Head of Risk & Compliance (3305)

Do you want to create a better world for animals? At the RSPCA, we believe all animals deserve kindness and respect. We work for the benefit of every animal – as well as pets, that includes farmed animals, wildlife, and animals used in science. Choose a career with us and make a difference for every kind.

We are seeking an exceptional Head of Risk and Compliance to join us at a pivotal moment of transformation. 

Whether you are an established risk expert within the charity sector, or looking to bring your enterprise wide risk expertise into a purpose driven environment, this role offers the opportunity to shape the safety, integrity and future of the UK's leading animal welfare charity.

• Contract: Permanent 
• Hours: 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday - we are happy to discuss flexible working options, such as reduced or compressed hours.
• Location: Hybrid; you will work from home and will travel to our London (Blackfriars) and West Sussex (Horsham) offices for meetings and collaboration.

As the Head of Risk and Compliance, you will operate simultaneously at an operational and strategic level. You will be our Subject Matter Expert (SME), responsible for managing, reporting on and mitigating risk across all areas of the society; from fundraising and finance to our frontline operational teams. The role works closely with the Chief Legal Counsel, in a broader expert legal team that helps safeguard the organisations assets, beneficiaries, people and reputation, manage and mitigate risk and inform decision making.

This is an opportunity to shape a brand new role as well as build on the work in risk management to date. This role is as much about people as it is about processes; you will manage, develop and embed our risk and compliance frameworks, oversee our internal audit programme and lead a dedicated team of data protection and fundraising compliance experts. 

Crucially, you will build a community of best practice; translating complex compliance into approachable, organisation wide cultural habits which support decision making.

We will look to you to:

• Act as a trusted advisor; you will prepare and present high-level risk reports for the Executive, FinanceAudit and Risk Committee, and the Board, helping to guide strategic decision-making.
• Maintain the corporate risk register, create compliance reporting frameworks, and roll up your sleeves to handle day-to-day spreadsheets, data analysis, and internal reporting deadlines.
• Coordinate, guide and challenge senior leaders across all directorates to ensure operational risks remain proportionate, effective, and fit for purpose.
• Manage and develop a team of compliance specialists including those specialising in  data protection and fundraising compliance.
• Conduct proactive horizon scanning for regulatory, legislative, and charity sector changes to keep the RSPCA ahead of the curve.
• Oversee internal audit programmes and self assessments, test for integrity, and ensure corrective actions are confidently escalated and acted upon.

To succeed within this role, it is essential that you are an excellent relationship builder who is approachable, persuasive and capable of influencing culture change at all levels.

You must also have:

• Demonstrable experience as a subject matter expert in developing and implementing risk management frameworks and internal controls.
• The willingness to switch from running risk registers and spreadsheets to advising the Board on overarching organisational strategy.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to negotiate, persuade and build lasting relationships across the organisation.
• A proven ability to confidently make decisions and manage tight internal reporting deadlines, whilst handling sensitive information with complete discretion.
• The ability to work with a variety of IT software (the RSPCA operates on Google Suite).

Successful candidates for certain RSPCA roles will need to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK as we are unable to sponsor visas.

First stage interviews will be held remotely during the week commencing the 27th of July.

We want to ensure we do all we can to give you a positive candidate experience through our recruitment. Whilst we do try to give feedback where we can, sometimes due to receiving high levels of applications, this may not always be possible

Our vision is a world where all animals are respected and treated with kindness and compassion. Our purpose is to inspire everyone to create a better world for animals. We are building the future of a diverse Society, and our priority is to support animal welfare by finding people from all backgrounds who are committed  to our purpose.  For this reason we actively encourage a wide diversity of applications - in particular from members of minority ethnic groups, and people with disabilities - as these candidates are currently under-represented at the RSPCA. Your transferable skills & lived experiences could make you a valuable addition to our RSPCA Family! 

We're here to support you and encourage you to let us know if you need any adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Please feel free to contact us at resourcingteam@rspca.org.uk or 0300 123 0685 so we can ensure the process works for you.