Head of Business Assurance

Head of Business Assurance -Heathrow Immigration Centre

Better Places. Thriving Communities.

We're looking for an experienced Head of Business Assurance to lead a critical function within our Centre, ensuring operational excellence, compliance, performance, workforce planning and continuous improvement.

Reporting to the Centre Manager, you'll provide strategic oversight of business assurance activities, leading a multi-functional team responsible for business planning, performance reporting, audit and assurance, resource management, staff engagement, facilities management and stakeholder partnerships. You'll also form part of the senior on‑call rota, providing support to Duty Directors during incidents and operational challenges.

This is a highly influential leadership role where you'll drive delivery against Home Office contractual requirements, produce and monitor business performance information, oversee audit and compliance activity, manage budgets, and ensure the Centre has the right resources, plans and governance in place to operate safely and effectively.

Working closely with internal and external stakeholders, you'll champion continuous improvement, lead workforce planning and staff engagement initiatives, manage assurance and complaints processes, and ensure the Centre remains fully compliant with all contractual, legislative and organisational requirements.

About You

You'll be an experienced senior leader with a background in a custodial, detention, prison, immigration or similarly regulated environment.

You will have:

• Experience operating at a senior level within a custodial environment.
• A proven track record of improving performance and managing KPIs.
• Strong leadership experience with the ability to develop and support multi-disciplinary teams.
• Commercial awareness, including budget management and driving efficiencies.
• Experience managing audits, compliance frameworks and assurance processes.
• The ability to build effective relationships with senior stakeholders and partners.
• The resilience to manage competing priorities and perform effectively under pressure.

Experience within the immigration sector, knowledge of HMIP expectations, and an understanding of QHSE and facilities management legislation would be advantageous.

If you're a strategic leader who thrives in complex operational environments and is passionate about delivering safe, secure and high‑performing services, we'd love to hear from you.