Deputy Head of Quality, Risk & Compliance

Job Title: Deputy Head of Quality, Risk & Compliance

Location: Merchants Court, Dublin 8

Reporting to: Head of Quality, Risk & Compliance / People & Culture

Direct Reports: Quality, Risk & Compliance Co-ordinator

Role Type: Hybrid (Minimum 3 days per week onsite)

Contract Type: Permanent Full Time

Hours: 37.5 hours per week Monday to Friday

Starting Salary Range: €67,416 - €72,278

About MQI

Merchants Quay Ireland is a national voluntary organisation that helps people who are homeless and those caught in addiction. We provide frontline services, practical supports, pathways towards recovery and innovative responses to the issues of drug use and homelessness in Ireland. At MQI, good governance, transparency, and accountability are key to us furthering our mission. We are committed to the ethos of Trauma Informed Care across all areas of service delivery and that extends to how we manage risk, quality and compliance in the organisation.

Summary

The Deputy Head of Quality, Risk & Compliance leads the organisation's integrated frameworks for quality assurance, risk management, data protection, incident management, health & safety and regulatory compliance. The postholder ensures that the organisation delivers safe, high quality, compliant services aligned with legal obligations, funder requirements, and recognised best practice within the Irish not for profit sector. The role also plays a key part in supporting the delivery of the organisation's Strategic Plan, ensuring progress is effectively monitored, evaluated, and reported. This senior management position acts as a bridge between operational teams, the Executive Team and the Board to ensure that the right systems and processes are in place to proactively manage risk effectively and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities Quality Management & Assurance

• Develop and embed a robust Quality Management Framework across MQI which integrates all risk management and compliance activities.
• Maintain and oversee all quality related policies, procedures, standards and documentation.
• Establish quality KPIs, KRIs and reporting structures aligned to organisational and regulatory expectations.
• Ensure organisational practices meet established standards through audits, inspections, and the implementation of corrective/preventive actions (CAPA).
• Oversee internal audits, quality reviews and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Support operational teams to resolve areas of non compliance and implement sustainable improvements.

Risk Management

• Develop and maintain risk management systems, including incident management, risk registers, and root cause analyses to proactively identify and mitigate threats.
• Oversee the identification, assessment, and prioritisation of risks across the organisation to minimise, transfer, or eliminate them.
• Maintain an up to date risk register with clear ownership, controls, assurance levels and action plans.
• Provide risk insights, analysis and reports to Senior Leadership Teams and Board Committees.
• Facilitate periodic risk reviews and promote a culture of active risk awareness and learning.

Regulatory & Statutory Compliance

• Ensure structures and mechanisms are in place to support compliance with Irish legislation and sectoral codes.
• Monitor and report on compliance levels, identify gaps and actions to address any discrepancies.
• Monitor emerging legislation and guide the organisation through regulatory changes.
• Identify training needs of the organisation to support compliance and oversee delivery of mandatory training programmes.
• Assess organisational readiness for external audits and act as lead for co ordinating any external audit activities and required follow up to address findings.

Data Protection

• Act as the organisation's Data Protection Officer (DPO).
• Oversee GDPR compliance, Data Subject Access Requests, breach notifications, investigations and reporting.
• Maintain the Record of Processing Activities (ROPA).
• Advise on Data Protection Impact Assessments, contracts and privacy risks.
• Lead organisation wide data protection training.
• Owner of Data Protection policies and procedures.

Incident Management

• Responsible for the organisation's incident reporting and management framework.
• Produce regular incident trend reports and provide periodic reports to the Executive Team.
• Lead investigations as required to determine root causes and oversee the implementation of corrective and preventative actions.

Health & Safety

• Oversee compliance with Health & Safety obligations.
• Monitor inspections, assessments, incidents and corrective actions.
• Lead or support Safety Committees.
• Promote an open, fair, and learning culture, reducing risks to staff, service users, and the organisation.

Policy Governance

• Oversee the organisation's policy library.
• Ensure scheduled reviews, compliance checks and appropriate levels of approval.
• Support staff understanding and adherence.

Governance, Assurance & Reporting

• Support governance cycles, internal audits and assurance planning.
• Support the CEO and Executive Team in providing expertise on delegated responsibilities.
• Provide the CEO, Executive Team and Board with regular reports on progress with improving standards and compliance, learning from practice, safeguarding concerns and analysis of quality assurance trends across all services.
• Support the Audit and Risk Board Sub Committee.

Strategic Plan

• Support the implementation of the organisations Strategic Plan.
• Develop systems for monitoring progress.
• Produce progress reports for the CEO, Executive Team and Board.
• Identify emerging risks affecting strategic objectives.
• Support with strategic planning activities.

Organisation Capability Development

• Establish the Quality, Risk and Compliance function.
• Lead and support the Quality, Risk and Compliance team. Manage workload allocation, performance and capability development within the team.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, collaboration and learning within MQI.
• Undertake such other duties as might be reasonably assigned from time to time in consultation with the Head of Function.
• Identify capability gaps regarding Quality, Risk and Compliance across the organisation and partner with People & Culture and Operations Teams to address and improve.
• Lead cross functional groups to support achieving organisational objectives related to Quality, Risk and Compliance.

Qualifications & Experience Essential

• Minimum of 8 years' relevant experience across quality, compliance, governance, risk or data protection.
• Relevant third level qualification.
• Advanced proficiency in data management systems, data analysis, and reporting to support evidence based decision making.
• Expertise in GDPR and Data Protection.
• Experience collaborating effectively with senior stakeholders across multiple functions.
• Comprehensive knowledge of Irish regulatory and compliance landscape.
• Excellent communication, analytical and report writing skills.
• Experience in developing and implementing structures, policy, and processes to deliver on organisational quality, risk and compliance.

Desirable

• Qualification in quality, risk, compliance, regulation, or data protection.
• Experience implementing a Quality Management System.
• Experience in the non profit sector.
• People Management experience.
• Knowledge and experience of Trauma Informed Practice.

Skills, Competencies & Personal Attributes

• Strong organisational skills with a process driven mindset.
• Ability to prioritise and manage multiple tasks effectively in a dynamic environment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities, with a proven track record of building positive relationships across all levels of the organisation.
• High attention to detail and ability to maintain data accuracy and confidentiality.
• Ability to work well under pressure, demonstrating flexibility and resilience when managing competing priorities and deadlines.
• Exemplary professional judgement, discretion, and ethical standards when handling sensitive information.
• Strong problem solving skills and confidence in managing complexity.
• Personal drive and commitment with the ability to establish rapport and credibility.
• Proactive commitment to the organisation's mission, values, and trauma informed, person centred approach.

If you are interested in applying please do so at this link by the 16th March 2026:

Equal Opportunity: Merchants Quay Ireland is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.