Senior Risk Manager

Are you an accomplished Risk professional with proven experience navigating a regulated financial services environment? Are you looking for a high-impact role with an iconic British institution?

We are seeking a Senior Risk Manager to join our Financial Services team in a pivotal 2nd Line of Defence role. Supporting the Risk Lead and Deputy CRO, you will oversee the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Financial Services Risk Management Framework. Drawing on your deep background in regulated markets, you will provide robust independent challenge and expert guidance across product, operational, financial, regulatory, conduct, and emerging risks.

Acting as a key business enabler, you will foster a proactive risk culture and collaborate closely with value stream leaders to embed effective risk management into day-to-day decision-making. You will own the incident management process, strengthen governance, and ensure that all major business initiatives, operational resilience plans, and regulatory changes remain within the John Lewis Finance Board’s approved risk appetite.

By driving clear risk ownership and applying a pragmatic commercial lens, you will protect our reputation and help create and protect value across our Financial Services division.

Working pattern/flexible working: Within the Partnership, we embrace a blended hybrid model, allowing for a balance between remote working and office presence that respects both personal circumstances and operational requirements. Typically, our team meets at the office every Monday to foster connection, with additional attendance for essential face-to-face meetings.

Key Responsibilities

• Risk Oversight: Provide 2nd Line of Defence oversight and challenge across strategic, product, operational, financial, regulatory, conduct, and emerging risks.

• Risk Culture: Champion risk as a strategic business enabler by fostering a strong risk culture and promoting clear ownership of risk across Financial Services.

• Collaborative Partnership: Work with value stream leaders to strengthen risk management capabilities, support governance forums, and provide effective challenge to First Line activities.

• Standards & Frameworks: Ensure the ongoing development and embedding of risk standards, ensuring adherence to all elements of the Partnership Risk Management framework.

• Incident Management: Own the FS incident management process, designing its operation, monitoring compliance, and reporting on common themes and trends.

• Strategic Support: Support strategic initiatives, operational resilience, and regulatory change, ensuring risks remain within the John Lewis Finance Board’s approved risk appetite.

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• Demonstrable experience of risk management, regulation, and governance within a financial services organisation.

• Significant and demonstrable experience in reporting and analytics skills.

• Experience of working with Risk Management Information Systems (RMIS) and tools.

• Demonstrable experience of 2nd Line of Defence oversight within a financial services organisation or on large-scale strategic programmes.

• Proven relationship management skills, with the ability to build trust with senior leaders and adapt your style to their experience and seniority.

• Resilient and agile thinker, comfortable with ambiguity and skilled at turning complex analysis into valuable commercial insight.

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.  

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.   

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. 

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. 

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.  

Important points to note:  

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.  

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.