About the job

Job summary

We are an executive agency of His Majesty’s Treasury (HM Treasury), established in April 2015 to improve the quality of internal audit provided to central government. 

Most of the Agency’s people are professionally qualified internal auditors, accountants or investigators. 

Many are also specialists in areas including counter fraud, project management, digital and commercial audit. 

We lead both the Government Internal Audit Profession and the Government Internal Audit Function. 

Our workforce brings with it a unique depth of experience gained in a wide range of government departments, related bodies and other sectors. 

This enables us to offer a high-quality service based on cross-government insight and a strong understanding of our customers’ business. 

In GIAA, we aim to be a great place to work and to ensure that we have the capability and capacity to make even more of a significant contribution to achieving A Brilliant Civil Service over the coming years. 

Our initial focus was on becoming “a single audit practice”. We are now focused on taking GIAA to the next level so we can provide better insights and better outcomes for government.

Job description

This is a significant career opportunity to join a fast paced and maturing organisation.

The successful candidate will own responsibility for the Internal Audit service for one of our customers. This role is being advertised on a flexible deployment basis and the final portfolio will be allocated upon commencement.

We are looking for a high performing internal auditor with relevant experience of delivering a high-quality internal audit and assurance services in a high profile complex environment. The role also requires someone who can influence at senior levels, whilst demonstrating the ability to offer sound advice and respond quickly to fast moving priorities

Group Chief Internal Auditor responsibilities: 

• Providing the Permanent Secretary, Accounting Officers, and client Audit Committees, with reliable, evidence based, independent opinions on risk management, control and governance.
• Directing activity to develop and implement an Internal Audit Plan which reflects the priorities of the customer.
• Managing resources to enable effective delivery.
• Securing agreement to Internal Audit’s plans, with the Permanent Secretary, Accounting Officers and customer Audit Committees.
• Delivering plans to time, budget and quality standards in order to support year-end assurances and other agreed stakeholder requirements.
• Supporting senior stakeholders in the identification and management of key risks.

As a senior member of the leadership team of GIAA, the post holder will also be responsible for:

• Inspiring and leading a team of professional auditors to deliver the highest quality service to one of our most significant customers.
• Collectively organising both individual and thematic reviews sufficient to provide annual assurance to individual Accounting Officers.
• Actively engaging with the agendas of client organisations, maintaining awareness of changing risk profiles and appetites, and adjusting audit programmes in response to these as appropriate.
• Working with the wider internal audit community in enhancing the service across Whitehall.
• Supporting the CEO in building the capability of the internal audit function to deliver a strong, value-added service to all clients, a focus on strategic risks, and develop new leaders with the capability to develop the profession in the future.

Person specification

You will be required to write a statement of suitability of up to 1000 words setting out how your skills and experience meet the following criteria:

1. Highly developed leadership skills, with proven ability to build and inspire a team, develop capability, and create an engaged and motivated workforce.
2. A successful track record of influencing with a range of senior stakeholders to adopt good practice, internal controls and risk management processes in large, complex organisations.
3. Credible operational experience at senior levels with the ability to lead and embed cultural change.
4. Outstanding ability to communicate (both oral and written), and work effectively, with a wide range of peers, partners and senior colleagues, combined with the ability to respond quickly to fast moving priorities.
5. Strong analytical capability combined with the ability to be able to communicate complex positions clearly.
6. Experience of developing and delivering a risk-based Internal Audit programme.

Qualifications 

A professional qualification in internal audit (CMIIA) or accountancy (CCAB).  Your application must also demonstrate recent experience in leading internal audit delivery at a senior level.

Please note that a degree in any finance, accountancy, or audit discipline does not meet the qualification requirements, as these do not give membership of a professional body in themselves.

You need to have obtained the required qualification at the time of submitting your application. If you are waiting to sit your exams or have not yet received your results, then you are not eligible to apply this time.

The role requires a minimum level of Security Clearance (SC) for which you will need to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Some GCIA roles may require Developed Vetting (DV)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, Government Internal Audit Agency contributes £20,250 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Strengths and Experience.

Recruitment Timeline

Closing date: 25 July 2024

Shortlisting: 29 July 2024

Interviews: 12 August 2024

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline. 

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs profile. 

Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.

Eligibility Statement

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Checks will be performed as part of pre-employment checks in line with this. 

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, individuals appointed to the Treasury group will be subject to National Security Vetting. The level of security vetting required for this role is Security Check (SC) 

To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out, applicants will need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. In exceptional circumstances, a lack of residency would not be a bar to security clearance however the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case by case basis once the advert closing date has passed.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.