Compliance Manager

Empowering organisations to achieve their highest potential.At ISOQAR, we draw on our experience, knowledge, and ambition to empower organisations to achieve their highest potential. As a UKAS-accredited certification body, we conduct audits against ISO standards and issue ISO certifications. Through a portfolio of progressive solutions, including ISO certification, training, and consultancy, we work with customers to strengthen their businesses, all delivered by our in-house experts. 
The Compliance Manager leads the effective operation and continuous improvement of ISOQAR’s compliance framework and management system, ensuring certification activities meet accreditation, regulatory and internal requirements.

Working closely with the Director of Risk & Compliance and senior stakeholders, you’ll lead internal assurance, accreditation assessments, corrective actions, competence and impartiality controls, while providing clear insight into compliance performance and emerging risks. You’ll also manage day-to-day compliance priorities and support the development of compliance capability across the business.

What that means day to day

Compliance Leadership & Governance

• Lead the day-to-day operation of ISOQAR’s compliance function in line with agreed priorities.
• Develop and manage the annual compliance plan, objectives and improvement priorities.
• Translate accreditation, regulatory and governance requirements into practical business controls.
• Provide expert advice and constructive challenge to senior technical and operational stakeholders.
• Identify and escalate significant or systemic compliance risks.
• Deputise for the Director of Risk & Compliance on agreed matters.
• Allocate and prioritise compliance activity across available resources. 

Management System & Regulatory Change

• Lead the maintenance and continuous improvement of ISOQAR’s management system.
• Ensure policies, procedures, governance arrangements and records remain controlled and compliant.
• Monitor changes to standards, accreditation requirements, legislation and mandatory documents.
• Lead impact assessments and oversee the delivery of resulting actions.
• Provide compliance oversight for new products, integrations and significant business-change projects. 

Internal Audit & Assurance

• Own and manage ISOQAR’s risk-based internal audit programme.
• Set audit priorities and scopes, ensuring appropriate independence and competence.
• Conduct or oversee complex and cross-functional audits and investigations.
• Review audit findings, root-cause analysis and corrective-action plans.
• Monitor significant actions through to effective closure.
• Identify systemic issues and report assurance outcomes and emerging risks to relevant governance forums. 

Accreditation Management

• Manage ISOQAR’s readiness for accreditation assessments.
• Coordinate assessments with technical and operational stakeholders.
• Ensure evidence submitted to accreditation bodies is accurate, controlled and appropriately approved.
• Lead responses to assessment findings and challenge inadequate corrective actions.
• Monitor findings through to formal acceptance and closure.
• Support engagement with UKAS and other accreditation or scheme-owning bodies. 

Competence Governance

• Oversee the design and implementation of ISOQAR’s competence framework.
• Ensure appropriate competence criteria are in place across relevant functions, schemes and technical areas.
• Oversee learning materials, assessments, approval records and tests of understanding.
• Ensure personnel authorisations are supported by objective and traceable evidence.
• Review significant or disputed competence decisions.
• Analyse competence and assurance data to identify learning needs and control improvements. 

Impartiality, Complaints & Investigations

• Oversee arrangements for identifying and managing threats to impartiality.
• Lead compliance and impartiality forums and monitor agreed actions.
• Lead or commission investigations into significant complaints, appeals, incidents and compliance concerns.
• Ensure investigations are independent, evidence-based and appropriately documented.
• Present findings and recommendations to authorised decision-makers.
• Identify recurring themes and ensure systemic risks are addressed.

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Develop meaningful compliance indicators, dashboards and reporting.
• Analyse trends, recurring issues, overdue actions and risk exposure.
• Prepare compliance and assurance information for management review and senior governance meetings.
• Use assurance data to identify and prioritise improvements.
• Monitor the effectiveness of completed actions and improvements.
• Support resource and capability planning for the compliance function. 

Stakeholder & People Management

• Build effective relationships across technical, operational, corporate and international teams.
• Provide coaching, guidance and clear expectations to colleagues undertaking compliance activities.
• Manage direct reports, including objectives, development and workload.
• Strengthen compliance capability across the wider business.
• Promote a culture where concerns are raised early and decisions are evidence-based.

What you’ll need to be successful

Essential

• Substantial relevant experience within an accredited certification body, accreditation environment, regulated assurance function or comparable governance role.
• Typically at least five years’ experience in compliance, quality, accreditation, certification or assurance.
• Experience leading a compliance, quality, accreditation or internal assurance programme.
• Strong practical knowledge of ISO/IEC 17021-1 and management-system certification.
• Experience coordinating accreditation assessments and responding to findings.
• Demonstrable experience managing an internal audit programme.
• Experience overseeing complex root-cause analysis, corrective actions and effectiveness reviews.
• Strong analytical, investigation, report-writing and compliance-reporting skills.
• Experience translating complex requirements into practical business controls.
• Credibility and confidence when advising and constructively challenging senior stakeholders.
• Strong professional judgement and the ability to make proportionate, risk-based decisions.
• Integrity, objectivity and a commitment to impartial and evidence-based decision-making.
• The ability to prioritise competing accreditation, operational and project demands.
• Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to lead through influence.
• Experience developing others and building compliance capability. 

Desirable

• Experience working directly with UKAS or another recognised accreditation body.
• Knowledge of ISO/IEC 17065, ISO/IEC 17029 or ISO 14065.
• ISO 9001 Lead Auditor qualification.
• Lead Auditor qualification in ISO 14001, ISO 45001 or ISO/IEC 27001.
• Experience managing certification-body competence arrangements.
• Experience handling complaints, appeals or formal investigations.
• Experience supporting integ