R/R Shiny Developer

R/R Shiny Developer

Innovation and Quality

Location: Hybrid Working, with offices based in Edinburgh/Glasgow/Inverness

Type of role: Permanent

Salary grade: Band 1C (£39,174 - £44,025 per annum) plus competitive benefits

Hours: 36.25 hours per week

Are you a data analyst with R/R Shiny experience who thrives on making a difference and passionate about ensuring public services are run properly for the people of Scotland? If so, we can offer you the chance to support audit teams with new and compelling data-driven insights about the public bodies that they scrutinise.

Overall purpose of the role

Our Innovation and Quality (I&Q) business group comprises four functions: professional support and learning; quality; digital audit; and organisational improvement. I&Q ensures that the quality of audit work across Audit Scotland is outstanding, innovative and at the forefront of the profession, and helps fulfil the vision and strategic objectives of the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission.

You will report to the Senior Data Analyst (Financial audit and AI) and support the management of the Digital Audit team (Analytics).

Audit Scotland is transforming the use of digital technology in our audit processes to analyse and present data more effectively and in how we support our audit teams to deliver high quality audit. This contributes to our visions that public money is well spent to meet the needs of Scotland’s people.

Our Digital Audit Team works across the organisation to deliver the bespoke tools, analysis, support, and specialist skills that we need to support public audit in Scotland. We help deliver the resources that auditors use to question, explore, and communicate how public bodies are spending money and delivering their services across Scotland.

As part of the Digital Audit team, you will be responsible for delivering analysis, and developing applications and tools to support auditors in delivering their work. This will involve working directly with a variety of audit and staff to capture requirements, prototype solutions, and to research/evaluate new approaches across both financial audit, and performance audit.

You will support our specialist data analytics and data science professionals to deliver analysis, tools, training and guidance to support our financial and performance audit approaches. The analysis and tools that the Digital Audit Team develop and deliver will enhance our auditors understanding of financial data and different policy areas within the Scottish public sector, and the wider economy.

You will work across I&Q and wider Audit Scotland business groups as we continually modernise our audit approaches and supporting tools, guidance and training.

Working with colleagues in our partner public audit agencies, and across the public sector, you will develop new and innovative solutions that help us hold public bodies to account, and help train others to get the best from these tools.

What you will be doing

You will assist colleagues across I&Q in designing and developing data analytics tools, guidance and training to support the delivery of our audit approaches.

Identifying and delivering new approaches and solutions

• Delivering data products and data-led processes which support auditors to execute our audit approaches efficiently, effectively and to a high level of quality. This includes supporting our move to a data-enabled audit approach.
• Supporting audit modernisation by identifying and prototyping new tools and techniques within the context of our audit approach and recognised auditing standards. In doing so, ensuring that tools are easy to use, and that appropriate support is in place.
• Identifying stakeholders, translating requirements, and prioritising data projects, working with colleagues to anticipate likely needs and find pragmatic solutions.
• Implementing efficient, robust, and modular code solutions, with a focus on maintainability and testing.
• Supporting and influencing the strategic direction of the organisation by articulating what might be possible, and what would make a difference to how we work.
• Collaborating and engaging with the data analytics teams in other UK audit agencies, and relevant external bodies around data standards, shared improvement projects, data acquisition, and approaches toward automation and AI.
• Promoting and embedding an innovative and supportive culture where team members and auditors are empowered to try, and challenge new ideas respectfully.
• Supporting the development and delivery of digital audit activity across business groups.

Building data products and solutions

• Delivering data solutions to fulfil audit needs, including both new and existing tools and helping to develop, deliver, and explain ad-hoc data science projects.
• Using modern software engineering techniques such as automated testing, continuous integration, and reproducible pipelines to ensure that data analysis products are robust.
• Working with audit teams to gather requirements, identify process inefficiencies, and use your own initiative to anticipate useful outputs.
• Identifying and promoting improvements to how we acquire, import, store, manage, and use datasets for audit purposes.
• Working closely with colleagues across the organisation, including audit teams and the Digital Services Team to research and understand our future requirements and deliver data products and supporting guidance that complement existing activities and approaches.
• Planning and prioritising the financial audit work programme of the digital audit team, alongside relevant stakeholders across the business groups.

Ensuring service delivery and continuity

• Supporting systems management and maintenance for Data Analytics systems, including systems administration, patching, and troubleshooting, in collaboration with the Senior Manager and Digital Services colleagues.
• Responding to technical queries promptly.

Building a data-literate organisation

• Working with our Data Analytics Group and Statistics Group (and other similar groups) to disseminate, support, and encourage data-literate solutions.
• Establishing and developing productive professional relationships with colleagues in I&Q other business groups and with external stakeholders, including other audit agencies and proactively using stakeholder networks to add value to our work and reputation.
• Keeping skills up to date, and communicating industry developments and their relevance to Audit Scotland to colleagues at all levels in the organisation.
• Providing technical information and application demonstrations internally and externally as required.

Team management

• Supporting the continued professional development of the wider Digital Audit Team. This includes technical coaching and advice where appropriate.
• Working with managers across I&Q to deliver an inclusive, collaborative, supportive, innovative and respectful team culture.

Knowledge and experience

You will be educated to degree level or have demonstrable relevant experience.

You will have experience of working in a data analyst role (or similar). You will have practical experience of developing and delivering data analysis products using the R Shiny framework. You will have practical experience in producing and delivering supporting guidance and training.

