Senior Internal Auditor Generalist or Technology London, England
Job description
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 Internal Audit and Consultancy function. We’re a diverse team that works as a trusted business partner with the intelligence agencies: protecting value, delivering insight, and developing 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.
Visit our internal audit page to find out more about the team.
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 in line with quality, budget and agreed timescales.
Although the role is contracted to MI5, you will be based in London or Cheltenham (located within an hour’s journey of Birmingham and Bristol). The ability to travel within the UK is essential, with the possibility of occasional overseas travel.
About You
Regardless of specialism, you’ll be able to understand and evaluate business arrangements quickly and be a credible communicator who can interact with staff at all levels across the organisation - taking a lead role when communicating to senior stakeholders. As a Senior Internal Auditor, you could also manage a small number of newly qualified Internal Auditors.
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.
Senior Internal Auditor – General: You’ll have a diverse and broad internal audit background. You will have experience of auditing a range of corporate and operational areas.
What You’ll Bring To The Role:
- A strong and demonstrable internal audit and risk management background in the public and/ or private sector.
- A relevant professional qualification (eg. IIA, CCAB or equivalent). For technology focussed auditors CISA qualification or equivalent is desirable.
- Experience of performing complex, high and medium-risk focussed internal audits, and confidence in navigating ambiguity and complexity.
- Knowledge and experience of applying audit testing methodologies, data analysis, root cause analysis and strong report writing skills. This should include 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.
- Demonstrable people management experience, with the ability to lead small teams to deliver a portfolio of audit assignments and 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. 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, and able to identify methods or approaches to continuously improve internal audit capabilities and ways of working.
- Experience of data analytics, including use of SQL and / or VBA excel to query data and use of data visualisation software such as Qlik Sense, Tableau or Power BI is desirable, but not essential for this role.
- Experience of providing assurance over change and transformation programmes is also desirable, but not essential for this role.
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 will support you in achieving the professional qualifications you need to progress your career with us in Internal Auditing.
You will be supported initially by a buddy, and by your line manager throughout your posting. Internal communities, support networks and mentors will also be available to you.
Rewards and Benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £53,190 - £54,805 (depending on location) plus other benefits including:
- 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
- Personal Learning Budget.
- Opportunities to work flexibly, subject to business needs
- Interest-free season ticket loan
- Excellent pension scheme
- Cycle to work scheme
- Facilities such as a subsidised gym and restaurant, and on-site coffee bars
- 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.mi5.gov.uk/careers/diversity
https://www.gchq-careers.co.uk/life-at-gchq/diversity-inclusion.html
https://www.sis.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 (in order of application process) are:
- Passing the eligibility stage
- Meeting essential criteria for the role at the application form stage
What to Expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
- The first thing we will ask you to do is complete our pre-screening questions to find out if you meet our initial criteria. If you do meet these criteria, we will then ask you to fill out a full application form where you will need to create a log in and provide your full name, email address and a memorable password.
- Our recruitment team will conduct a sift of your application. Successful applicants will be invited to an interview, where you will have the opportunity to demonstrate key behaviours relevant to the role.
- If you are successful at this stage, we will then start the vetting process, which includes a Security Interview. This interview is an important part of the selection process. It’s an interview to explore your life and experiences, and it’s not a competency or capability-based interview.
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.
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.
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 will be based in either London or Cheltenham and you’ll need to live within a commutable distance to the location you apply for. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. A loan is available to support individuals with relocation costs.
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 submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.
