Full Time Permanent position
Hybrid role based in our City Centre offices

What we offer

We have embraced a hybrid working model for most of our positions, which means that you can enjoy a balanced approach of working from home for part of the week and working from the office for the remainder of the week.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including competitive salaries and bonuses, robust Learning and Development support, excellent Defined Contribution pension and comprehensive Wellbeing initiatives and support to name but a few.

Further details on our benefits package can be accessed here Benefits (life-careers.com)

Company Values

At Irish Life, our purpose is to help people build better futures. Our company values shape everything we do and underpin our vision of being the driving force behind Ireland’s financial, physical, and mental well-being.

We believe in doing the right thing—acting with integrity and making fair, responsible decisions. We aim high, setting ambitious goals and find better ways to innovate and improve. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we are dedicated to understanding their needs and exceeding their expectations. Achieving this is only possible when we work best together—in a supportive, collaborative environment where every idea and contribution is valued.

Role Overview

The purpose of this role is to design, lead and continuously strengthen the governance and compliance framework for advice and sales activity across both Brokerage and Financial Planning within Advice Solutions.You will ensure that our advice and distribution models remain safe, sustainable and aligned to evolving Irish, EU and global regulatory expectations, whilst enabling the business to deliver on its strategic and commercial objectives. You will shape policy, standards and ways of working, provide expert counsel to senior Distribution leadership, and lead cross‑functional initiatives that improve risk management, operational efficiency and business integrity.

Team Background

This role is across all distribution channels in Advice Solutions and covers both Brokerage and Financial Planning. The role will report to the Director of Financial Planning. This is a senior first‑line leadership role that sets the direction for how Advice Solutions manages sales and advice risk, oversees adviser remuneration frameworks, and embeds high governance standards in day‑to‑day practice. As Head of Advice and Sales Governance you will lead and inspire governance and compliance teams spanning both Brokerage and Financial Planning, driving cultural change, developing talent and ensuring our frameworks, controls and training remain fit for a complex and fast‑changing regulatory environment.

More specific responsibilities will include

As Head of Advice and Sales Governance, you will be involved in:

Delivering a strong Governance framework and first‑line oversight:
- Establish, implement and continuously improve a robust Sales Governance Framework covering advice and sales activities across Financial Planning and Brokerage.
- Provide direct first line oversight of sales governance and compliance, ensuring frameworks, controls and processes are consistently applied across both channels.
- Identify, assess and mitigate sales and advice risks, drafting and maintaining governance policies and standards to reflect regulatory developments and business needs.

Regulatory, risk and policy leadership

- Lead out on advice risk governance, including the design and oversight of compliance frameworks and associated resource allocation.
- Act as primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders on sales and advice governance matters, including regulators, auditors, second and third line functions and Board‑level stakeholders.
- Oversee regulatory incident response, including breaches, notifications and remediation activity, ensuring timely, well‑governed resolution and learning.

Strategic counsel and business partnering

- Provide counsel and support to Senior Distribution leadership in delivering divisional risk, compliance and governance objectives.
- Sit on the Financial Planning leadership team and contribute to strategic decision‑making on the evolving role of advice, ensuring governance and regulatory considerations are fully embedded.
- Provide consultancy support to Brokerage leadership to ensure Irish Life remains a thought leader in compliance and regulatory support across its intermediary franchise.

Adviser remuneration and commercial integrity

- Oversee adviser remuneration frameworks and ensure compliance with relevant regulatory guidelines, with ultimate reporting to the Board as required.
- Balance robust governance with support for commercial objectives, ensuring that controls strengthen – rather than inhibit – sustainable growth and customer outcomes.

Training, culture and continuous improvement

- Lead training and awareness initiatives on best practice in sales and advice governance, building a strong risk and compliance culture across Financial Planning and Brokerage.
- Drive cross‑functional continuous improvement initiatives, including process automation and the adoption of emerging technologies to enhance governance effectiveness and efficiency.
- Champion cultural change and foster a high‑performance environment within governance and compliance teams, with a strong focus on talent development and succession.

What you will help us to achieve

The ideal candidate will have / be:

Proven senior leadership experience in financial services, with significant time spent in governance, compliance, risk or sales oversight roles, ideally linked to advice or distribution businesses.
Deep expertise in Irish and EU regulatory frameworks relevant to advice and sales (e.g. CPC, EIOPA, IDD, GDPR), with a strong track record of leading compliance or governance functions.
Strong governance, risk management and policy development skills, with the ability to translate complex regulation into practical business solutions that support strategic objectives.
Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with experience engaging regulators, auditors and cross‑functional senior leaders on sensitive and complex issues.
Experience leading teams, developing talent and driving cultural change in a high‑performance, highly regulated environment.
Professional qualifications in compliance, risk or financial services are highly desirable.

Fitness & Probity

This role is a ‘controlled function’ as defined by the Central Bank Reform Act 2010 Regulations 2011. Any appointment will be conditional on the company being satisfied that the appointee meets the requirements as set out in the Fitness and Probity standards issued by the Central Bank. This requires the company to complete prescribed due diligence to assess the appointee’s fitness and probity. Further details on this due diligence process are available from ILFS Human Resources.

About us

Irish Life is one of Ireland’s largest financial institutions with a presence across a range of financial services markets. We are one of Ireland’s leading financial services groups with over 1.4 million customers. For over 80 years, we’ve been helping people to look after their life insurance, pension and investment needs, and more recently their health insurance.

It is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco and a member of the Power Financial Corporation group of companies.

We are proud of our culture of developing and supporting the growth and professional development of our people. The focus has resulted in a team of top talent with high standards, positioning us at the forefront of our industry.

The company reserves the right to draw up a shortlist as part of the selection process. Where Agency assistance is required the Irish Life Recruitment Team will engage directly with suppliers. Unsolicited CVs / profiles supplied to Irish Life by Recruitment Agencies will not be accepted for this role.

Irish Life is proud to be an Equal Opportunities employer. We have created an environment of inclusion and growth to help people achieve their potential, to ensure they can bring their whole selves to work and to feel valued. We celebrate diversity of thought and perspective and want all of our employees to feel valued, respected and supported. We have built a culture that promotes equality and inclusion for all of our current and future employees and strive to ensure that our behaviours, processes and practices are aligned to this culture.

If you require any accommodations during the recruitment process please contact lifecareers@irishlife.ie and we will be delighted to ensure you are fully supported to be your best.

Irish Life Financial Services supports Equal Opportunity.

Irish Life Assurance plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Head of Advice & Sales Governance (Financial Planning & Brokerage)

Benefits

Job Description