Governance & Risk Lead
| Posting date: | 24 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £57,946 to £68,205 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 08 March 2026 |
| Location: | Blackpool |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 449677/2 |
Summary
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is one of the government’s largest public service departments with a sizeable annual budget, serving over 20 million citizens.
The estate spans 1.4 million square metres across 800+ sites and supports around 78,000 colleagues.
Our vision includes DWP colleagues, supply chain, partners and, most fundamentally, the customers the Department exists to serve. They are the reason for our existence.
We are responsible for the day-to-day operation of our vast Estate by managing a private sector supply chain that delivers essential services such as Security Guarding, Maintenance, Property and Leasehold Management, Construction, Cleaning and Facilities Management.
DWP Estates is not just about maintaining buildings - it’s about transformation. Our strategic goals include:
- Transitioning to a smaller, more affordable, and adaptable estate to meet future needs
- Investing in infrastructure through planned replacement works
- Embedding sustainability in line with Government Greening Commitments (GGCs)
- Delivering cost-effective services while maintaining high standards
- Creating a professional, best-in-class working culture across the Government Property profession
Our Estates strategy ambitions have been refreshed to take us through to 2030:
• OPTIMISE: Continue to transition to a more affordable and adaptable DWP estate that creates productive environments
• INVEST: Investment in an improved environment that better meets the needs of customers and colleagues and minimises service disruption
• SUPPORT the drive for sustainability throughout DWP
• DELIVER: Expertly deliver improving, cost-effective services for DWP
• THRIVE: Continue to develop a working culture for DWP Estates that is best in class across government
There is no better time to join the award winning DWP Estates team.
This critical role helps to ensure the continued success of the DWP Estates function by ensuring everything we do is looked at through a compliance and governance lens. You will need to be able to work at pace while insuring every element of risk, guidance, policy and our internal governance frameworks are met.
As a governance specialist you will not only be responsible for the maintaining, reviewing and developing of our standard governance frameworks but also for the development of frameworks to support various complex and high profile delivery projects. You will need to be an excellent communicator, able to utilise various mediums and confident communicating to a variety of audiences collaborating with stakeholders at all levels both internally and externally to DWP Estates.
Key accountabilities
- Provide Subject Matter Expert (SME) advice and guidance concerning all Governance and Risk related matters, implementing mitigation measures and effective controls.
- Support senior level governance meetings to ensure compliance with the Estates Governance Framework including but not limited to coordinating and undertaking the Secretariat role, set agenda, collate all reports and data for monthly Senior Leadership Team (SLT) Meetings as well as support for and undertaking other Secretariat roles as required.
- Manage the Estates Governance Framework, and Governance Themes within the Governance Structure ensuring they remain fit for purpose, allowing the team to share information, make decisions and accurately document the huge variety of activities it covers in an efficient arrangement.
- Continually review and improve the Estates Governance Framework and coordinate arrangements within and across the Estates Governance Themes to ensure they support the Estates Strategy and Operating Model to ensure VFM.
- Monitor the surrounding and adjacent Departmental Governance arrangements to ensure they are suitably and adequately aligned, benchmarking Estates Governance arrangements against other Departmental Governance arrangements.
- Support the development of integrated and highly effective Governance Frameworks including complex, and high-profile Delivery Programmes.
- Assure all governance related activity is compliant with related governance codes and standards and delivers to agreed performance levels and targets and is measured and reported within clearly defined milestones and deliverables to support the Estates Business Strategy.
- Oversee registered files process and corporate record boxes governed by the Information Management Policy, maintaining records with controlled access.
- Ensure all governance related documentation is correctly used and stored working in collaboration with data SME’s and stakeholders.
- Develop and maintain the Estates Risk Management process and SharePoint site as a best in class service with risk reports, data, and monitoring at the heart of all future activities.
- Lead the governance and risk management team and support the wider strategic and operational alignment of Governance and Control services including assurance, business continuity, quality control and associated compliance.
- Provide support from within the team to the Estates Design, Compliance and Sustainability (DC&S) Functional Management Office.
- Implement the use of latest technology and tools including AI where appropriate to deliver efficiencies and performance improvements across all resources.
- Develop high standards and regular monitoring as part of continuous review and driving improvements to promote effectiveness, with collaborative workshops engaging key stakeholders to raise awareness.
- Create a positive management culture by leading and demonstrating benefits to individuals and across the department, obtaining regular feedback and implementing improvements from lessons learned.
- Keep abreast of regulatory developments within and outside of the Authority as well as evolving and sharing best practices in governance across Government.
- Deputise for the Head of Governance and Control as necessary.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme