Finance Risk & Controls Lead

Life & Pensions Client | 6-Month Contract | UK Remote / Home-Based Day Rate: Competitive

Our Life & Pensions client is seeking an experienced Finance Risk & Controls Lead to join their Finance function on an initial 6-month contract. This is a high-profile role offering the opportunity to shape and strengthen the finance risk and control environment across a large-scale financial services organisation.

Working closely with senior finance leadership, you will provide expert oversight and challenge across a broad range of finance processes, helping ensure that financial and non-financial risks are effectively identified, assessed, managed, and controlled.

The Role

As the Finance Risk & Controls Lead, you will take ownership of risk and control oversight across key finance processes, including:

• Financial reporting
• Expense management
• Commercial finance activities
• Technical accounting processes
• End-to-end finance controls frameworks

You will act as a trusted business partner to Heads of Finance and senior stakeholders, providing independent challenge and support to ensure risks are appropriately managed and controls operate effectively.

This role requires a blend of finance expertise, risk management knowledge, stakeholder engagement, and the ability to drive practical improvements across complex, cross-functional processes.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide oversight and challenge across finance risks and controls within assigned business areas.
• Assess the effectiveness of existing control frameworks and identify opportunities for enhancement.
• Partner with senior finance stakeholders to ensure risks are understood, monitored, and appropriately mitigated.
• Review end-to-end finance processes to identify control gaps and improvement opportunities.
• Support risk assessments, control testing, remediation activities, and governance reporting.
• Promote a strong risk and control culture across Finance.
• Deliver clear and actionable recommendations to improve control effectiveness and operational resilience.
• Contribute to strategic initiatives that support long-term finance risk objectives.

Required Experience

We're interested in speaking with professionals who have:

• Strong knowledge of accounting and finance processes and the associated financial and operational risks.
• Previous experience within Risk, Controls, Internal Audit, External Audit, Finance Governance, or Operational Risk functions.
• Experience gained within Life & Pensions, Insurance, Wealth Management, or wider Financial Services environments.
• A proven ability to assess control effectiveness and drive process improvements across multiple stakeholder groups.
• Strong understanding of financial reporting controls and finance governance frameworks.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the confidence to influence and challenge senior leaders.
• The ability to work autonomously whilst managing multiple priorities and competing deadlines.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

Desirable

• Life & Pensions sector experience.
• Professional accounting qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).
• Risk or audit-related qualifications and/or significant relevant experience.
• Experience working within large, complex regulated organisations.