Senior Enterprise Risk Manager

Job summary

We are MHCLG

Do you have previous experience in enterprise risk management, including designing and implementing risk management policies and frameworks?
Are you able to build strong relationships that will enable you to influence and challenge at all levels?
Do you have a track record of identifying and delivering opportunities for improvement?
If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to join Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as a Senior Enterprise Risk Manager and we’d love to hear from you!

This role is part of the Enterprise Risk team, which enables the Department to understand and manage the risks that may affect the delivery of its objectives. Based in the Finance Directorate, the team aligns with the Government Risk Profession and the wider Government Finance Function.
As a senior member of the team, you will contribute to delivering high‑quality insight and analysis on the Department’s risk landscape. You will provide expert advice and practical guidance on risk management, develop learning materials to build capability across the organisation, and prepare consolidated risk information for senior governance forums such as the Risk Sub‑Committee and the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee.
The team maintains strong Risk Business Partner relationships across departmental portfolios and Arm’s Length Bodies and collaborates closely with Internal Audit and other assurance providers to support effective combined assurance. You will also work with Digital colleagues to enhance the Department’s risk management information system (RMIS).

Job description

• The successful candidate will:
  • Contribute to the development and embedding of the Department’s Risk Management Framework, ensuring it is complete, effective and aligned with the Orange Book.
  • Provide Risk Business Partnering to selected portfolios and ALBs, supporting senior stakeholders and governance forums in assessing complex strategic risks and offering robust second‑line challenge, in order to ensure an informed view of the departmental risk landscape, emerging risks and cross-cutting themes.
  • Lead and continuously improve the delivery of risk reporting to Risk Sub-Committee, Audit & Risk Assurance Committee, Executive Team and other senior governance forums, ensuring management has the information required for risk‑aware decision‑making. This includes contributing to external reporting, such as the Annual Report & Accounts.
  • Support the development of a risk‑aware culture by promoting good risk management practice, delivering learning materials, facilitating workshops, and driving continuous improvement in the Department’s risk culture across the organisation.
  • Support implementation and ongoing improvement of the RMIS through effective engagement with Digital teams.
  • Represent the team in relevant forums and working groups, acting as a Risk Subject Matter Expert and advocating for strong risk management.
  • Build and sustain effective relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including Internal Audit and other assurance providers.

Person specification

• You will demonstrate:
  • Technical Experience: Previous experience in enterprise risk management, including designing and implementing risk management policies and frameworks, driving risk culture change, and influencing senior stakeholders. A professional risk qualification is expected, or a commitment to work towards one.
  • Communicating and Influencing: The ability to communicate clearly and accessibly, tailoring your style for different audiences including Executive leaders, Boards governance forums and a range of stakeholders both inside and outside of Government. You can explain complex issues simply, provide constructive challenge where appropriate, and support informed decision making.
  • Working Together: You are a collaborative team player who builds positive working relationships across the Department and wider government, comfortably operating in a virtual team environment.
  • Changing and Improving: A track record of identifying and delivering opportunities for improvement, and a commitment to continually strengthening departmental risk capability.
  • Managing Multiple Priorities: The ability to operate effectively in a complex environment, exercising sound judgement and to manage multiple workstreams concurrently.
  • Digital & Data Strengths: Experience using risk management information systems (or comparable), and an interest in using digital tools and data to improve risk insight and analysis.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,167, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £16,271 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Staff Benefits Scheme, Childcare Vouchers, and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Application and Selection
The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles:

Behaviours , Experience , Strengths , Technical

Stage 1: Sift

• Experience (lead Sift) : Describe your prior experience in enterprise risk management, the value your activities brought to your previous organisation, and any relevant qualifications you hold
• Behaviour: Changing and Improving
• Behaviour: Working Together

• Behaviour: Seeing The Big Picture

• Behaviour: Delivering at Pace

There is a 250-word limit per question.

When writing your application, remember:

• the assessor won’t be reading your answers sequentially

• do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your answers

• if talking about something in your first answer, make sure that you write the second answer as if you had not written the first (and so on!)

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors.

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the lead behaviour listed in the advert. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

If you run into any technical problems when applying through Be Applied (for example, trouble logging in or submitting your application), their support team can help. Please contact them at hello@beapplied.com.

Stage 2: Interview

• Behaviours: Communicating & Influencing, Changing & Improving and Working Together

• Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.

• Technical: Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.

• Strengths: The strength-based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.

Candidates will be asked to prepare a short presentation, further details will be provided on invitation to interview. The presentation will be assessed against experience and technical

Sift and Interview Dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 20/04/2026.

How We Recruit

Find out more about our recruitment processes here.

• Applying

• Sifting

• Interview

• Interview Results & Feedback

• Reserve List

• Near Miss

• Civil Service Grades

• We are a DCS, RIS & GPTWV employer

• Reasonable Adjustments

How to Apply

Find out everything you need to know before applying here.

You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly.

• Security Clearance Requirements

• Civil Service Nationality Requirements

• Right to Work

• Artificial Intelligence

• Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles

• CV Declaration

• Sponsorships

• Salary and Grade

• Existing Civil Servants

• Conflict of Interest

• Location and Flexible Working

• Fixed Term Contracts

• Internal Fraud Database - Internal Fraud Register

• Appeals and Complaints

• Conflict of Interest

Security Clearance Requirements

National Office:

London Office: + CTC

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Georgia Radburn
• Email : Georgia.Radburn@communities.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@communities.gov.uk

Further information

If you are unsure about any part of the process or require additional information about the post to enable you to progress your application, you should speak to the Resourcing team - recruitment@communities.gov.uk. Candidates can appeal at any stage of the recruitment process if they believe there has been:

a procedural irregularity

an infringement of the Civil Service equal opportunities policy

exceptional circumstances which were not notified to the interview panel which might have affected performance on the day.

It is important to note that these are appeals about the process not the decision. In the first instance, an appeal should be directed to the MHCLG Resourcing Hub at recruitment@communities.gov.uk.

If the MHCLG Resourcing Hub is unable to satisfactorily resolve your complaint, you may contact put your complaint in writing to the Civil Service Commission, Room G8,1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ or by email to: info@csc.gov.uk