Head of Operational Risk

About Tide

At Tide, we are building a finance & admin platform designed to save small businesses time and money. We provide our members with business accounts and related banking services, but also a comprehensive set of connected administrative solutions from invoicing to accounting.

Launched in 2017, Tide is now the leading business financial platform in the UK with 575,000 SME members (10% market share) and more than 250,000 SMEs in India. Headquartered in London, Tide has over 1,800 Tideans across the UK, Bulgaria, India, Serbia, and Germany. 

Tide is rapidly growing, expanding into new markets and always looking for passionate and driven people. Join us in our mission to empower small businesses and help them save time and money.

About the team 

The Risk & Compliance team is our second line of defence (2LOD) at Tide, overseeing risk and compliance across all our global markets. The team covers all risk classes, including information security risk, financial crime risk, conduct risk, and operational risk. It is highly collaborative, focused on fostering a strong culture of compliance, acting as business partners to our first line of defence (1LOD) colleagues, and providing expert and independent oversight.

The operational risk area within Risk & Compliance is the last risk class to be fully developed. This presents a significant opportunity to help shape how we manage operational risk at Tide, leveraging your experience and knowledge of industry best practices. The Head of Operational Risk reports directly to the Chief Risk Officer and is a key member of the Risk & Compliance management team.

About the role 

As the Head of Operational Risk, you will be the global second line of defence (2LOD) lead for this risk class, offering subject matter expertise, advice, and guidance to the business while overseeing first line of defence (1LOD) activities related to operational risk. This role is highly collaborative, involving close work with various 1LOD areas across the business, including engineering, operations, and the people team. You’ll also work with 2LOD risk class leads, quality assurance, enterprise risk management, regional heads of risk and compliance, 3LOD audit, and external stakeholders like our banking partners.

Some of the key responsibilities include: 

• Implement, and continuously refine the operational risk management framework, ensuring alignment with industry best practices and regulatory requirements
• Lead efforts to embed operational resilience across the organisation, ensuring critical business services can withstand and recover from disruptions, with a focus on regulatory compliance and industry standards
• Conduct comprehensive risk assessments, including product risk assessments, focusing on aspects such as technology, third-party dependencies, and develop actionable mitigation strategies
• Oversee incident response protocols, ensuring timely resolution, root cause analysis, and the implementation of preventive measures to enhance operational resilience
• Collaborate closely with engineering, Corporate IT and Information Security teams to manage risks associated with IT infrastructure, software development, and third-party technology providers
• Ensure operational risk practices meet regulatory expectations and prepare detailed reports and presentations for regulatory bodies and senior management
• Lead the evaluation and monitoring of third-party providers (vendors), ensuring their operational practices align with the organisation's risk tolerance and compliance requirements
• Enhance and regularly test business continuity and disaster recovery plans to minimise the impact of operational disruptions on critical business functions
• Collaborate with product, engineering, and compliance teams to integrate risk management practices into the product development lifecycle, ensuring proactive risk identification and mitigation
• Develop and deliver operational risk and resilience training programmes to employees, fostering a culture of risk awareness and proactive management
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives within the operational risk function by leveraging emerging technologies and methodologies (e.g., AI, machine learning) to enhance risk identification, assessment, and mitigation processes
• Form and lead the Operational Risk Working Group, reporting to the Risk & Compliance Committee, and preparing reports for the board
• Establish, expand, and monitor Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) and risk appetite for operational risk
• Manage our wind-down and exit plans with key product partners
• Oversee reconciliation and safeguarding processes
• Provide guidance and 2LOD oversight to the People and Culture team on employee screening

What we are looking for:

We are seeking an experienced Head of Operational Risk who has a strong background in a global technology company. The ideal candidate will have:

• At least 10 years of experience in Operational Risk
• Experience in a technology company and regulated financial services
• Experience implementing Operational Resilience / DORA in your organisation
• A strong understanding of operational risks in a fast-growing, global technology company
• Second line of defence (2LOD) experience, including setting risk appetite, policies, and conducting oversight
• ​​In-depth knowledge of regulatory requirements related to operational risk, including operational resilience frameworks where applicable
• An understanding of regulatory expectations for operational risk management in the markets where we operate, particularly the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and ideally also Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and European regulators

What you’ll get in return:

• A competitive salary
• Share options
• Flexible working options
• 25 days holiday with the option to take 5 extra days of unpaid leave per year
• 3 days paid volunteering or L&D time off per year
• Personal L&D budget of £1,000 professional L&D budget per year 
• Group Life Insurance, Vitality Health and Dental Insurance
• Spacious brand-new office by Old Street station, in London, with an all-day snacks bar
• Enhanced family-friendly leave
• Access to a global mental wellbeing platform that provides 1:1 video therapy sessions with accredited therapists and unlimited chat therapy sessions
• Work from home budget
• Team socials - virtual and physical events
• Sabbatical leave

Tidean Ways of Working 

At Tide, we champion a flexible workplace model that supports both in-person and remote work to cater to the specific needs of our different teams. 

While remote work is supported, we believe in the power of face-to-face interactions to foster team spirit and collaboration. Our offices are designed as hubs for innovation and team-building, where we encourage regular in-person gatherings to foster a strong sense of community. 

Tide is a place for everyone

At Tide, we believe that we can only succeed if we let our differences enrich our culture. Our Tideans come from a variety of backgrounds and experience levels. We consider everyone irrespective of their ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, family or parental status, national origin, veteran, neurodiversity or differently-abled status. We celebrate diversity in our workforce as a cornerstone of our success. Our commitment to a broad spectrum of ideas and backgrounds is what enables us to build products that resonate with our members’ diverse needs and lives. 

We are One Team and foster a transparent and inclusive environment, where everyone’s voice is heard.