Self-aware in your own abilities, you can plan and manage your own work to time and quality. You know how to work seamlessly within a team to bring out the best in your colleagues.

You will be able to demonstrate the following:

• Strong knowledge of R and R Shiny
• Knowledge of other relevant data analysis languages and frameworks (Python, SQL, PowerQuery or similar)
• Practical and theoretical knowledge of inferential and descriptive statistics
• Experience of designing, building, and testing data products.
• A good understanding of the concepts and principles of data modelling, including interacting with relational and other databases.
• Ability to make sound technical decisions based on the task requirements and on consultations with appropriate stakeholders.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills to present complex solutions in a clear and understandable manner.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to build and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders.
• Strategic and creative thinking, solving demanding technical problems in a pragmatic way.
• The ability to work under pressure across multiple projects in a calm, professional and effective manner.

You will have a plan that includes your own continuous development, inspiring others and helping Audit Scotland lead on being a world-class organisation. You will undertake professional and personal development to maintain technical expertise and meet CPD requirements.

Person specification - specific knowledge and experience

Essential:

• You will be educated to degree level in the Computer Science/Data Analytics field or similar and/or have other relevant professional qualifications or experience (S)
• Experience of building and designing dynamic or interactive data tools using a R Shiny framework (S/I)
• You are data-literate and have developed research and analysis skills, dealing confidently with both quantitative and qualitative data (S/I)
• High levels of self-awareness and emotional intelligence
• Experience at developing working relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels
• Good verbal and written communication skills and sound judgement
• Ability to present complex information in a balanced, influential and persuasive manner with accuracy, clarity and conciseness

Desirable:

• Experience dealing with a variety of financial, economic, demographic and performance data. (S/I)
• Practical experience of solving real-world problems using data analysis, statistics or similar related techniques (S/I)
• Experience of other relevant data analysis languages or frameworks (e.g. Python, PowerQuery, SQL or similar) (S/I)

*S = Shortlisting criteria I = Interview criteria A = Assessment / Exercise

Interested? Next steps

Click the apply button to complete an application form. If you wish, you can also share your CV. We offer a range of benefits, please visit our careers page for more information.

Our application deadline is Sunday 1 December 2024 at midnight.

There will be a technical assessment as part of the selection process.

Interviews will be held on 9 & 10 December 2024 at our Glasgow office.

Audit Scotland

Our vision is that public money is well spent to meet the needs of Scotland's people.

To achieve this, we support the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission to provide clear, independent and objective assurance on how effectively public money is being managed and spent. Our work covers about £59bn of public spending, almost 300 public sector accounts, and the services and projects that affect all people and communities in Scotland.

As well as what we do, how we do it is integral to delivering our vision and critical to our wellbeing and our organisational success. We put our organisational values of equality, independence, innovation, integrity and respect at the heart of everything we do.

We employ around 340 staff in a wide variety of roles, working from our main offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and through a network of regional offices across Scotland.

There has never been a more interesting or important time to join us. We offer a rewarding place to work, a supportive and open culture and a wide range of professional development opportunities. Benefits include 42 days of annual leave including public holidays, an attractive local government pension scheme with 17.6% employer contributions, personal development allowances and flexible working hours. We’ve also been named one of the top 25 workplaces in Scotland and the UK’s tenth best accountancy workplace in the 2023 Best Companies awards.

Diversity and Inclusion

We value the unique perspective a diverse workforce brings to what we do. Therefore, we’re keen to increase representation in our workforce and support progression of minority ethnic groups. We are also a proud disability confident employer.

Reasonable Adjustments

Audit Scotland’s recruitment process may include various stages and activities including application forms, online assessments, and interviews, to assess whether you meet the requirements of the role.

As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to providing inclusive and accessible recruitment where everyone is supported to perform at their best.

When applying for a job with Audit Scotland, you will be asked in the application form if you need an adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process. Please include the reason you require an adjustment and details of what adjustment/s might help.

Some examples of adjustments that have been given to candidates include changing the time, location or format of interviews and providing additional time in any assessments and interviews. This is not an exhaustive list, and we will consider any adjustments that you might need.

As part of our commitment to equality and diversity, our equality network groups would be delighted to offer an insight into Audit Scotland’s culture of inclusivity. If you consider yourself to have a visible or hidden disability and wish to hear more about life at Audit Scotland or wish to speak with someone about the possibility of any adjustments, please contact Careers@audit-scotland.gov.uk or call 0131 625 1500 for further information.

How we work

We employ around 340 staff in a wide variety of roles. They work flexibly at home and in the office as well as from audit sites across Scotland. This isn’t your typical work from home or work from office type job. We’re flexible about working patterns and we’ve transformed how we deliver high-quality public audit. We support you to work in the ways that achieve the best results for you, your team and the business, including your physical location and how you manage your hours. Put simply, we trust you to do your job, and want you to have the ability to have a rewarding work-life balance and best support your individual circumstances, be that childcare, adult carer responsibilities or managing disabilities. This is a hybrid working role and the successful candidate may choose to work from home. The role holder will be expected to agree a base office location (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen or Inverness) and be able to travel to our main offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow as required to attend key meetings.

Other conditions

Audit Scotland is committed to ensuring that:

• We minimise our impact on the environment in accordance with Government policy affecting public sector organisations.
• We uphold the principles of equality, fairness & diversity.
• We all work within a safe environment and adhere to good standards of health & safety.
• All information is protected and managed appropriately.
• We maintain independence and political neutrality.