required).
• Recognition & Rewards: Employee recognition programme and referral scheme.
• Health & Wellbeing: Subsidised gym membership, a free Headspace account, and access to an Employee Assistance Programme, eye tests, flu jabs.

Genomics England is actively committed to providing and supporting an inclusive environment that promotes equity, diversity and inclusion best practice both within our community and in any other area where we have influence. We are proud of our diverse community where everyone can come to work and feel welcomed and treated with respect regardless of any disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, or social background. Genomics England’s policies of non‑discrimination and equity will be applied fairly to all people, regardless of age, disability, gender identity or reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, being pregnant or recently becoming a parent, race, religion or beliefs, sex or sexual orientation, length of service, whether full or part‑time or employed under a permanent or a fixed‑term contract or any other relevant factor. Genomics England does not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment, victimisation or bullying at work. Such behaviour undermines our mission and core values and diminishes the dignity, respect and integrity of all parties. Our People policies outline our commitment to inclusivity. We aim to remove barriers in our recruitment processes and to be flexible with our interview processes. Should you require any adjustments that may help you to fully participate in the recruitment process, we encourage you to discuss this with us.

Genomics England operates a blended working model as we know our people appreciate the flexibility that hybrid working can bring. We expect most people to come into the office a minimum of 2 times each month. However, this will vary according to role and will be agreed with your team leader. There is no expectation that people will return to the office full time unless they want to, however, some of our roles require full time on site attendance e.g., lab teams, reception team. Our teams and squads have, and will continue to reflect on what works best for them to work together successfully and have the freedom to design working patterns to suit, beyond the minimum.

As part of our recruitment process, all successful candidates are subject to a Standard Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. We therefore require applicants to disclose any previous offences at point of application, as some unspent convictions may mean we are unable to proceed with your application due to the nature of our work in healthcare.