The risk, compliance, audit and operational resilience market remains active, but increasingly capability-led. Regulatory pressure, transformation and cost discipline are shaping hiring decisions, with organisations looking beyond technical expertise to people who can influence, adapt and deliver practical outcomes.
Capability over volume
More applications do not necessarily mean easier hiring. At Manager, Senior Manager and Head of level, employers remain selective about the balance of technical capability, commercial judgement, stakeholder engagement and operational understanding.
Where demand is strongest: assurance, risk and controls; operational resilience and CPS 230; governance uplift and transformation; and risk and compliance advisory.
What makes the difference: practitioners who apply risk and control principles pragmatically, engage with the business and translate technical requirements into operational action.
Resilience: beyond the framework
Operational resilience is increasingly being treated as a strategic organisational capability, rather than simply a compliance exercise. Many organisations have moved beyond CPS 230 implementation and are concentrating on embedment, testing and sustainable delivery.
Practical priorities: business continuity transformation, scenario testing, incident and crisis management, third-party resilience, governance and reporting.
The shift in emphasis: less reliance on framework design alone, with greater attention to whether resilience capability works during real disruption.
“The focus has shifted to testing and sustainable operational capability.”
Candidates are assessing you, too
Restructures and organisational change continue to bring active candidates into the market, while more high-quality passive candidates are open to conversations. Sustained delivery pressure, leaner teams and rising expectations are influencing what people want from their next role.
Beyond remuneration: trusted leadership, clear communication, development opportunities and a collaborative culture are increasingly important.
Sustainable success: strong candidates want realistic priorities, aligned resources and achievable workloads, not simply less work.
Interviewing is now a two-way assessment. Candidates are scrutinising leadership, culture and long-term fit just as closely as employers assess capability.
The Practitioner’s Corner: Malka Bakes
Resilience has to work operationally, not just theoretically. Technology adoption, regulatory change, geopolitical uncertainty and evolving customer expectations are accelerating the need for practical risk management.
Know your critical operations: understand business dependencies, decision-making pathways, escalation points and how the organisation would respond during disruption.
Make governance practical: combine technical expertise with commercial understanding, operational engagement and the ability to influence business decisions.
The objective is not simply to understand risk. It is to strengthen decision-making, build organisational capability and improve business outcomes.
Capability belongs across the business
GRC cannot sit solely within specialist risk, compliance or legal teams. As AI, technology and third-party dependencies evolve, leaders and operational teams need the skills to recognise relevant risks, exercise sound judgement and understand accountability, evidence, escalation and control ownership.
The organisations best positioned to adapt are those that treat risk and resilience teams as strategic business partners, supported by leadership buy-in and genuine collaboration across the workforce.
