Risk, Assurance and Audit Lead

Department for Business and Trade

Apply before 11:55 pm on Thursday 29th May 2025

Reference number
405400

Salary
£55,836 - £66,338

National - £55,836 to £62,823 & London - £59,450 to £66,338.

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Job grade
Grade 7

Contract type
Permanent

Business area
DBT - CS - Chief Finance Officer’s Directorate

Type of role
Audit
Corporate Finance
Risk Management

Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

Location
About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information

Location
Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Salford

About the job

Job summary

Mandatory - SC Clearance will be required for this role. Please do not apply if you do
not meet the eligibility criteria for SC.

The Risk, Assurance and Audit team sits within the Chief Financial Officer’s
directorate. It is a small, diverse and friendly team of experts specifically designed to
provide advice and guidance to ensure the Department, and its public bodies, manage
their risks effectively. The team takes a business partnering approach to support areas
of the Department to help implement effective risk management.

The team works closely with other professional experts within the directorate and
department including finance, governance, project delivery and commercial. The team
also manages the relationship with internal audit (the Government Internal Audit
Agency (GIAA)), closely collaborating with the agency throughout all stages of the
audit plan delivery cycle. This includes reviewing all audit reports to ensure they are
factual and accurately reflect the risks to the department, and reporting GIAA
progress to the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC).

Job description

Key responsibilities are likely to include:

Working with Directors, senior managers, risk leads and owners to ensure they are
identifying, assessing, managing, monitoring and reporting risks in their areas in
alignment with the Risk Management Framework.
Developing an understanding of policy and operational priorities within specified
business areas and build relationships with risk leads and owners.
Supporting the Head of Risk Assurance and Audit in developing the departmental
Risk Management and Assurance Frameworks and deliver training on these.
Working closely with another Grade 7 Risk Assurance and Audit Lead in the team
(both roles involve leading across a portfolio of risk and assurance / internal audit
with potential to flex across portfolios).
Supporting Directors and their teams through the Annual Assurance Reviews
utilising data to draw insights on the effectiveness of controls in managing risk.
Preparing risk and assurance papers and reports for boards and committees.
Engaging with functional directors to support them in assessing compliance with
functional standards.
Working closely with GIAA and our senior management team to ensure the timely
finalisation of the internal audit plan and facilitate the execution of the audit plan
minimising any delays or disruptions throughout the year, ensuring open
communication and collaboration.
Proactively providing guidance and support to business units to facilitate their
participation in the audit process and address any concerns or questions.
Participating in audit completion meetings to review recommendations, and action
plans resulting from audit engagements, refining recommendations as needed to
ensure they are practical, actionable, and aligned with business objectives.
Establishing and maintaining a system to track and monitor the closure of all
overdue and open audit actions identified in audit reports.
Preparing regular status papers on the progress of audit actions, highlighting key
achievements, challenges, and areas requiring additional attention for ARAC.
Collaborating with ARAC members to address any questions, concerns, or requests
for additional information related to audit actions.
Other duties

The post holder is required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties
reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade
and level of responsibility of this post.

Person specification

The ideal candidate would have the following skills and experience:

Essential requirements:

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage;
Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build and maintain strong working
relationships with both internal and external stakeholders at all levels, including
establishing and maintaining a good rapport with team members and our customers
(we work to support all our colleagues across the department and view them as our
customers).
The ability to influence and negotiate with diverse range of stakeholders to achieve
delivery against tight and demanding deadlines.
An understanding, gained through working experience of risk, control and
assurance.
An understanding, gained through working experience, of the principles of the three
lines of assurance and mapping assurance sources.
Proven ability to work with senior leaders to deliver change.
Proven ability to work as part of a team delivering at pace in a fast-moving
environment.
Be an excellent communicator, flexible in approach and able to explain complex
ideas both verbally and written at all levels using a variety of media including liaison
with colleagues via Teams (both video and instant messaging) phone, email and in
person as appropriate.
Strong Excel and data presentation skills and an ability to convey complex
information to a variety of audiences, including the preparation and delivery of
presentations and workshops with small groups of stakeholders.
The postholder will be required to work flexibly across a range of duties so the ability
to work in a culture of change and work with uncertainty and acceptable levels of
risk is key.
Adaptable and willing to review role and priorities with senior management team to
meet the current and future needs of the organisation.
Desirable skills:

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the
recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates;
Experience of working in an assurance / internal audit capacity as part of a three
lines of defence risk model.
A finance, risk or internal audit professional qualification (or part-qualification). If no
qualification is held, a willingness to undertake one is desirable.
A good understanding of Managing Public Money as well as the principles of
effective governance.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
Seeing the Big Picture
Changing and Improving
Communicating and Influencing
Working Together

Benefits
Alongside your salary of £55,836, Department for Business and Trade contributes
£16,175 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension
scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Learning and development tailored to your role.

An environment with flexible working options.
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics

may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully
committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are
keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications
from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability,
and people with gender diverse identities.

Please refer to the attached candidate pack for further information on our benefits.
Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-
person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent
to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online
application:
A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements
that relate to the essential criteria listed in this advert. Any gaps in employment
history within the last 2 years should be explained. The CV should not exceed more
than 2 x A4 pages.
A Personal Statement of up to 500 words, explaining how you consider your
personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the
role in reference to the essential criteria.

Your application will be sifted against the Experience criteria of the Civil Service
Success Profiles.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-
5 weeks after the closing date, though this is subject to change.

We aim to sift both the CV and the Personal Statement but, in the event of a large
number of applicants, an initial short sift may be conducted on the Personal Statement
only. Candidates who pass the initial sift of the Personal Statement will either progress
to a full sift where the CV is then assessed, or progressed straight to further
assessment/interview.

Candidates who pass the sift will be invited to interview, where we will assess you on
the Success Profiles elements of Behaviours.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best

throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to
our process. In order to request an adjustment:

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of

your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the
recruitment process.

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at

[email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date
to discuss your needs.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert,
please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Candidate Support

You may want to join a virtual Candidate Support Session. These sessions include
helpful tips and advice on the recruitment process, from application to interview.

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and
Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver
as a department.

Further Information:
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments
can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit
order based on location preferences.
Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will
mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between
government departments.
The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of
Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment
screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will
provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or
dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise
leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty. Any applicant who has details
held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application
is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud
against government.
 Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to
determine how these may affect you.
Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a
minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.
This role may be considered as a secondment opportunity. Please reach out to the
hiring manager listed at the bottom of this advert to discuss.Candidates that do not
quite meet the standard for this role may be offered a position at a lower grade.
Candidates that do not quite meet the standard for this role may be offered a
position at a lower grade.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record
Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland/Access NI on your
behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to

send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government
Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-
[email protected] stating the job reference number in the
subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service

telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to
the operations manager in confidence, or email [email protected]

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the
Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in
confidence, or email [email protected]

Vetting

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the
last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security
clearance application being rejected.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying
Vetting website.

Feedback

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

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is
found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window)
and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window)
initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or
have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new
window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to
save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :
Name : Paul Curtis
Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team
Email : [email protected]

Further information
Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of
fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service
Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles
and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DBT by
email: [email protected].
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service
Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.
For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please
visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints.