Job Description
Role: Senior Internal Auditor – Generalist or Technology Location: London, Cheltenham or Greater Manchester Salary: London : £58,281, Cheltenham or Greater Manchester: £56,548 Flexible Working Hours: We understand the importance of work-life balance and offer flexible working options to suit your needs. For this role, we provide homeworking arrangements with up to 1 day a week working from home. Whether you’re looking for full-time or part-time hours (minimum of 3 days per week), we strive to offer the flexibility you want. About Us MI5, MI6 and GCHQ are the UK’s Intelligence Services. We work together to safeguard Britain’s people, interests and businesses from various threats at home, overseas and online, including cyber-attacks, espionage, terrorism, and organised crime. Working across our vital missions, you’ll deliver impact at the heart of national security, all within a supportive and inclusive environment that allows everyone to thrive. The Role We currently have vacancies for Senior Internal Auditors in our vibrant and supportive Internal Audit and Consultancy function. As a trusted business partner with the Intelligence Services, we protect value, deliver insight, develop talent and future leaders. We have privileged exposure to the work of the community as a whole and take pride in delivering high quality and impactful services, while continuously seeking opportunities to innovate. It’s challenging, varied and meaningful work that you simply won’t find anywhere else. We’re looking for experienced Senior Internal Auditors to support the Deputy Head of Internal Audit. Working at pace, you’ll manage and deliver internal audit assurance and advisory work to MI5, MI6 and GCHQ across a wide range of areas. This will include topics that are truly unique to the intelligence community, such as reviews of mission-focused capabilities and adherence to the legal framework underpinning our mission. Your contribution will make a real difference. You’ll provide customers with high quality assurance, advisory and investigatory services that help strengthen and enhance our risk management, governance and internal control arrangements. You’ll be working on a variety of complex audits and assignments, which could range from leading and overseeing a small team to deliver a project, to conducting independent reviews to quality, budget and agreed timescale considerations. You may have the opportunity to mentor and manage trainees and newly qualified internal auditors, helping them grow and succeed in their roles. You’ll be based in Cheltenham, London or Greater Manchester. Being able to travel within the UK is essential, and there may be opportunities for occasional overseas travel. Visit our internal audit page to find out more about the team. (Penna – please insert link www.xxx.gov.uk/careers/opportunities/audit ) using ‘internal audit page’) About You You’ll quicky understand and evaluate business arrangements, and you’ll be a credible communicator who can interact with staff at all levels across the organisation, including taking a leading role when communicating with senior stakeholders. The experience you bring to the role will vary depending on your specialism: Senior Internal Auditor – Generalist : You’ll have a diverse and broad internal audit background. You will have experience of auditing a range of corporate and operational areas. Senior Internal Auditor – Technology : You’ll have a diverse and broad technology background. We particularly value experience and expertise in relation to cyber security, ITGC, change management, technology infrastructure, cloud computing and service management. You’ll also possess audit experience across data governance, data privacy and data security. Most importantly, you’ll be passionate about learning and keeping up to date with emerging technologies and trends. Regardless of the area your audit experience is in, you’ll have a strong and demonstrable internal audit and risk management background in the public and/or private sector. You’ll have a relevant professional qualification (e.g. IIA, CCAB or equivalent). For technology focussed auditors, CISA qualification or equivalent is desirable. Your experience will include performing complex, high and medium-risk focussed internal audits, and you’ll have confidence in navigating ambiguity and complexity. You’ll have knowledge and experience in applying audit testing methodologies, data analysis, root cause analysis and strong report writing skills. This includes the ability to review the design of control processes and their operating effectiveness, while continuously looking at ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these processes. You’ll have demonstrable people management experience, with the ability to lead small teams to deliver a portfolio of audit assignments, manage competing priorities and deliver audit work at pace, to time and quality commitments. The ability to engage and build relationships with internal and external stakeholders is crucial. This should include experience of successfully negotiating and communicating with customers at all levels within the organisation, to deliver difficult messages and influence change in a collaborative way. A proactive mindset is essential, as you’ll need to identify methods or approaches to continuously improve internal audit capabilities and ways of working. Experience with data analytics, including the use of SQL and /or VBA Excel to query data and data visualisation software such as Qlik Sense, Tableau, or Power BI, is desirable but not essential. As is experience providing assurance over change and transformation programmes is also desirable. Training and Development In line with our focus on developing talent and future leaders, development opportunities will form an important part of this role. We’re committed to supporting you in achieving the professional qualifications you need to progress your career with us in Internal Audit. This includes providing access to relevant training programmes, workshops, and continuous learning opportunities that will enhance your skills and knowledge. From the very beginning, you’ll be supported by a dedicated buddy who’ll help you navigate your new role and integrate smoothly into our team. Additionally, your line manager will provide ongoing guidance and support throughout your posting, ensuring you have resources and assistance you need to succeed. Beyond this, you’ll have access to robust internal communities and support networks, which offer a collaborative environment for sharing knowledge and experiences. Mentorship is also a key component of our development strategy. You’ll have the opportunity to connect with experienced mentors who can offer valuable insights and advice to aid your professional growth. These mentors, along with your colleagues, will help you establish a strong foundation for a thriving career in Internal Audit within the Intelligence Services. Rewards and Benefits You’ll receive a starting salary of £56,548 - £58,281 (depending on location), along with additional benefits such as: 25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme Opportunities to work flexibly, subject to business needs Interest-free season ticket loan (travel) Excellent pension scheme Cycle to work scheme Facilities such as a subsidised gym and restaurant, and on-site coffee bars (at some locations) Paid parental and adoption leave Equal Opportunities At MI5, MI6 and GCHQ diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds. Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our websites: https://www.ERA.gov.uk/careers/diversity https://www.RAW-careers.co.uk/life-at-RAW/diversity-inclusion.html https://www.GRO.gov.uk/explore-careers.html We’re Disability Confident MI5, MI6 and GCHQ are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a person-to-person interview to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. This is our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria, which will be measured at application sift, are: Evidence a broad internal audit background with experience auditing various corporate and operational areas. Or, if you are a technology audit specialist: evidence a diverse technology background with experience in cyber security, ITGC, change management, technology infrastructure, cloud computing, service management, data governance, data privacy, and data security. What to Expect Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order: Initially, you’ll be prompted to answer pre-screening questions to determine eligibility. If you meet the criteria, you’ll be invited to complete an application form, where you’ll need to create a login and provide your full name, email, and a chosen password. Our recruitment team will review your application. If successful, you’ll be invited to an interview, to demonstrate key behaviours relevant to the role. If you pass this stage, we’ll begin the vetting process, including a security interview focused on your life and experiences, not on competencies or capabilities. Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer. Before You Apply To work at MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here. (Penna link to appropriate website Eligibility sections) This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here. (PENNA link to org website vetting page). Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage. You’ll need to live within a commutable distance to the location you apply for. Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help to manage your application with us more discretely. For roles based in London, Manchester, and Cheltenham, candidates must live within commutable distance. Applicants should consider financial implications and practicalities before applying. For London based roles, an interest-free loan is available to assist with relocating into privately rented accommodation. However, for roles based in Manchester and Cheltenham, relocation costs are not available. Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member. Right to Withdraw Statement: Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and