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 growing organisation. As a forward-thinking organisation that builds and maintains strategic relationships at the most senior levels across the majority of government departments, we are committed to delivering cross government insights and the added value that represents for our customers and wider government.

Our insights work involves identifying best practice and opportunities for improvement for governance and management of risk. We do this through analysis of our audit reports across government of which we produce over 1500 per year. We also plan and run a series of annual risk-based assurance activities to explore specific areas of risk across government. Our activities cover a diverse range of subjects, from financial control, data security, programme management and commercial processes to name just a few. As a result this is an exceptional opportunity to broaden your knowledge of how organisations work and learn about a diverse range of subjects.

In this role you will support the further development of our portfolio by working alongside key decision makers to develop our planning and work approach to deliver cross government assurance reviews and outputs. You will use the latest technology, including artificial intelligence, to analyse reports to inform our insights generation.

This is a challenging role where you will need to manage complex stakeholder relationships within a multi-disciplinary project management delivery framework to coordinate multiple simultaneous engagements. You will also work closely with the Data Analytics teams to develop the agency’s approach for implementing cross government insights.

The role is based within the central insights team which is responsible for delivery of the cross-government review and assurance programme, providing independent and impartial assurance to the Government. We are, therefore, looking to recruit from a variety of backgrounds which will improve GIAA’s experience and skills base.

You will be one of three Managers, responsible to a Senior Manager. You will have responsibility for delivery of insights work based on the existing body of knowledge from previous GIAA reports and other consultancy  and research assignments as they arise. Work will be highly complex and high profile, with considerable stakeholder liaison.

You will lead assignments, provide customer liaison and support the Senior Manager.  You will be integral to the leadership of the Agency and have a role beyond delivery of audit services to support the ongoing development of our services, staff and customer approach.  In addition, you will use your expertise and experience to deliver value to the Agency and customers. 

Your portfolio will be strengthened with examples of high profile work, where you will work alongside key decision makers, audit specialists and private sector contractors within the Agency, affording you the opportunity to challenge and develop your skills whilst ensuring we meet our customer expectations.

The variety and contribution of these roles is unparalleled across government and there are clear opportunities for development and job enrichment within the wider civil service for candidates with the right skills and approach.

We offer support in maintaining and building your professional career through technical training, coaching and development opportunities and you will be entitled to a formidable range of benefits from generous pension provision, embracing of flexible work patterns, diversity and security.

 Insights Manager Responsibilities: 

• Engage with external and internal leaders and other assurance providers to develop insights from GIAA audit activities. This will include identifying best practice and opportunities for improvement in governance and risk management for sharing across government.
• Conduct research into activities in service and industrial sectors to identify trends and learning which can enhance the insights in governance, audit and counter fraud published by GIAA
• Develop engaging and informative insight publications, communications and stakeholder events to promote GIAA as a leader in insights from audit activities
• Engage effectively with senior stakeholders to ensure support for the cross-government approach
• Engage with external and internal leaders in developing annual review themes and support production of planning briefings. You will also be responsible for managing the delivery of one or more of these themes.
• Act as a member of the Senior Team supporting the Senior Manager for insights activities and play an active part in the delivery of corporate objectives and develop and grow the Agency.
• Build knowledge on audit and assurance processes in accordance with GIAA’s methodology, audit management software and ways of working.
• Take account of key requirements and practices when planning and prioritising work and ensure that the delivery of the cross-government engagement plans meets management and stakeholder expectations such as timeframes, budgets and quality.
• Show judgment when potential risk exposure seems significant and escalate matters through the appropriate management/customer channels – this may involve liaison with specialists within the Agency or with outside advisers.
• Engage with suppliers using the GIAA supplier framework and obtain the best value for money for insights work
• Be accountable for the overall performance of the team where you are managing activities including operational line management of the delivery of specific projects and insight publications. These may include work delivered by private sector firms.

Person specification

You will be required to write a statement of suitability of up to 750 words setting out how your skills and experience meet the following criteria:

1. Experience in carrying out quantitative and qualitative research and analysis to develop insights.
2. Experience in creating engaging and informative publications from research and analysis of reports containing text and data
3. Demonstrate the ability to think in detail about complex situations and then simplify and communicate the recommendations from your observations for improved performance and outcomes
4. Be a proactive, independent thinker who can confidently express their views, having the ability to look across their work and understand and apply bigger picture considerations where necessary;
5. Have the ability to build and maintain relationships within the organisation at all levels, including a successful track record of influencing diverse senior stakeholders;

 Further guidance on how to complete your statement can be found within the application form on Civil Service Jobs. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £53,661, Government Internal Audit Agency contributes £14,488 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, Experience and Technical skills.

Recruitment Timeline

• Closing date: 9th July 2024
• Shortlisting: 12th July 2024
• Interviews: 22nd / 23rd July 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.