Job responsibilities
Job Purpose
NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is a unique Special Health Authority with over 4,000 colleagues, an Arms Length Body of the Department of Health. The NHSBSA is a forward thinking, innovative organisation. We help the NHS to run efficiently by delivering platforms and services to support the entire NHS Workforce, Primary Care, and millions of UK citizens.
We are responsible for providing a complex range of critical services to support the priorities for the NHS, Government and local heath economies. Our platforms, systems and services touch countless lives, facilitating the flow of around £100 billion in NHS funds annually and supporting over three million present, past and future NHS colleagues throughout their careers and beyond The NHSBSAs vision is to be the provider of national, at scale business services for the health and social care system, transforming and delivering these services to maximise efficiency to meet customer expectations. The NHSBSA provides platforms and services at scale and nationally, utilising leading-edge technology so that we deliver great taxpayer value and provide huge savings for the NHS which can be reinvested in frontline care.
The NHSBSA has an ambitious vision for the future and strong values that drive our commitment tohigh quality and efficient services delivered by compassionate and caring people. Our values of Collaborative, Adventurous, Reliable and Energetic (CARE) are at the heart of who we are, and we are proud these are at the heart of every role in our organisation.
Risk management is at the heart of NHSBSAs decision making, enabling the organisation to operate with confidence, resilience, and foresight. The postholder will act as Chief Risk Officer to provide strategic leadership for risk and integrated assurance, embedding frameworks and processes that safeguard services, strengthen organisational resilience, and support innovation and efficient delivery.
You will champion the integration of risk management and assurance across the organisation, shaping NHSBSAs risk culture and governance approach, and enhancing the maturity of the organisations risk capability. As a Senior Leader and member of the Leadership Team, you will define and deliver an ambitious strategy for risk and resilience, influencing the organisations strategic position within the broader health and care system and ensuring long-term sustainability, agility, and trust.
Job summary:
This role will provide strategic, technical and professional expertise to deliver a comprehensive and forward-looking Risk Management agenda. You will be responsible for setting and implementing the NHSBSAs enterprise-wide approach to risk, resilience and assurance, ensuring that the organisation anticipates, understands and effectively manages strategic, operational, financial and compliance risks. You will maximise the use of resources within your remit, set and achieve key performance indicators and break-even budgets, and ensure value is delivered through proportionate, well-designed controls and governance frameworks. Alongside this, you will identify and deliver significant improvements to the organisations risk maturity, embedding an integrated approach to risk that enhances decision-making, strengthens accountability and supports the achievement of NHSBSAs strategic objectives.
You will operate confidently in ambiguity, creating clarity where needed and shaping the organisations approach to risk management and assurance. You will define and refine the vision, scope and operating model for the function, embedding the frameworks and behaviours needed for a mature, enterprise-wide risk environment.
As a member of the NHSBSA Senior Leadership Team, you will play a key role in shaping the organisations culture and direction, maintaining world-class levels of engagement across your teams and influencing positive behaviours across the wider organisation. Leading a diverse and high-performing workforce, you will inspire, develop and empower colleagues to build capability in risk management and assurance, ensuring consistency, confidence and professionalism in how risk is understood and managed across all areas of the business. You will also foster strong, trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including regulators, auditors and system partners, to enhance transparency, confidence and collaboration.
As Chair of the Executive Risk Committee (ERC), you will oversee the organisations key risks, ensuring operations remain within the Board-approved Risk Appetite. Independent of the first line of defence, you will work closely with the Chief People Officer, CEO, Executive Directors, and wider leadership team to ensure that risks are well-understood, monitored, and managed. The postholder will report directly to the Chief People Officer, with a dotted reporting line to the CEO, and will also maintain an independent reporting line to the Chair of the Board Audit & Risk Management Committee (ARMC), thereby safeguarding independence. The post holder will use risk insights and analysis to provide direct assurance to the Executive and the Board, forming and communicating clear, evidence-based opinions on key strategic decisions at the highest levels of the organisation.
As the NHSBSAs Director responsible for the second line of defence, you will oversee the design and delivery of strategies, frameworks, and policies that uphold high standards of governance and compliance with government and NHS requirements. You will lead risk assurance activity, providing professional oversight and constructive challenge to strengthen control environments across all functions.
With a forward-thinking, commercially astute, and collaborative approach, you will define and deliver an ambitious strategy for risk management and assurance that enhances the organisations resilience, performance, and reputation. Acting with autonomy and integrity, you will make significant decisions to safeguard NHSBSAs governance, compliance, and long-term sustainability, ensuring that excellence in risk management is achieved and maintained.
In this role you are accountable for
Strategic Leadership
1. Shared accountability for supporting the overall organisation to achieve its vision and contribute to the development of the organisations strategic and annual business plans, leading and driving operational performance improvement across NHSBSA Services to deliver high-quality, cost-effective services.
2. Providing strategic leadership to a department of risk management professionals who provide risk consultancy, governance, and assurance, you will ensure the development and implementation of the departments strategy and associated business plans to enable the delivery of the NHSBSA strategy whilst supporting the Chief People Officer in the development of vision and strategic direction.
3. Responsibility for major policy interpretation, implementation and policy or service development, which impacts across the organisation.
4. Working in collaboration with colleagues from the wider organisation, you will develop robust internal performance management systems which enable NHSBSA to adhere to or exceed strategic plans, standards, and targets, developing a culture of performance management, improvement, and appraisal for excellent organisational performance.
5. Delivering NHS-wide benefits and savings through embedding Government Functional Standards in NHSBSA operations.
Risk & Assurance Leadership
6. This role will ensure strategic alignment of the organisations approach to risk, assurance and resilience and ensure a culture of accountability, transparency and continuous improvement is embedded. Youll champion proportionate and effective risk management that balances innovation with governance ensuring value for money and optimising resources while maintaining a strong compliance environment across all areas of service delivery
7. Shape and embed the organisations risk function, setting clear vision, standards and expectations, and establishing the structures, behaviours and capabilities needed for a mature and integrated risk environment
8. Define, implement and maintain the NHSBSAs enterprise risk management framework, ensuring compliance with NHS and UK Government standards. The postholder will ensure that appropriate governance structures, policies and procedures are in place to identify, assess and manage risk effectively, enabling informed decision-making and delivery of the organisations strategic objectives.
9. Continuously evolve the NHSBSAs Integrated Assurance Framework, ensuring that governance structures, policies, and tools remain fit for purpose and compliant with Government Functional Standards. Drive innovation and improvement in risk and assurance processes to enhance organisational resilience and accountability.
10. Embed an integrated approach to assurance across all directorates, overseeing the mapping and assessment of key controls and assurance mechanisms. Ensure that assurance activity is risk-based, proportionate, and delivers confidence in the organisations ability to meet strategic objectives.
11. Chair the Executive Risk Committee (ERC), ensuring the organisations key risks are monitored, including risk appetite, limit breaches, tolerances, and key risk indicators. Provide assurance to the Board, ensuring that risk exposure is understood, communicated, and actively managed.
12. Manage the monitoring and reporting of strategic and operational risk and assurance positions, ensuring that emerging risks and trends are identified, assessed and communicated promptly to the Executive team and Board. Youll ensure risk insights and analysis are used to drive better performance, enhance governance and inform strategic decision-making at the highest level.
