Job Specifications
Job Description
To support the Technology Operations Director in managing and reporting the risks faced by Technology Services and Business teams in delivering AJ Bell’s systems and services. This role is especially focused on those risks relating to IT Operations practices, including Incident, Change, Problem, Asset and Vendor Management. This could suit someone who is established in a Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) role, or someone currently delivering well in a Service role and looking to move towards this field.
The Technology GRC Manager will work with the business and the wider Technology Services teams to ensure the appropriate controls, policies and procedures are in place. To protect AJ Bell in-line with industry best practice and regulatory legislation.
In addition, this role will be responsible for coordinating and responding to activities affiliated with external/internal IT audits as well as due diligence exercises requested by our external business partners and those we perform on our suppliers.
The key responsibilities of the role are:
Produce management reporting on the status of IT Operations and test the effectiveness of relevant controls —including Incident, Change, Problem, Supplier, and Asset Management—and prepare this information for presentation to Executives.
Act as deputy chair of the Technology Governance Forum, supporting the Technology Operations Director in driving continuous improvement to the forum.
Develop and deliver IT Operations policies aligned to industry recognised frameworks (primarily ITIL v3 and ISO 27001/2).
Develop, manage, and report on the exception to policy process.
Partner with Business and Technology teams to develop, track, and oversee remediation plans for identified risks and issues.
Support and enhance the evaluation of service posture for key Third Parties to ensure alignment with AJ Bell’s required standards.
Conduct risk profiling of AJ Bell’s information and technology assets.
Technical Skills:
Strong understanding of IT risk management tools and techniques.
Strong knowledge of best practices for IT Operations (e.g., ITIL).
Experience with IT standards and frameworks such as ITIL and ISO 27001.
Awareness and understanding of the IT risks facing modern Technology Departments, including the broader Information Security threat landscape.
Awareness of IT service management tools such as CMDBs, ITSM platforms (e.g., JIRA, ServiceNow), and monitoring tools (e.g., SolarWinds, Grafana).
Strong understanding of IT General Controls (ITGC) frameworks such as COBIT.
Awareness of Operational Risk Management processes, including Risk & Control Self-Assessment (RCSA).
Competence, Knowledge And Skills
Competence
Experience collaborating with both internal and external audit partners.
Broad experience across ITIL process areas, including Incident, Problem, Vendor, Change, and Asset Management.
Ideally, at least five years of experience within a financial services environment.
Knowledge & Skills
Self-motivated, professional, tenacious and enthusiastic.
Strong ownership of tasks, attention to detail and following through to conclusion.
Ability to challenge approach, strategy and implementation to ensure Information Security is consistently considered and improved.
Ability to work under own initiative to plan and communicate effectively with colleagues and customers.
Structured, self-starting, flexible and enjoy working in fast-paced environments
Effective communication skills, both written and verbal.
Ability to plan, organise and follow through on assigned tasks and complete with little or no prompting from management.
Ability to learn and develop new skills and take on new challenges
Excellent attention to detail.
About us:
AJ Bell is one of the fastest-growing investment platform businesses in the UK offering an award-winning range of solutions that caters for everyone, from professional financial advisers to DIY investors with little to no experience. We have over 644,000 customers using our award-winning platform propositions to manage assets totalling more than £103.3 billion. Our customers trust us with their investments, and by continuously striving to make investing easier, we aim to help even more people take control of their financial futures.
Having listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2018, AJ Bell is now a FTSE 250 company.
Headquartered in Manchester with offices in central London and Bristol, we now have over 1,500 employees and have been named one of the UK's 'Best 100 Companies to Work For’ for six consecutive years and in 2025 named a Great Place to Work®.
At AJ Bell you can expect a friendly working environment with a strong sense of teamwork, we have a great sense of pride in what we do, and this is reflected in our guiding principles.
What we offer:
Competitive starting salary
Starting holiday entitlement of 27, increasing up to 31 days with length of service and a holiday buy and sell scheme
About the Company
AJ Bell was formed in 1995 and is now one of the leading online investment platforms in the UK. We provide customers and advisers with wide investment choice, low-cost delivery, market leading online functionality and first class service to help them manage investment portfolios within SIPPs, ISAs and Dealing accounts. We are a fast growing and profitable company, with over 593,000 customers and PS90.4 billion of assets under administration. We are part of the FTSE 250 on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
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