Chair of the Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee, Non-Executive Director

Chair of the Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee, Non-Executive Director

Contract term: 2 years, time commitment c.30 days per annum

Shaping the future of MI5
MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats like terrorism and attempts by states to harm the UK, its people and way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing and assessing intelligence, and then work with a range of partners, including MI6 and GCHQ to disrupt these threats. Through our protective security arm, we provide advice and guidance to government, businesses and other organisations about how to keep themselves safe. A role in MI5 means you'll do unique and challenging work in a supportive and encouraging environment, making a real difference to UK national security.

A role as a Non-Executive Director at MI5 will give you unique insight into the world of national security, and a chance to help shape the success and future of the UK's domestic intelligence service.

The role
We're seeking an experienced senior leader with board-level experience and a passion for making a difference to the lives of people in the UK to join our Management Board, with specific responsibility as Chair of MI5's Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee (ARAC). You will help the executive management team fulfil their responsibilities for risk, control and governance. You'll also provide an independent perspective and ensure we operate within MI5's risk management framework.

The time commitment for this role is approximately 30 days each year, to include attendance at Management Board, ARAC and Pension Board, plus reading time. Before you apply, please ensure there are no conflicts of interest, including other roles in your portfolio, or national security conflicts.

The successful applicant will step into this role at a time of significant change and transformation. You will join MI5 as it works to meet rising challenges presented by those who mean the UK harm - and as it makes major shifts to seize the opportunities and manage the risks of the digital age, including an increasing need to engage with the private sector, both to build future capabilities and to protect it.

This role will also Chair MI5's Pension Board. You will work closely with Board members and the scheme managers to ensure delivery and fulfilment of governance, financial management and regulatory responsibilities, as well as efficiency standards required of public bodies.

Key responsibilities are:

1. To Chair the ARAC and provide reports and updates from these to the Management Board to support the Board and Director General in their responsibilities for risk, control and governance.
2. To ensure the Management Board is operating within the risk appetite and risk management framework agreed by the Board.

Broader NED responsibilities include:

1. Actively participate in Management Board Committees and sub-committees, supporting and chairing where required.
2. Providing an internal and independent view on the running of the business, including executive performance, ensuring high levels of appropriate accountability and governance best practice.
3. Providing independent counsel to the Director General, acting as a trusted sounding board.
4. Providing valued input and contribution to Board meetings, and constructive independent challenge to the thinking and decision-making of the Management Board.
5. Ensuring the effective implementation of Board and Committee decisions by the Director General and leadership team.
6. Advising and support other members of the department on defined topics, and support, mentor, and coach directors as requested.
7. Regularly update own skills, knowledge, and familiarity with the business, risks to the business, and regulatory environment.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria
We are seeking direct and recent experience of:

1. Audit and Risk as a committee member or chair.
2. Financial, risk and performance management, approving and scrutinising the allocation of resources to achieve plans using clear, consistent, comparable performance information at Board-level.
3. Effective governance in global/complex organisations in the private, public or voluntary sectors, with main board-level experience as an executive or non-executive.
4. Using strong communications skills, including the ability to offer feedback in a constructive, straightforward and open manner.
5. Risk management: significant experience of assessing and managing risks, including high risk and high value.
6. An understanding of the wider environment in which MI5 operates, including its current strategic and organisational challenges, as well as the wider challenges faced by the public sector.
7. An engaging and collaborative working style which is challenging and constructive, including the ability to contribute and inspire confidence with a wide range of stakeholders.
8. Supporting, mentoring and coaching senior leaders and the delivery of organisational culture change.

Desirable experience:

1. Operating as a Non-Executive in a large and complex organisation.
2. Operating in a political environment with complex operational challenges and multiple collaborative dependencies.
3. Working directly with central government and in a large-scale regulatory environment.
4. Leading and embedding system wide technological change across the whole of a global/complex organisation.

Skills and Qualities
The successful applicant will:

1. Hold a professional qualification in financial and risk management, or demonstrable relevant board level experience.
2. Demonstrate the breadth of vision, and communications skills to both absorb complex issues quickly and offer clear and insightful contributions to strategic discussions.
3. Bring a truly independent perspective and original input to board meetings, with demonstrable experience of holding executive teams to account and offering constructive challenge to strategy, process and practice at a high level.
4. Be motivated to act in the public interest to make a meaningful contribution to the governance of an organisation of critical national importance.
5. Be a calm and considered listener, with an open approach, good emotional intelligence, and the ability to develop effective relationships.
6. Be enthusiastic, inquisitive and robust, committed to pursuing and exploring all issues relevant to the business and governance of the organisation.

You will be expected to:

1. Attend, in person, the MI5 Management Board, Pension Board, occasional offsite meetings and ARAC meetings. This will include preparation / reading time, and on occasion, pre-briefs, to ensure the necessary background and knowledge for full participation in Board activities. Additional attendance may be required at year end for Annual Report and Accounts review.
2. Allocate sufficient time to discharging the key responsibilities of the role.
3. Complete all mandatory training.
4. Regularly update and refresh your skills, knowledge, and familiarity with MI5's business, the risks it runs, and the legal framework and ethics with which it must comply.
5. Have a high degree of integrity and impartiality, avoiding conflicts of interest and be able to hold Developed Vetting.
6. Adhere to, and promote, MI5 values and behaviours.
7. Undertake duties in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Conduct for Board Members.

Key terms:
Time commitment: Approximately 30 days a year, with attendance and preparation for 9 board meetings, an annual strategic awayday, plus 4 audit and risk committees. Plus, additional attendance at the end of year for the annual report and accounts review. (Each meeting will require a commitment to preparation time, potentially up to half a day, which could include on-site pre-briefs to fully prepare Board members).

Equal Opportunities
At MI5 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

We're Disability Confident
MI5 are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP's Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a person-to-person interview to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. This is our 'Offer of Interview' (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are:

1. Meeting the eligibility criteria.
2. Meeting the qualification criteria.
3. Demonstrating the skills referenced for the role at the CV and covering letter sift.

There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best, see our website for information on reasonable adjustments here for what we can offer.

What to Expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

1. Application sift, looking at your motivation for the role and the organisation.
2. If successful, you will receive an invitation to attend a final interview.
3. If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment.

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Before You Apply
To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here.

This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It's something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here.

Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can't take any recreational drugs and you'll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.

Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application with us more securely.

The role is based in London, so you'll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application.

Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.

Right to Withdraw Statement
Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.