About the job

Job summary

Internal Audit & Assurance Division (IAAD) is an independent assurance and consultancy service. Through the management and discharge of the annual audit programme, the Head of Internal Audit provides:

• An opinion to the Accounting Officer (the Chief Executive) on risk management, control and governance; and
• A consultancy service to help management improve UK Export Finance’s risk management control and governance.

The Head of Internal Audit reports independently to the Chair of the Audit Committee (AC), in respect of the audit programme and to the Chief Executive.

Job description

Working as part of a team the post holder provides quality assurance that the key principles of Internal Audit are being upheld within the terms and conditions of the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards, Managing Public Money and other key Government / industry standards.

Person specification

Main Activities

1. Deliver planned audits to scope, quality, time and within budget as outlined in the Internal Audit Annual Programme,
2. Contribute to the overall audit strategy and the process of ongoing assurance to the Accounting Officer and audit sponsor/s on the adequacy, reliability and effectiveness of UKEF’s risk management, control and governance processes,
3. Key driver in the development and implementation of Internal Audit function methodologies, professional practices, tools, automation etc to meet and exceed relevant professional internal audit standards.
4. Key driver of the ongoing internal audit universe risk assessment and audit planning process and related reporting.
5. Represent internal audit on internal programme and project boards as necessary to advise on risk and control issues and to provide assurance in regard to adherence to relevant programme and project management standards,
6. Deliver draft and final reports in line with agreed deadlines, keeping sponsors and key stakeholders informed of major issues as they arise and at key stages of fieldwork.
7. Promote the role and value of the Internal Audit and Assurance service on an ongoing basis through formal and informal channels,
8. Liaise and co-operate with UKEF’s external auditors to ensure the efficient use of the total audit effort.
9. Review and assess the quality of the audit process including issuance of terms of reference, fieldwork, testing reporting and follow-up.
10. Monitor and report key performance indicators and insightful audit reporting to key stakeholders.
11. Procure, co-ordinate and oversight co-source external subject matter expertise as and when required, ensuring knowledge transfer to the division.
12. Contribute to development and maintenance of the quality assurance and improvement programme within Internal Audit.
13. Ongoing horizon scanning to identify and respond to relevant developments and emerging risks.
14. Support and stand-in for the Head of Internal Audit as necessary.
15. Improving the Practice of Audits.
16. Championing best practice in governance, controls and risk management.
17. Maintaining effective working relationship with other assurance providers with the Department (Operational Risk and Compliance) and with External Audit.
18. Keeping abreast of developments in Corporate Governance practices and advise the business accordingly.

 

People Management & Development

1. Manage a small team of auditors, both as a line manager and through providing oversight on an audit project basis.
2. Manage and oversee Senior Auditors through performance planning, coaching and performance appraisals.
3. Hold direct reports accountable for managing and developing their audit assignments to ensure the department’s goals are achieved and customers satisfied.
4. Provide ongoing feedback to the team to ensure they develop the skills and competencies required for effective planning and individual professional and personal career growth.
5. Motivate and inspire the team by providing them with the information and tools they need to do their jobs well and meet customer expectations.
6. Deal with performance issues, discipline as necessary and address poor standards, ensuring department targets and customer satisfaction is not compromised.
7. Manage new recruits’ probationary periods.

This list is not exhaustive; the job holder may be required to carry out additional duties according to business need.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £73,150, UK Export Finance contributes £19,750 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 Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

You will be invited to complete the online application form.  The application form must be completed by 23.59 on the day of the closing date for it to be accepted.

All applications will be sifted against our essential selection criteria outlined in the person specification. 

You will be asked in the relevant sections of the application form to provide your resume/CV.  You will also be asked to apply with a statement of suitability, you should fully articulate, in no more than 750 words, how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification.

For the initial sift your application will be evaluated against:

• Experience – CV & Statement of Suitability

If you are successful following the sift stage, you will be invited to an interview; this will include the following assessment:

• Behaviours/Experience - a formal panel interview where you will be interviewed across all four behaviours highlighted and your technical ability to successfully carry out the role
• Technical/Experience - a short presentation (this will be on a topic determined by UKEF and will need to be prepared in advance)

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.