Head of Third Party Assurance - Risk

Our first line Enterprise Risk team is responsible for driving the risk and control agenda across AXA Health. You'll help drive a robust and resilient risk culture, deepening the capability of AXA Health to understand and manage its risk, particularly over third parties, whilst maintaining a strong and pervasive focus on positive business and customer outcomes. You'll lead the oversight of third parties and strengthening of AXA Health's control environment to ensure conduct and operational risks are managed. This will include co-ordinating and conducting audits and deep dives over third parties and existing controls, strengthening and developing processes and controls, analysing key management information (MI) and reporting findings AXA Health's Executive Committee. At AXA we work smart, empowering our people to balance their time between home and the office in a way that works best for them, their team and our customers. You'll work at least 40% of your week away from home, moving to the majority of your working week from September 2025. Away from home means either attendance at one of our office locations, visiting clients or attending industry events. We're also happy to consider flexible working arrangements, which you can discuss with Talent Acquisition. What you'll be doing:

• Co-ordinate an assurance plan, lead audits and deep dives across AXA Health.
• Provide responsive and agile support to AXA Health's Executive Committee on emerging risks, areas of concern and new third party strategic relationships.
• Mature the enterprise-wide controls assurance approach to deliver and continuously improve procedures, monitoring, reporting and governance processes.
• Provide advice and guidance on best practice processes, controls and documentation with a focus on strengthening, simplifying and automating.
• Lead root cause analysis to assess systemic issues, high rated risk incidents and trends in key risk indicators (KRIs).
• Provide recommendations for remediation approaches and enhancements to processes and control framework.
• Form strong stakeholder relationships ensuring consistent understanding of risk, control and conduct related matters.
• Drive engagement of committees and working groups and relevant senior management teams in third party risk management, controls development and assurance, using effective escalation when needed., We acknowledge and appreciate the exceptional efforts of our people in protecting what matters most to our customers. In exchange we offer a series of core and supporting benefits designed to empower our people to thrive both professionally and personally., We believe in hiring people who possess the appropriate skills and values that align with our vision. Our selection process is fair and equitable, ensuring that all candidates have an equal opportunity to join us. We are dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion, and we actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we take pride in treating our employees and potential hires with respect and without discrimination based on any Protected Characteristics., AXA UK are recognised as a Disability Confident Leader. We actively encourage applications from people who face barriers in the workplace due to a disability or long-term health condition. We participate in the Disability Confident 'Offer of Interview' scheme. This means a fair and proportionate number of candidates with long-term health conditions or disabilities who meet the essential criteria of a job, will be offered an interview.
• You'll need to show you meet the essential criteria as detailed in the job advert or job description
• You don't need to share the details of your long term health condition or disability for your application to be considered under this scheme
As part of your application, you'll be asked if you would like to 'opt in'. To ensure ease of access, every job advert lists a responsible Talent Acquisition contact, who'll be able to connect you with our Accessibility Concierge if you require any support. Screening & Conduct As a regulated financial services company, all successful candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks. Additionally, adherence to the Prudential Regulation Authority's (PRA) Insurance Conduct Standards and the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Conduct Rules will be required., This depends on the location of the role, and what works best for you and the interviewer. We'll give you all the information you need to prepare for whichever format's used for your interview.I'm struggling to connect to my online interview, what should I do? Don't worry, we know these things happen. Get in touch with the person who arranged your interview, or the Talent Acquisition contact. One of the team will be able to help get the interview started or re-arrange it for a different time.How do I get feedback on my interview? Whenever possible, we'll call and provide feedback by phone. Sometimes, we'll need to provide feedback by email.How can I prepare for my interview? We'll send a candidate preparation pack before the interview to help you prepare.


• Demonstratable expertise in risk and control, supervision, quality assurance, control, internal audit and compliance monitoring processes.
• Deep understanding (or willingness to build) of AXA's control and third-party oversight standards and policies.
• Experience of managing IT general controls and third-party assurance audits.
• In-depth understanding of relevant insurance and healthcare regulation and supervisory expectations for large, complex financial institutions.
• Proven stakeholder management and influencing skills, including executive level.
• Ability to engage teams on value of assurance activity. Influence buy-in of proposed solutions to issues.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, in particular ability to design and contribute to the content of key risk and control reporting.
• Commercial and pragmatic outlook, able to work at pace, respond quickly to change and remain delivery focussed.
As a precondition of employment for this role, you must be eligible and authorised to work in the United Kingdom.

At AXA Health, we help our members be the best version of themselves by providing access to health and wellbeing support for mind and body. We're transforming our business by developing easy, efficient, digital experiences for our customers. We're a collective of specialists passionate about helping our members flourish, whether that's individuals and families, small businesses or huge corporates., At AXA we have a culture of trust, respect and care, where everyone belongs. We have an ambition to become one of the most inspiring companies to work for, as such we're committed to supporting employee needs, providing meaningful career development, and celebrating differences. We all have a role to play in ensuring a working environment in which everyone, regardless of who they are, can reach their true potential., At AXA we're committed to offering a fair and inclusive experience to all candidates. You're encouraged to report, in good faith, any concerns of behaviour or processes believed to be inappropriate, unethical, or illegal. Should you wish to report any concerns, you can do this through by sending an email to speak-up@axa.com, AXA's dedicated hotline. This service is managed by an independent investigation team. Please note that this email address is not for dealing with job or application related queries. Read more

At AXA UK, we're appreciative of the people who work for us and our rewards package is reviewed regularly to reflect that. You can expect to receive:
• Competitive annual salary up to £70,000 dependent on experience
• Annual company & performance-based bonus
• Cash car allowance £5,200 per annum
• Contributory pension scheme (up to 12% employer contributions)
• Private health cover
• Life Assurance (up to 10 x annual salary)
• 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays
• Opportunity to buy up to 5 extra days leave or sell up to 5 days leave
• AXA employee discounts
• Gym benefits, When will I hear back from you after my interview?
We aim to provide feedback as soon as the interview process allows. The time period will vary depending on the role.How do I discuss the package I've been offered for a role? You can discuss the package with your Talent Acquisition contact at offer stage.Yay! I've got the role, what's next? We'll carry out a number of background checks before you start. This is known as 'screening'.Do you do any background checks? Yes. All financial services companies, including AXA, are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Being part of a regulated industry means we must check the background of all applicants before we confirm a job offer. Pre-employment screening is not just regulatory, it also gives us the confidence that our people are the right fit to protect what matters to customers, colleagues, and our business.
• Who is screened? Everyone, from first-jobbers to senior directors! Often, the higher up the career ladder you are, the more stringent the screening becomes.
• What is screened? Identity and address; qualifications; employment history; credit check; criminal record; directorships.
If you think anything may affect these checks, please tell us.What benefits or perks do you offer? At AXA, we appreciate the people who work for us and regularly review our rewards package to reflect that. The advert for the role you're interested in will detail what you can expect to receive, but you can see an overview of our benefits and perks on our Why Join Us page.Does AXA offer car allowance or a company car? This depends on the grade, role, and eligibility of the employee. Check the benefits listed on the ad for the role you're interested in or confirm with your recruitment contact.