Quality, Controls and Regulatory Specialist

Referment is working with a not-for-profit workplace pension provider that serves members and employers across the UK. The organisation operates in a regulated financial-services environment and reinvests profits to support customers rather than shareholders. This role sits in first-line operational assurance and combines control testing, quality assurance, calibration and regulatory support. You will provide evidence-based challenge across operational processes, identify weaknesses and emerging risks, and help control owners improve both control maturity and service quality. The Role

• Review the design of operational controls and test whether they operate effectively through structured sampling and evidence validation.
• Deliver transactional quality reviews across end-to-end processes, assessing whether controls and quality standards work as intended.
• Challenge existing control frameworks, investigate exceptions and perform root-cause analysis to recommend practical corrective action.
• Maintain disciplined assurance records, including test scripts, process walkthroughs, evidence, working papers and formal reports.
• Present clear findings and recommendations to colleagues and control owners, adapting complex information for different audiences.
• Facilitate calibration sessions so quality standards are interpreted and applied consistently.
• Support governance connected with pensions regulation, breach management, regulatory reporting and attestation activity.
• Track agreed remediation actions and work with operational teams to strengthen their controls. What We're Looking For
• Strong practical experience of control testing, including design-effectiveness and operating-effectiveness assessments.
• A background in controls, assurance, operational risk or quality within financial services.
• A sound understanding of risk and control frameworks, including the Three Lines Model.
• Experience producing robust assurance documentation and reports from objective testing and evidence.
• Strong analytical skills, attention to detail and experience conducting root-cause analysis.
• The judgement and communication skills to challenge constructively and explain findings to varied stakeholders.
• A well-organised approach to managing testing, actions and deadlines. Relevant Desirable Experience Knowledge of UK pensions, experience in a regulated pensions environment, or familiarity with The Pensions Regulator's expectations would be useful but is not essential. This could suit an operational risk, controls assurance, quality assurance or first-line compliance professional who enjoys combining detailed testing with practical improvement work.