Head of Assurance

Job content

The job in a nutshell

The Head Assurance will hold a leadership role within Travelodge and be responsible for leading our approach to translating risk management into an effective assurance framework across the business. The role will report to the Director of Risk & Assurance and will provide regular communication and updates to the Safety, Security and Risk committee of the business. You will be tasked with ensuring that Travelodge is fully compliant with all relevant legislation, regulation and codes of conduct and be responsible for proactively driving and ensuring delivery of the businesses continuous compliance and regulatory commitments.

What you’ll be doing:

• Plan and implement an effective assurance programme across the wider business using both internal and external resources.
• Work closely with the Risk Manager and wider business to align control testing to current and new risks the business faces.
• Be aware and prepare for changes in relevant legislation or other regulatory amendments.
• Design and conduct risk based audits, reviewing the effectiveness of internal controls and compliance to policies and procedures both at hotels and centrally.
• Design and conduct audit procedures to verify that controls are operating through testing.
• Identify control gaps and opportunities for improvement.
• Report to the Safety, Security & Risk committee on findings and recommendations.
• Contribute, as appropriate, in the year-end financial audit with the external auditors or other bodies.
• Provide recommendations on internal controls and participate in enhancing internal audit standards and practices.
• Manage a team of 5, with two direct reports.

Stakeholders

Internal:

• Chief Financial Officer
• Chief Operating Officer and other members of the wider Operating Board
• UK Operations Director
• Director of Risk & Assurance
• Risk and Assurance Manager
• Finance teams

Budget & Leadership

The role will manage a team of 5;

• 1x Internal Assurance manager
• 3x Internal Auditors
• 1x Loss Prevention Analyst

The roll will hold budget accountability for external suppliers who support within the assurance framework

What we’ll expect from you

Essential:

• Qualified accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA) or auditors (IIA) with experience in leading an assurance function in large private companies.
• Strong skills in relationship building, problem solving, and timely problem escalation.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent time management and organisational skills.
• Detail oriented but able to quickly grasp the big picture.
• Be willing to travel and stay away from home as necessary.

Desirable:

• Proven multi-site experience preferably in a retail / hospitality company.
• Experience of working within SOX environments.

I care about people

• I treat everyone in a way I would like to be treated
• I am easy to work with
• I have a can do attitude
• I care about the impact my work has on others

I pay attention to detail

• I do the little things that make a difference to our customers
• I work to brand standards
• I treat Travelodge time, equipment and stock as if it were my own

I drive for results

• I hit targets in my role and work at the right pace
• I take ownership of problems and try to fix them fast
• I look for ways to avoid future problems
• I look for ways to promote Travelodge

What you can expect from us

Culture

At Travelodge, we are warm, straightforward and optimistic. We have a big footprint in the UK, but still a small company feel and you can expect quality and value to be built in to everything we do. You’ll have the support of a close network of colleagues and managers, and every day is different here! We want you to bring your personality to work and we love our diversity.

Reward and recognition

It’s not just our customers we want to wake up with a smile on their face. As well as a competitive salary, being part of our hotel support centre means great holiday entitlements, pension contribution deals, being part of our bonus scheme, and a Thanks Card giving generous room and food discounts as well as friends and family rates.

Career and development

We want you to develop further with us at Travelodge and we’ll provide you a development plan to help you reach your goals. You can expect to have a full induction and training relevant to your role. We advertise all our vacancies internally, so you’ll have the opportunity to really develop your career with Travelodge.