Contract type: Maternity (12 months)


Location:
London or Newcastle (1 or 2 days in the office)


Salary:
Senior Analyst: £45,390 - £57, 582
Value for money audit principal (Performance auditor): £54,735 - £65,146 (London)

INTRODUCTION

We are the UKs independent public spending watchdog?. We support Parliament in holding government to account and we help improve public services through our high-quality audits.

Our five-year strategy is ambitious for the positive impact we can have on public services and the difference we will make to Parliament, the bodies we audit and the public. We know how crucial our people are in delivering this, and our values reflect the culture and behaviours we need to meet the ambition of our strategy.

We want our work to have greater impact and make a bigger difference to the outcomes and value for money that government achieves on the issues of greatest importance to the UK, both now and in the longer term.

Our Insights teams Hubs, were established to help us make the most of the knowledge and insight from across our body of audit work, and to influence the way in which public services are delivered. We achieve this by providing accessible independent insight and good practice, making it easier for others to understand and apply the lessons from our work.

We are currently seeking to recruit a senior analyst (SAN) or VFM audit principal to join the Financial and Risk Management Insights team on a fixed-term basis (12 months) to cover maternity leave. This is a full-time fixed-term vacancy; however, we would consider applications from candidates who work part-time or who may wish to job share. Flexible working arrangements will also be considered.

Our commitment to making the NAO a more diverse and inclusive organisation is an integral part of who we are and reflects our core values. To ensure we remain a high-performing organisation we recruit, retain and develop people with a diverse mix of skills and experience.

OurDiversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2025focuses on building a robust pipeline of diverse talent and a culture of fairness and inclusion.

BEING A CORE MEMBER OF THE TEAM

A key part of the role will be to influence and improve the quality of financial and/or risk management practices across government, and within the NAO as a specialist advisor. As a core member of the team, you will be central to the delivery of our programme of work, which includes strengthening our financial and risk management expertise, leveraging NAO knowledge to capture insights, and developing and sharing good practice across our areas of focus.

We have five areas of focus and scope our programmes of work around them - risk maturity, resilience, financial management, governance, and climate change (risk). This role will be a great way for you to develop new skills, broaden your expertise across a broad range of topic areas, and work alongside subject matter experts within the NAO and across government.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Develop and deploy knowledge

Supporting effective knowledge management and the development of specific financial and/or risk management knowledge products, and sharing both within the Hub and across the wider office

Providing financial and/or risk management advisory and guidance to financial audit delivery and study teams, as required

Horizon scanning to keep informed of emerging financial and/or risk management issues and cross-cutting themes relevant to the Hubs work or which may impact on how we deliver work

Supporting and conducting direct work with Value For Money (VFM) or Financial Audit (FA) teams

Develop skills and expertise in financial and risk management

External influencing & engagement

Engaging with internal and external clients and stakeholders to secure greater impact for our work

Coordinating our approach to stakeholder management to maximise its effectiveness

Developing capability

Developing an understanding of how we can further increase our capability to ensure Hubs are providing the required support and expertise

Supporting and developing colleagues to build their knowledge

THE PERSON WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are looking for an individual who is driven, seeking a new challenge, and is enthusiastic and passionate about wanting to make a positive impact by deploying our knowledge to add real value.

We would like you to be able to demonstrate the following:

A working knowledge of risk management and/or financial management and an understanding of the current challenges facing public sector

Ability to balance tasks and priorities to lead a complex, challenging programme of work including supporting the work and development of others (experience leading and working on VFM studies would be beneficial but is not essential)

An ability to leverage knowledge and expertise to deliver (and support others to deliver) work of the highest quality

A strong sense of personal and team accountability, and commitment to deliver shared goals

Ability to think creatively and innovatively, showing initiative and self-confidence

Ability to effectively engage with colleagues and clients at all levels, working collaboratively with specialist NAO teams and external stakeholder groups

A strong understanding of the external environment in which we operate and ability to horizon scan to identify emerging themes and risks

An ability to make sound judgements and to advise others with credibility

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Reporting to the Hub Managers and Hub Director

Working closely with other Hubs and delivery teams

External stakeholders across government (for instance, cross-government risk and finance networks)

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:

A strong academic background and experience in leading research/ performance audit projects and producing high quality, accessible written outputs.

For Senior analysts this means either:
-A minimum of a 2:1 degree in a discipline with a substantial quantitative analytical component (e.g., mathematics, statistics, economics, management science/operations research, finance or data analytics, social research methods) and relevant experience; or
-A Masters degree with a substantial quantitative or research component and relevant experience.

For Value for money audit principals (performance auditors) this means:
-An ACA qualification or other professional qualification (e.g., ACCA, CIPFA, CIA, MIIA, CIMA) with relevant experience working in performance and/or internal audit.

INTERESTED? HERES HOW TO APPLY

If you think this is the right opportunity for you and you want to apply, then please submit your CV and a brief covering letter and self-assessment against the criteria above (in no more than 2 pages). on our careers pageby5pm on Friday 27 th January 2023.

If you are successful in securing an interview, we will let you know no later than the 1st February.

We expect to hold interviews during the weeks of the 6th and 13th February 2023. Interviews will be conducted virtually using Microsoft Teams and will include a task (which you will be sent prior to the interview).