Audit Operations Manager Ref. 2386

Stonewall Top Employer AwardSocial Mobility Foundation AwardThe Times Top 100Disability confident leader

Finance, Audit and Procurement
Cheltenham, Central London
Central London: £49,346 - £53,211, Cheltenham: £47,610 - £51,638 depending on skills, qualifications and experience
At MI5, MI6 and GCHQ we help protect the UK and its interests from threats to national security at home and abroad.  We work closely as partners in the intelligence community to safeguard Britain’s people from various threats including cyber-attacks, espionage, terrorism, and organised crime. It’s challenging, varied and meaningful work that you simply won’t find anywhere else.

We currently have an exciting opportunity to join our Internal Audit and Consultancy Team as an Operations Manager. The Internal Audit and Consultancy function is a diverse team that works as a trusted business partner with the agencies: protecting value, delivering insight and developing talent and future leaders. Our work helps the Agencies achieve their objectives. We have privileged exposure to the work of the community and take pride in delivering high quality and impactful work, while continuously seeking opportunities to innovate our ways of working. It’s challenging, varied and meaningful work that you simply won’t find anywhere else.

The Role

As Internal Audit Operations Manager, you will coordinate and manage the administration and operational activities within, and on behalf of the entire Internal Audit function. You will manage the Business Support Team and will play a critical enabling role. This will include performance, people and financial management as well as playing a key role in relation to capability development.

While the role is challenging, our flexible working policy ensures a healthy work-life balance. Wherever possible, we accommodate reduced hours or job share options, balanced against business needs.

As an Operations Manager you will:

•    Manage the Internal Audit Business Support team and oversee the delivery of administrative support to the function
•    Manage the reporting and monitoring process for audit performance, including audit delivery, action tracking, input to Audit Risk and Assurance Committees and other key executive and senior management committees
•    Support the annual audit planning process
•    Support the ongoing maintenance of the Internal Audit methodology, including the associated quality assurance processes, and developing and supporting the audit management system
•    Support people related activities including recruitment and induction activities, and the reporting requirements to support resource management
•    Support the internal audit team’s stakeholder engagement activities
•    Manage training and development requirements across the internal audit function
•    Manage internal communications, including maintaining the function’s intranet website
•    Maintain the function’s Business Continuity plan
•    Manage the function’s budget, which will include analysis and reporting

About You

To succeed in this role you will need to be:  

•    Proactive and able to work autonomously, while prioritising your workloads
•    Have strong administrative and organisational skills
•    Excellent verbal and written communication, with the ability to communicate clearly and credibly with a range of stakeholders
•    Able to establish good working relationships with team members and stakeholders
•    Comfortable working under pressure and to tight timescales, using your own initiative as well as playing an active role within a team
•    Able to think laterally and continually improve processes and ways of working to improve the overall working environment
•    Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and the promotion of a positive culture based on collaboration
•    Have a working knowledge of Microsoft Office and data analytics tools to create visual and interactive reports

You must also have demonstrable experience of working in an Internal Audit function, and it is highly desirable that you that you possess an Internal Audit qualification. This is because a key element of the role involves managing the annual audit planning exercise and maintaining the Internal Audit methodology.

A basic knowledge of project management disciplines is also highly desirable, as you will be managing and delivering projects from start to through to completion.

Training and development

At MI5, MI6 and GCHQ we’re proud of our inclusive and supportive working environment that’s designed to encourage open minds and attitudes. As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential. With comprehensive training and development opportunities, tailored to your needs and the requirements of your work, we’ll enable you to flourish in your role and perform to the very best of your abilities.

Rewards and Benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of: £49,346 – £53,211 (London) and £47,610 – £51,638 (Cheltenham) plus other benefits including:

•    25 days annual leave, rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service, plus 10.5 days public and privilege holidays
•    Financial support for personal learning and development
•    Opportunities to work flexibly, subject to business needs
•    Interest free season ticket loan
•    Excellent pension scheme
•    Cycle to work scheme
•    Parental and adoption leave
•    Subsidised gym and restaurant, plus on-site coffee bars


Culture and Working Environment 
 
As part of our team, you’ll discover a workplace that’s welcoming, supportive and encouraging. We recognise that you don’t get that without diversity. You’ll be part of an organisation where people want to support one another and make a difference. Aside from fostering an open culture, we’ve got a range of growing affinity groups. For example:  

•    Ethnic Minority and gender equality networks
•    Groups supporting wellbeing, mental health, neurodiversity and disability 
•    Faith/No Faith communities for staff to come together 
•    LGBTQ+ support networks
 
You’ll also find a range of sports, activity, interest and social groups to help you settle in and connect with people with similar interests. 

Location

Although you’ll be based in London or Cheltenham, travel within the UK is essential, with a possibility of occasional overseas travel. You will also need to live within a commutable distance of your work location. We do not cover relocation costs but there will also be the opportunity to work from home during part of your working week.

Before You Apply
 
To work at MI5 you need to be a British citizen. We do 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.
 
Honesty and integrity are really important if you want to work at MI5. Take some time to read about the vetting process and make sure you meet the criteria in the vetting pages of the ‘How to Apply’ section. The process can take some time, but this is just because it’s thorough. Giving misleading information and omitting or concealing information during the recruitment and vetting process is viewed very seriously.  
 
The role is based in London or Cheltenham, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application.
 
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.
 
Equal Opportunities

At MI5, 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, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodiverse conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce.  
 
We’re Disability Confident

As a Disability Confident leader, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview. This is known as Offer of an Interview. To secure an interview for this vacancy, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:

•    Eligibility Questions – You will be asked a series of questions relating to the role and working for this organisation. If you meet the criteria here, you will be directed to the initial application form.
•    Application Form – The application form will be sifted and if successful you will be invited to interview (this could be either a telephone, video or face to face interview). This is our Offer of an Interview.
 
Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply, you must meet our residency criteria. You must be a born or naturalised British Citizen and one of your parents must be a British Citizen or have substantial ties to the UK.  Candidates must normally have been resident in the UK for seven out of the last ten years. This is particularly important if you were born outside of the UK. You will nonetheless be considered if you have, for example, served overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of Her Majesty’s Government, studied abroad, or lived overseas with your parents.

You can apply at the age of 17 years and 6 months, if successful you will not be offered a start date prior to your 18th birthday. Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member. 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. Further information on our eligibility criteria can be found on the How to Apply section.
 
What to Expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

•    Application form
•    Automated video interview
•    Final interview
•    Vetting process

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process in order 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.
 
Our Vetting

To work in this role you will need the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community has to go through and it can take some time. As part of the DV process you will be asked to fill in a detailed questionnaire and attend an interview with a vetting officer. In your interview the vetting officer will have a thorough, compassionate and honest discussion with you about you as a person and your life experiences, to ensure holding a DV clearance is right for you. You don’t need to do any preparation for your vetting interview, just be honest and be yourself. All applicants for DV are treated impartially and consistently, irrespective of gender, race, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics. To find out more about the DV process please search our website. 
 
Right to Withdraw   
 
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 submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.  



This Program / Vacancy is closed to applications.