Internal Audit, Governance, Risk & Controls · Sustainability

Confidence,
built to last . . .

Willow Partners is a senior-led firm working across two specialisms: Internal Audit, Governance, Risk & Controls and Sustainability. We do two things: supply the people you need and deliver outsourced projects.

Speak to a partner See our work
Willow Partners partners in a client working session
Partner-led
Our partners serve clients directly. No junior teams learning on your engagement.
What candidates say
  • “Tom is good at the part of recruitment that matters most: the match.”Gaurav, Sustainability Transformation
  • “Genuinely interested in finding the right fit, rather than simply filling a role.”Khoram, Enterprise Risk & Controls
  • “A people-first approach to the entire recruitment process.”Vidyanand, Risk & Controls Director
  • “Honest, practical advice and keeping me informed at every stage.”Suhaib, Internal Audit Manager
  • “Highly diligent… a clear, structured overview of the client’s requirements.”Loukas, Sustainability Consultant
  • “Even after I secured the role, Tom continued to check in.”Khoram, Enterprise Risk & Controls
  • “I would recommend Tom 100 times over.”Laura, Sustainability Director

What we do

People or projects.

Most needs come down to one of two things. Because we do both, we can tell you honestly which one you are actually looking at and we are not incentivised to give you the wrong answer.

We supply the people

Specialist recruitment across both verticals, led by practitioners who have held the roles. Every brief is shaped and every CV read, by someone who has done the job.

Permanent
Roles that shape long-term capability. From managers to Chief Audit Executives and Heads of Sustainability. Single hires, team builds and phased hiring plans.
Interim
Specialist resource for peaks, projects and gaps. Typically three to twelve months. Fast to mobilise, without lowering the technical bar.
How our recruitment works

We deliver the project

Advisory engagements owned end to end or our consultants embedded alongside your team. Delivered by the same partners who scoped them, including the training that goes with it.

Outsourced
A defined scope, a named team, an agreed outcome. From an ECCTA compliance programme or GHG baseline to a full internal audit outsource. We carry the delivery risk.
Co-sourced
Our consultants inside your function, on your methodology, reporting to your leads. Ideal for topping up a lean team through a busy period.
How our delivery works

Our delivery model

Partner-led. No junior teams.

Bespoke client service delivered through the skills and experience of our partner team. Our partners serve clients directly, with a hands-on, immersive approach that gives you senior-level judgement and bandwidth exactly where you need it, whether that is as adviser, interim executive or embedded specialist inside your function.

Expert-led, flexible model

Our partners deliver the work themselves. Senior attention at every stage, from the first scoping conversation through to handover.

Impact without the overhead

Strategic depth and execution power without the layers of a Big 4 firm. Minimum complexity, maximum relevance.

Client-focused resourcing

We source the right expertise for each mandate, not simply whoever is available. Our model is not constrained by internal utilisation targets.

Our specialisms

Two verticals. One standard of judgement.

We are deliberately narrow. Internal Audit, Governance, Risk & Controls sits alongside Sustainability. The two disciplines increasingly share the same data, the same board-level scrutiny and the same people.

Vertical One

Internal Audit, Governance, Risk & Controls

Audit functions are being asked to cover more ground: new risk domains, tighter regulatory expectations, leaner teams, all while still delivering robust core assurance. We supply the auditors, risk professionals and controls specialists who can challenge constructively and we deliver the audit work itself when capacity runs short.

Internal Audit Governance Risk Management Internal Controls ECCTA & Compliance IT & Cyber Audit Sustainability Assurance Training
Explore Internal Audit & GRC
Vertical Two

Sustainability

Sustainability has moved from a communications exercise to a reporting, assurance and capital-allocation discipline with real consequences for getting it wrong. We place and deploy people who can navigate reporting frameworks, defend a number to an auditor and make decarbonisation decisions stick.

ISSB & CSRD TCFD & Climate Risk SECR & ESOS Scope 1-3 & Net Zero Assurance Readiness Sustainability Assurance Nature & Biodiversity
Explore Sustainability

We work with

Trusted across sectors and geographies.

HaysMac
WTW
British American Tobacco
ADQ
ADCB
Gresham House
Meridian Group
CK Hutchison
RSM
NHS

Industries we serve

Regulated, listed and scaling.

Banking & financial services
Asset & wealth management
Private equity & portfolio companies
Insurance
Listed corporates
Real estate & infrastructure
Energy & utilities
Manufacturing & consumer goods
Hospitality & leisure
Transport & logistics
Professional services
GCC & global enterprises

Selected work

What this looks like in practice.

Internal Audit & GRC · Full programme

ECCTA compliance programme

A two-phase programme for a financial services group: Companies House and identity verification readiness ahead of the November 2026 deadline, then the failure to prevent fraud defence built and independently assured.

2 phases
Companies House, then fraud
6 stages
Gap analysis to board reporting
Read the case study
Internal Audit & GRC · Interim

Internal Audit Manager, Provision 29

Supplied an Internal Audit Manager to a mid-size accountancy firm for a six-month Provision 29 engagement. The same client then took on a further Internal Audit Manager for broader business audits.

