About the job

Job summary

Are you passionate about shaping the risk landscape and driving governance excellence? 

 

We are looking for a new colleague to join our team as the Business Manager – Governance and Risk, and be a key player in our success, contributing to strategic initiatives, shaping risk management, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. 

 

About us

 

Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) is an executive agency of the Scottish Government and responsible for assessing and paying student awards for Scottish domiciled students in Higher Education throughout the UK. We administer budgets of around £1.4 billion each year, making payments to both educational institutions and over 190,000 students a year. We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that is representative of the clients we serve. More information on SAAS can be found on our website: https://www.saas.gov.uk.

 

The Corporate Office within SAAS is the central hub of the agency, responsible for overseeing strategic decision-making, managing administrative functions, and ensuring compliance with governance and regulatory requirements. It provides support to key executives, coordinates corporate activities, and facilitates communication both internally and externally, all with the goal of achieving the agency’s overarching missions and objectives.

The purpose of this role is to support SAAS in all areas of governance, audit, and risk. The role will be responsible for the reporting and monitoring of risk, establishing and overseeing effective governance frameworks as well as tracking and implementing all audit recommendations.

Job description

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary contact for SAAS's governance, risk, and audit matters, ensuring effective communication and coordination.
• Collaborate with the Head of Risk and Governance to enhance and maintain SAAS's governance framework, fostering continuous development and adaptation to meet organizational needs.
• Lead and coordinate SAAS's risk management approach, actively monitoring and reporting on organizational risks. Develop a proactive and preventative risk management strategy for effective identification and mitigation.
• Manage all audit-related matters for SAAS, ensuring compliance with audit reports, tracking recommendations, and reporting progress.
• Contribute to SAAS's strategic aims and business plan, including involvement in ad hoc projects and providing general organizational support.
• Actively participate in the development and review of policies and resources supporting good governance. Ensure compliance with relevant legislation and manage associated risks. Stay informed about sector developments and liaise with stakeholders for regular updates.
• Collaborate with the Head of Risk and Governance to analyse complex performance data, identifying risks, benefits, and opportunities. Ensure SAAS's reporting systems accurately reflect actual circumstances.
• Undertake any reasonable and related tasks associated with the role, providing support to the Head of Risk and Governance in ad hoc assignments.

Person specification

1. Experience in developing, implementing and enhancing governance frameworks within an organisation.
2. Proven experience of developing and implementing effective risk management strategies.
3. Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to present your views persuasively to a wide range of stakeholders, including senior colleagues.
4. Excellent organisational skills with proven ability to plan and prioritise your work to meet challenging deadlines whilst delivering to consistently high standards. Demonstrating well-developed organisational & time management skills.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,196, Scottish Government contributes £9,502 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Provisional Interview Dates 

Sifting will take place W/C 8th January 2024.  Interview and assessment will follow on the W/C 22nd January 2024.
 

Please apply using link provided 

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.