Planning & Assurance Lead in Westminster

Help strengthen assurance at the heart of nuclear regulation.

How do you provide independent assurance and trusted insight in an organisation responsible for protecting society from some of the UK’s most significant safety and security risks? At the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), that challenge sits at the heart of our assurance work — and we’re looking for a Senior Assurance Lead to help drive it forward.

This is a unique opportunity to play a visible role in strengthening governance, risk management and internal controls across one of the UK’s most important regulators. Working across regulatory and corporate functions, you’ll help provide confidence that ONR is operating effectively, transparently and in line with its public mission.

You’ll lead end-to-end assurance and audit engagements, provide insight and challenge to senior leaders, and contribute directly to organisational improvement in a complex, high-hazard regulatory environment.

As a Senior Assurance Lead, you’ll lead and deliver risk-based internal assurance reviews across ONR’s regulatory and corporate activities. You’ll provide independent, objective assurance on governance, risk management and internal control effectiveness, helping senior stakeholders make informed decisions and strengthen organisational performance. Acting as both a trusted advisor and constructive challenger, you’ll work closely with colleagues across the organisation to identify risks, improve systems and promote accountability.

You’ll lead assurance assignments from planning through to reporting and follow-up, ensuring recommendations are practical, proportionate and focused on continuous improvement. You’ll also contribute to developing assurance methodologies and supporting a strong culture of risk awareness and learning across ONR.

At ONR, our work protects society by securing safe nuclear operations across the UK. Strong governance, effective risk management and robust assurance are critical to maintaining public confidence and supporting informed decision-making.

In this role, you’ll have direct exposure to complex strategic, operational and regulatory risks, working across a broad range of organisational priorities. Your work will help strengthen organisational resilience, improve accountability and support ONR in delivering its mission effectively.

You’re an experienced internal audit or assurance professional who enjoys analysing complex issues, influencing stakeholders and driving improvement.

• Experience delivering internal audit or assurance reviews within complex organisations.
• Strong understanding of governance, risk management and internal control frameworks.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to make sound risk-based judgements.
• A relevant professional qualification (or working towards one), such as CIA, ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA or CISA, would support your application.

You’ll benefit from flexible, hybrid working from our offices in Bootle, Cheltenham or London, alongside a strong focus on wellbeing, inclusion and professional development. This is an opportunity to build your career in a purpose-driven environment where your work contributes directly to protecting society and supporting safe nuclear operations across the UK.