Senior Analyst/Senior Auditors: Value For Money(VFM)

Senior Analyst/Senior Auditors: Value For Money (VFM)

Contract type: Permanent

Location: London or Newcastle offices

Salary: VFM Senior Analyst: c£55,000 (London), c£50,000 (Newcastle); VFM Senior Auditor: c£60,000 (London), c£52,000 (Newcastle)

Hours: Open to full time & part time hours

Nationality Requirement: • UK Nationals • Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK • Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with (or eligible for) status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
Please note, we are not able to sponsor work visas. Please contact us, should you have any questions on your nationality eligibility.

HOW TO APPLY:

1. Please click on the advert apply button
2. Register and apply by filling out your online profile
3. Submit an up-to-date CV using the following template by clicking on this link-https://bit.ly/4jQppJL
4. Complete the Application form (in place of a cover letter)-https://bit.ly/40VzcWi

Deadline for submission is 23:59pm Friday 7th March 2025. PLEASE BE AWARE YOU WILL NEED TO SUBMIT BOTH CV AND APPLICATION FORM IN ORDER FOR YOUR APPLICATION TO BE CONSIDERED.

INTRODUCTION:

Thank you for your interest in joining the National Audit Office as a Value for Money Senior Analyst/Senior Auditor (Performance Auditor). This pack will give you a better idea of who we are, what you’ll do when you join us, and what we offer. It also gives more details about the application process.

As a Senior Analyst/Senior Auditor you will lead studies examining key aspects of government programmes and projects. You will get involved in other work too, including investigations, correspondence (from the public and MPs) and other work that supports Parliamentary select committees.

Our position is unique, and our work is influential. We are independent of government and the civil service and scrutinise public spending for Parliament and on behalf of citizens and taxpayers. This means we work for, and for the good of, everyone in the country.

We help society work better – supporting improvements in the way services are delivered right across the public sector. The recommendations from our work can result in financial savings and positive changes in government to improve services and achieve value for money for the taxpayer.

You’ll tackle complex projects that inform debates and influence some of the biggest decisions that government makes. You’ll work with dedicated and talented people toward shared and important goals.

We are now looking to recruit several Senior Analysts and Senior Auditors. We are looking for people with strong analytical and communication skills as well as experience of project and people management, which can be drawn from a range of backgrounds including experienced analysts, value for money auditors, performance auditors and internal auditors.

If you like what you see and can meet our requirements, then we want to hear from you.

THE ROLE:

The main role of Senior Analysts/Senior Auditors in the NAO is to lead our teams in planning, researching and drafting our reports, working alongside sector or topic specialists, analysts and qualified accountants as well as applying strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills.

A key part of the role is communicating complex information clearly for a wide range of audiences including MPs, civil servants and members of the public. Senior Analysts and Senior Auditors also lead other work including investigations – where we conduct more rapid and focussed pieces of work – and support Parliamentary Select Committees.

All Senior Analysts and Senior Auditors are expected to spend part of their time developing and using their expertise to contribute to our specialist networks across the office.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS REQUIRED

It will be essential that you can demonstrate the following skills:

1. Balance tasks and priorities to lead a complex, challenging portfolio of work including supporting the work and development of others.
2. Use your technical knowledge and expertise to deliver high quality work across our VFM reports and wider work.
3. Scrutinise a wide range of government and third-party information sources and consider reliability and usefulness.
4. Make sound judgements and reach clear conclusions that are clearly evidence based.
5. Analyse complex ideas or proposals using a wide evidence base to develop meaningful recommendations.
6. Communicate complex audit findings in well-structured written outputs which add value for the client and can engage a wide audience including non specialist/non-technical audiences.
7. Think creatively and innovatively in how you work.
8. Engage effectively with colleagues and clients at all levels, including specialist NAO teams and the people we audit to create impact through your work.
9. Influence and add value by building your understanding of the challenges faced by the people we audit.

In addition, we are looking for candidates with the following attributes:

1. Show a strong commitment to your own self development, to delivering the NAO’s strategic objectives, and keeping yourself up to date on office initiatives and information relevant to your work and specialism.
2. Compliance with corporate responsibilities and interest in supporting others to do so.
3. Working in accordance with the NAO’s values and promote diversity and inclusion.
4. Intellectual curiosity, especially about using data and evidence to answer questions.
5. Flexibility to make a significant contribution across a range of public sector spending areas and outputs.
6. Ability to lead a team and work co-operatively and collaboratively to deliver outputs.
7. Drive and determination to overcome obstacles, resistance or challenges in order to achieve goals.
8. Passion for improving government and the ability to defend and promote your point of view in the face of challenge.

THE PEOPLE WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Education/work experience 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:

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

For Senior Auditors this means:

1. An ACA qualification or other professional qualification (e.g., ACCA, CIPFA, CIA, MIIA, CIMA) with relevant experience working in performance and/or internal audit.

Equal opportunities and diversity

Disability and Reasonable Adjustments Applicants with a disability who wish their application to be considered under the Disability Confident scheme should confirm this when submitting their application. Under this scheme we guarantee an interview to an applicant with a disability who meets the minimum requirements for the role.

You should also let our HR team know if you wish us to consider any Reasonable Adjustments at any stage of the process (VFMLead.recruitment@nao.org.uk). Applicants will not be discriminated against on the grounds of any protected characteristic or any other extraneous factor. We are open to considering candidates who wish to fill posts on a part-time basis or as a job share.

FURTHER INFORMATION

If you have any queries regarding the process or would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact VFMLead.recruitment@nao.org.uk.