Group Compliance & Risk Manager - Education

Company Description

UP Education is a leading Australasian dual-sector education group, delivering foundation, vocational and higher education to domestic and international students. At UP Education, we are on a mission : to elevate and empower students to unlock their potential. Known for our agility, and responsiveness to the changing world.

What sets us apart from other tertiary providers? It is, quite simply, our people. Our teams come from a wide range of educational and cultural backgrounds and offer a broad diversity of professional experience. But we all have one thing in common – we are all firm believers in the power of education to transform lives and they all have the drive to make a significant impact in the communities with which they work.

We believe learning should be defined by the exceptional and at UP Education we have an ongoing commitment to the development of our staff.

This is a pivotal Group-level role leading risk and compliance across New Zealand and Australia for one of the region’s largest private education providers.

As Group Risk & Compliance Manager, you will provide strategic oversight of risk and compliance activities, ensuring our Group Executive and Board have clear visibility of emerging risks, regulatory obligations, and investor priorities. Acting as the bridge between entity-level teams and Group leadership, you’ll help drive consistent frameworks and deliver insights that support sound decision-making and resilience across the organisation.

What you’ll do

You’ll take responsibility for ensuring the Group maintains a consolidated and proactive view of its risk and compliance environment. Your work will span strategic reporting, regulatory engagement, and building trust with stakeholders at every level. In practice, this means :

• Overseeing the Group risk register and consolidating key risks across all entities.
• Monitoring regulatory developments across NZQA, TEC, ASQA, TEQSA, CRICOS, and ESOS.
• Delivering clear and timely risk and compliance reporting to the CFO, Executive Team, and Board.
• Advising entity compliance leaders, regulators, auditors, and investors, strengthening collaboration across the Group.
• Providing assurance and insights to support governance, investor confidence, and major projects.

Qualifications

You’ll be an experienced compliance or risk professional who can navigate complex, regulated environments and deliver insights with authority. You’re confident influencing senior stakeholders, simplifying complexity, and constructively challenging where needed. To succeed, you’ll bring :

• Proven experience in compliance, risk, or governance within regulated service industries.
• Familiarity with cross-border regulatory environments (NZ and Australia) or the ability to learn quickly.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with experience reporting to Boards or senior executives.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, combining influence with collaboration.
• High professional integrity, sound judgement, and the ability to proactively raise and manage risk.

Additional Information

At UP Education, you’ll work with a fast-growing, trans-Tasman organisation dedicated to empowering students and shaping futures. This is a highly visible role where your expertise will directly contribute to the Group’s success and resilience.

Questions about your identity help us appreciate the diversity of individuals looking to work with us, ensuringwe’re attracting applications from people with identities and perspectives that are as diverse as our students.

We are an equal opportunity employer. As part of our commitment to equity, we work to ensure a fair and consistent interview process. We celebrate diversity and we are committed to an inclusive work environment.

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