Senior Manager, Governance & Risk, OGC

About This Role

Purpose:

To assist the General Counsel to develop, implement and monitor:

1. an effective governance framework, policies, procedures and controls to ensure best practice governance within the DFSA; and
2. an effective Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework; and
3. as part of the Office of General Counsel (OGC) Division provide advice, guidance and support to the other Divisions within the DFSA on matters of governance and risk management.

Key Responsibilities:

Governance

• Design, implement and maintain a governance framework, policies, procedures and controls.
• Standardise policies, processes and oversight mechanisms across the DFSA.
• Establish clear escalation protocols, approval thresholds, delegations of authority and reporting mechanisms.
• Align governance and ERM frameworks, ensuring material risks are escalated and addressed.
• Proactively monitor the implementation and outcomes of the governance framework and identify areas for improvement in governance practices and inefficiencies, benchmarking against best practice.

Enterprise Risk Management

• Facilitate and coordinate the overall risk management approach by working closely with Associate Director, Risk to develop and implement an effective ERM framework and methodology for identifying and assessing risks across the DFSA.
• Identify, develop, implement and maintain suitable risk management tools to facilitate data collection and reporting of all operational and strategic risks across the DFSA.
• Monitor risk management activities to ensure that the framework is implemented effectively and risk mitigation action plans are being implemented.
• Contribute to the identification of opportunities for continuous improvement of policies, systems, processes and practices for effective risk management across the DFSA.
• Periodically review the DFSA’s risk management framework including the application of the Risk Tolerance Statement and risk management policies and make recommendations for improvement, as required.
• Assist in the education of staff in the identification and management of risks that are relevant to the DFSA and their respective divisions.
• Support and offer guidance to the risk coordinators in implementing the risk management framework.

Reports

• Take ownership of the Risk Dashboard and the ORM Risk Register and SURF Risk Register and drive timely completion for quarterly and annual reporting.
• Assist with the preparation of reports for the Risk Executive Committee and the Board Risk Committee.
• Carry out risk assurance work and report findings in a constructive and useful manner.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Bachelors’ degree in risk management, law, accounting, business or other related discipline.
• Relevant professional qualification is preferred.

Minimum Experience:

• 8 years’ experience in a financial services regulator, or senior governance or risk and compliance role with a relevant financial services organisation.
• This experience should preferably include responsibility for risk assurance, risk advisory and enterprise risk management implementation.
• Proven track record to coordinate or manage cross-departmental projects

Knowledge, Skills & Attributes:

• In-depth knowledge of governance frameworks, enterprise risk management (ERM), internal control environments and assurance practices within a regulated financial services context.
• Strong understanding of regulatory governance principles, risk tolerance frameworks, escalation mechanisms, delegations of authority and policy oversight.
• Proven experience in designing, implementing and maintaining organisation wide governance and ERM frameworks, including monitoring effectiveness and driving continuous improvement.
• Ability to interpret regulatory, legal and operational risk implications and translate them into practical governance and risk solutions across divisions.
• Demonstrates strong ownership for governance and risk outcomes, ensuring clear accountabilities, robust reporting and effective follow‑up on risk mitigation actions
• Ability to draft in English.
• Communicates complex governance and risk matters clearly and confidently, both in writing and verbally, to senior management, committees and cross functional stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and conceptual thinker with attention to detail and the ability to see interdependencies across governance, risk and organisational performance