Head of Risk

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Job Description

Summary

At M&S, we're transforming for the future. This is your opportunity to shape risk strategy at the heart of a business undergoing significant change, influencing decisions that drive resilience and sustainable growth. The Risk function at M&S plays a critical role in safeguarding the business, providing forward-looking insight, and enabling sustainable growth during a period of significant transformation.

As Head of Risk, you will lead the design and delivery of M&S's Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework, drive risk culture and maturity across the organisation, and provide trusted insight to senior stakeholders, including the Executive Committee, Board, and Audit & Risk Committee. This is a highly visible and influential leadership role, ensuring risk is understood, well-managed, and embedded in strategic and operational decision-making.

To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected.

What you'll do

Your key accountabilities will include

• Risk Appetite & Tolerance: Define, implement and maintain the organisation's risk appetite framework, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and decision-making processes.
• Integration Across Functions: Collaborate closely with Internal Audit, Compliance, Finance and Legal to ensure a holistic approach to risk management across the organisation.
• Metrics & KRIs: Develop and maintain key risk indicators and dashboards to monitor risk exposure and performance, enabling proactive risk management.
• External Environment & Emerging Risks: Conduct horizon scanning to identify and assess emerging risks, including ESG, geopolitical and macroeconomic factors, and integrate these into risk planning
• Stakeholder Engagement: Act as a trusted advisor to the Board, Executive Committee, and senior leadership, building strong relationships and influencing decision-making.
• Team Leadership: Manage and develop the Risk team, fostering a collaborative, high-performing, and inclusive environment..

Who you are

Your skills and experience will include

• Professional Qualification: Risk, finance, or audit (e.g., ACA, ACCA, IIA, IRM or equivalent).
• ERM Expertise: Proven experience in enterprise risk management, including frameworks, risk appetite development, and embedding risk into strategy and operations.
• Leadership Experience: Significant senior-level experience in risk, audit, or assurance disciplines (typically 8+ years PQE or equivalent).
• Governance & Reporting: Strong knowledge of risk governance, internal control frameworks, and regulatory expectations, with experience presenting high-quality risk reporting to Boards or Audit & Risk Committees.
• Industry & Transformation Exposure: Background in complex, multi-channel or retail environments preferred; experience in major transformation programmes highly desirable.

What's in it for you

Being a part of M&S is exactly that - playing your part to bring the magic of M&S to our customers every day. We're an inclusive, dynamic, exciting, and ever evolving business built on doing the right thing and bringing exceptional quality, value, service to every customer, whenever, wherever and however they want to shop with us.

Here are some of the benefits we offer that make working for M&S just that little bit more special...

• After completing your probationary period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
• Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days!
• Discretionary bonus schemes awarded based on how you achieve your personal objectives and our performance as a business.
• A generous Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and Life Assurance.
• A dedicated welcome to our teams with a tailored induction and a wide range of training programmes to develop your skills.
• Amazing perks and discounts via our M&S Choices portal to maximise your financial and personal wellbeing.
• Industry-leading parental, adoption and neonatal policies, providing support and flexibility for your family.
• Access to a fantastic range of wellbeing support for all colleagues including access to our 24/7 Virtual GP and PAM Assist to support you and your family.
• A charity volunteer day to support a charity or cause you're passionate about through a dedicated day away from work.

Everyone's welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We're disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We're transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.

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