At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead technology risk and governance, ensuring effective management and resolution of risks.
- Company: Join The Openwork Partnership, a dynamic and inclusive financial services company.
- Benefits: Up to £70,000 salary, 15% bonus, 27 days holiday, and flexible benefits.
- Other info: Hybrid role with a supportive culture that values individuality and work-life balance.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in a fast-paced environment while developing your career.
- Qualifications: Experience in technology risk and governance, ideally in financial services.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 70000 £ per year.
We are looking for a Risk & Governance Lead to take ownership of how risk and controls are defined, managed, and driven across Openwork’s technology function. This is a hands-on, first-line role, not oversight from a distance. You’ll be actively writing risk and control definitions, working closely with delivery teams, and ensuring issues are driven to resolution. Success in this role means moving risks to green, not just reporting on them.
Operating within a regulated financial services environment, technology risk at Openwork is critical, underpinning Consumer Duty, operational resilience, and the trust placed in our platform by advisers and clients. As the technology function continues its transformation, you’ll ensure the risk and control framework evolves in step - staying ahead of change, not lagging behind it. This is a hybrid role based in Swindon with 3 days a week required in the office.
The Benefits
- Salary - up to £70,000
- Bonus scheme - on target bonus - 15%
- Pension scheme - contribute up to 5% of your salary and Openwork will match you and put in an extra 5%
- Critical illness cover
- Income protection
- Death in service - 4x salary
- 27 days holiday + bank holidays, with the opportunity to buy up to an additional 10 days
- A range of other flexible benefits to include private medical insurance, dental insurance and much more.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Owning and maintaining the technology risk and controls register, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and currency
- Defining and documenting risks and controls in partnership with technical SMEs, translating complexity into clear, auditable language
- Working directly with delivery teams to identify control gaps and drive credible, time-bound remediation
- Leading the technology risk governance cycle, including reviews, attestations, and escalation
- Acting as the primary interface with Enterprise Risk, Compliance, and Internal Audit
- Maintaining the technology policy and standards library, ensuring alignment with regulatory expectations
- Providing risk input into technology programmes, ensuring controls are embedded from day one
- Reporting clearly and transparently on technology risk profile to senior stakeholders (CTO, ExCo, committees)
- Leading readiness for audit, regulatory reviews, and external assurance, including evidence and remediation tracking
- Championing a risk-aware culture, making governance practical, accessible, and effective.
What will you need to succeed?
- Significant experience in technology risk, governance, or controls roles, ideally in financial services or another regulated sector
- Proven track record of hands-on risk and control definition
- Experience working as a first-line risk practitioner, partnering effectively with second-line functions
- Strong background supporting audit and regulatory reviews, including remediation management
- Experience embedding risk and governance into technology delivery and change programmes
- Relevant certifications (CRISC, CISM, CISSP, IRM or similar) are advantageous
- Ability to engage credibly with engineering and architecture teams
- Familiarity with Azure, SaaS platforms, and cloud-native architectures
- Understanding of key technology risk domains (resilience, security, data protection, change, third-party risk)
- Experience with risk management tooling and governance frameworks
- Knowledge of FCA requirements, including operational resilience, SYSC, outsourcing, and Consumer Duty.
Why us?
At The Openwork Partnership, we're a dynamic, fast paced, and growing business with huge ambition. This is all made possible by the brilliant people who are part of The Openwork Partnership family. We're investing heavily in our colleagues, continuously striving to give them the platform to develop personally and professionally and reach their full potential. We’re also very proud of our culture, as one of the Best 100 Large Companies to work for in 2022. The Openwork Partnership values, and respects individuality and we are committed to building an inclusive culture and environment which truly recognises and celebrates our colleague’s individual differences and identities – just like our financial advice, for us, it’s personal. We believe everyone can make a difference and your race, religion, disability, and gender will never be a barrier. At Openwork, we have a strong ethic of care for each other where you can balance a successful career with your commitments and interests outside of work. We believe that you will bring your best self to work if you are trusted to choose when, where and how you do it.
Risk and Governance Lead in Swindon employer: Openwork
At The Openwork Partnership, we pride ourselves on being a dynamic and inclusive employer that invests in the growth and development of our colleagues. Located in Swindon, our hybrid work model allows for flexibility while fostering a collaborative environment where your contributions directly impact our technology risk landscape. With competitive benefits, a strong commitment to work-life balance, and recognition as one of the Best 100 Large Companies to work for in 2022, we offer a rewarding workplace where you can thrive both personally and professionally.