6 months
Initial engagement
Repeat
Second placement followed
Read the case study
Internal Audit & GRC · Recruitment

IT Internal Audit Manager, London insurer

Supplied an IT Internal Audit Manager to a large insurance business in London, covering technology, cyber and change risk across the annual audit plan.

IT Audit
Scarce specialism
Insurance
London market
Read the case study
Sustainability · Executive search

Head of Communities, global consumer goods manufacturer

Recruited into the Chief Sustainability Officer’s team following our earlier strategy and organisational design review, placing a Head of Communities.

CSO team
Senior appointment
Advisory first
Strategy review preceded search
Read the case study
Sustainability · Asset management

Climate & Nature Manager, London asset manager

Placed a Climate & Nature Manager into the sustainable investing team of a London asset manager. It is a dual specialism few candidates genuinely hold.

Climate + Nature
Dual specialism
Asset mgmt
Sustainable investing
Read the case study
Sustainability · Advisory programme

Sovereign investment group, GCC

Enterprise-wide sustainability support: an Impact Framework to quantify the return on sustainability investments, a strategy and roadmap review, an AI market review and engagement with portfolio companies.

Impact
Framework developed
Portfolio
Company engagement
Read the case study
Sustainability · Training

Regional bank, GCC

Sustainability and sustainable finance training for the finance function, covering reporting frameworks, GHG and climate, social and governance and how to audit sustainability data.

Finance fn.
Enterprise-wide training
Audit-ready
Data assurance module
Read the case study
Sustainability · Embedded consultant

Specialist asset manager

Embedded consultant within the Sustainable Investment team, covering climate strategy, nature strategy and an investment framework review.

Embedded
Inside the investment team
Climate + Nature
Strategy delivered
Read the case study
Sustainability · ESOS & SECR

Mid-size accountancy firm

An integrated compliance programme delivered using an accredited ESOS Lead Assessor: ESOS Phase 4, the Phase 3 update, FY26 SECR and a Carbon Reduction Plan.

ESOS
Phase 3 & 4
SECR
FY26 reporting
Read the case study
Sustainability · ESG documentation

Creator economy business

A full ESG documentation suite: Scope 1-3 carbon footprint, Carbon Reduction Plan, governance framework, supplier questionnaire and EcoVadis readiness.

Scope 1-3
Footprint delivered
EcoVadis
Readiness complete
Read the case study
All case studies

Our impact

What the people we place say.

Unprompted recommendations from candidates placed in internal audit, risk and sustainability roles.

Read the full recommendations
“
Tom is good at the part of recruitment that matters most: the match. He understood what his client needed and what I wanted from a move, and proposed a fit that reflected both.
GauravSustainability Transformation, placed with a private equity firm
“
Genuinely interested in finding the right fit, rather than simply filling a role… Even after I secured the role, Tom continued to check in and make sure everything was going well.
KhoramEnterprise Risk & Controls Manager
“
A people-first approach to the entire recruitment process, right from identifying the suitable role… all the way through to ensuring a smooth onboarding.
VidyanandRisk & Controls Director

Why Willow Partners

What you get when a partner picks up the phone.

Experience

Every partner brings twenty years or more from the disciplines we work in: as advisers, as in-house heads of function and as the people who owned the problem. Having someone who has sat in your seat, knows where this usually goes wrong and can say so early is the difference between advice and an invoice.

Reliability

We are not tied to a corporate structure or a utilisation model, so we can respond at the pace your deadline actually demands. Quick to engage, fast to mobilise and consistently straight with you about what is achievable in the time available.

Global outlook

Our partners have worked across multiple jurisdictions and we operate from London and Dubai, supporting clients wherever they are. Boutique in scale, but with the reach and regulatory range that regulated and listed groups need.

Motivation

Each of us built a career before building this firm. What sets us apart is the wish to pass that knowledge on rather than hold it. That is why capability building and training sit inside every advisory engagement, not alongside it as an upsell.

Our people

Senior practitioners. Global expertise.

The partners who scope your work are the partners who deliver it. Offices in London and Dubai, serving clients across the globe.

Tom Rodford
Tom Rodford
Managing Partner

Firm strategy and client leadership across both verticals and our recruitment practice.

Richard Betts
Richard Betts
Sustainability Reporting & Assurance Partner

ESG strategy, net zero transition, ISSB, TCFD and CSRD compliance, assurance readiness.

Lee Freeman
Lee Freeman
Climate Partner

GHG measurement, carbon footprint reporting, ESG data governance and assurance readiness.

Kyle McMullan
Kyle McMullan
Internal Audit Partner

Internal audit delivery, governance and controls, ECCTA compliance and auditing sustainability data.

More about us

Let’s talk about what you actually need.

A person or a project. The first conversation is with a partner either way.

My business needs support

Tell us about the role or the gap. We will come back with a view on whether it is a permanent hire, an interim or something we should deliver for you.

Start a conversation

I’m a candidate

Register your profile for permanent and interim roles across Internal Audit, GRC and Sustainability. We never share your details without your consent.

Send us your CV