Head of Operational Resilience

Job Introduction

** At Saga we’re radically flexible which means our colleagues have total autonomy over where they work – home, hybrid or hub. This role has a hybrid element which means our team come together at least once a month when we need to collaborate.

Our people are everything to us. The way they deliver exceptional experiences every day for our customers, for their colleagues. The way they own what they do. Their 'Why's it like that?' curiosity. How they always think of others and work together to get things done. For us, for you, make do will never do. Good enough? Not even close. Come and do the best work of your life alongside lovely colleagues. Come to Saga. 

And right now, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and embedding an operational resilience assurance framework within the Enterprise function.

Role Responsibility

• Support the Internal Audit & Assurance Director and CIO in ensuring that matters of operational resilience are fully addressed across the enterprise function and link into the programmes within the individual business units
• Working with relevant Execs, provide OR expertise to assist with the development and maintenance of an inventory of important/critical services/transversal processes and the resilience requirements of these services
• Identify the infrastructure (people, premises, technology, 3rd parties) upon which these services depend and ensure that inventories exist in which these dependencies are recorded. 
• Ensure the service resilience requirements are formally accepted by the in-house owners (i.e., accountable execs/managers) of the infrastructure services and assets upon which service depends.
• Support a periodic attestation process from the executive owners of operational resilience/business continuity from each of the business units to confirm the proven adequacy of their operational resilience/business continuity plans
• Organise and co-ordinate periodic testing of plans in a manner that simulates plausible failure scenarios and tests recovery/resilience
• Attend and contribute to meetings to co-ordinate Saga’s response to incidents that have the potential to disrupt Important services. Maintain appropriate records of such meetings, including decisions and actions. Provide expert guidance to support the response.
• Maintain an expert understanding of all regulatory matters pertaining to operational resilience as relevant to regulated business units and provide guidance and assurance when required.
• Maintain active and frequent dialogue with all enterprise critical service owners to ensure operational resilience/business continuity remains an active consideration in their management of their functional areas.
• Ensure that operational resilience/business continuity requirements are understood and factored into all change programmes, and that re-validation of OR/BC plans is an embedded consideration in the on-boarding of new or changed infrastructure. Design and implement suitable controls in association with the relevant service owner      
• Ensure that all Enterprise OR/BC risks are suitably recorded in a managed risk register
• Respond to internal and external audit points related to OR/BC
• Develop and maintain suitable metrics to track OR/BC status. Incorporate these metrics into other reporting packs as appropriate
• As a member of the Audit & Assurance Leadership team, contribute as a senior leader to the wider agenda of Saga
• Advise the Internal Audit & Assurance Director and CIO on relevant Operational Risk matters, notably any emerging risks, any deterioration of risk position, any changes in regulatory expectations.
• Supporting the Saga plc CEO and Internal Audit & Assurance Director in delivery of the health and safety policy and provide assurance that employing company Directors will ensure health and safety is given suitable consideration and that board level decisions reflect the aims and objectives of the Policy.
• Initiate and oversee a Health and safety programme across the organisation with the support of colleagues and key stakeholders acting as the ‘Competent Person’ in line with HSE expectations.
• Manage health and safety risks at an enterprise level and supporting individual business units through guidance and assurance
• Conduct awareness and training activities with the business regarding business continuity, crisis management, and health & safety.   
• Using my knowledge and expertise to make sure the policies and processes I develop underpin delivery of business priorities, and are simple, relevant, and inspiring. 
• Continually looking for innovative ways to design and develop systems and controls which are based on the latest trends and research 

The Ideal Candidate

• Excellent knowledge across operational resilience, business continuity and health & safety.
• Knowledge across the following resilience disciplines: Business continuity, Incident and Crisis management, Technology Resilience, and supplier/vendor management
• Deep and sound knowledge of the financial regulatory environment
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written Can influence senior stakeholders.
• Financial sector / regulatory experience is an advantage, with a sound understanding of insurance operations and risk and control environments.

• Preferable to have a qualification from the British Compliance Institute or working towards one
• Need to either have working experience of or qualifications in safety risk management.

Our Saga Values:

• Precision Pace - Always owning and making things happen. 
• Empathy – Always aware of others. 
• Curiosity – Always asking why.
• Collaboration – Always one team, the Saga team!

Package Description

The standard benefits when you join Saga include: 

• Remote working available where possible

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays with the choice to buy a further 5 days annual leave per year 

• Free private medical insurance after 1 years' service 

• Workplace Pension 

• AXA Be Supported 

• A range of reductions and offers from leading retailers, travel groups and entertainment companies

About the Company

Having spent our first 30 years focused on travel, Saga launched Saga Magazine and developed home and motor insurance and financial services in the 1980s. Private medical and pet insurance followed in the 1990s, along with the launch of our own cruise ship operation. The strength of the Saga brand provides the Group with the ability to develop in-house or partner with suppliers to offer our customers and members highly differentiated, competitively priced products which meet their evolving needs.

Saga exists to help our customers and members lead the life they want to lead. To succeed in this, we know that the most important thing to do is to listen to our customers and members. At the heart of our business model is our drive to know more about our customers’ wants and needs so we are best placed to serve them.

Applying this approach over the past 70 years has enabled us to become the UK's specialist provider of products and services to people aged over 50 in the UK. The Saga brand has become one of the most recognised and trusted brands amongst UK consumers in this demographic and is recognised for its high quality products and exceptional standards of service. These include cruises and holidays, insurance, personal finance and the Saga Magazine.

When you join Saga you will see that we are committed to treating all employees fairly and to offering equal opportunities in all aspects of employment and advancement.

We value diversity not just because it is the right thing to do, but because diverse teams perform better. Creating a culture in which everyone feels welcome and offering equal opportunities in all aspects of employment and advancement is incredibly important to us. Fair consideration is given to applications from all applicants, including those with disabilities and those over who are over 50 as we are champions of age inclusivity.

We are an official Disability Confident Committed employer and ensure that our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible and we will make reasonable adjustments as required.

We are a member of the 30% Club and partner with Women Ahead which offers us a fantastic opportunity to take part in a leading, global, cross-company, leadership mentoring scheme to champion female talent.

We are a signatory of the Armed Services Covenant and have received a Silver Award from the Employer Recognition Scheme. 

To all recruitment agencies: Saga does not accept agency CVs unless specifically engaged on the role by the Talent Acquisition Team. Please do not forward CVs to our recruiters, employees or any other company location. Any engagement with employees or provision of CVs to employees within Saga where you have not engaged with the Talent Acquisition Team will be considered speculative and Saga will not be responsible for any fees related to CVs received in this unsolicited manner.

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Saga Group