Senior Analyst / Senior Auditor (Performance Auditor)

Want to make an application? Make sure your CV is up to date, then read the following job specs carefully before applying.

Contract type: Permanent Full Time

Location: London or Newcastle offices based with a minimum of 2 days a week attendance in either office.

Salary: Newcastle c£50,906, London c£56,561 plus Civil Service Employer Pension Contribution of 28.9%

We welcome applications from candidates who work part-time and are keen to support colleagues to work flexibly including on a job share basis.

How to apply:

• Please click on the advert apply button.
• Register and apply by filling out your online profile.
• Submit an up-to-date CV. You can use this template or you can choose the format of your CV, but it should be no longer than two pages of A4 using size 10 font and cover the points in the template.
• You must submit an application form.
• We do not require a cover letter.

IF you are shortlisted for interview you will be provided with a written case study exercise. Once the exercise is completed it MUST be emailed by the closing deadline for submission (9.30am Monday 15th June). Please note that candidates who do not submit the case study by the specified deadline will not be considered for interview.

Stage 1: Submission of CV and application form. We do not require a covering letter.

Stage 2: Case study exercise and interview – shortlisted candidates will need to submit the exercise by 15th June. The estimated time it will take to complete the exercise is 2 hours.

Campaign Timetable:

• Deadline for applications - 11.59pm Sunday 31st May
• Webinar session – 12:00pm - 1.00pm Tuesday 19th May
• Application shortlisting meeting - Wednesday 10th June
• Date applicants will be notified if they have been shortlisted for interview - 11th June
• Case study sent to shortlisted candidates - 11th / 12th June
• Deadline for submission of case study - WC 15th June
• Interviews - Monday 22nd June – Monday 29th June

Webinar Session: The session will provide an opportunity to find out more about the role, the skills we are looking for (including transferable skills) and the experience required. You will also have the chance to hear from colleagues who are currently undertaking the role and ask questions. If you are interested in attending, please register your interest by emailing and we will send you the joining link.

The role: Thank you for your interest in joining the National Audit Office (NAO) as a Senior Analyst / Senior Auditor (performance auditor). We are independent of government and the civil service, and we play a critical role supporting Parliament scrutinise how effectively the government spends public money. Our 2025-2030 strategy sets out our ambition to contribute to two distinct outcomes – helping to improve the productivity and resilience of public services and supporting better financial management and reporting in government. Our strategy is also clear that government will need to innovate if it is to deliver effective and affordable public services. We will use our public audit perspective to highlight positive examples of innovation within the public sector and take account of government’s risk appetite in our audit approach. The recommendations from our work can result in financial savings and positive changes in government to improve services and ensure value for money for taxpayers.

You will tackle complex projects that inform debates and influence some of the biggest decisions that government makes. You will work with dedicated and talented people toward shared and important goals. By taking on new opportunities and challenges you’ll build a rewarding and fascinating career. Each year we publish around 60 major value for money (VFM) reports looking at various government programmes and projects. VFM reports are multi-method reports often delivered at pace to achieve real impact. We write long form reports and other types of written communication on complex subjects in ways that non-specialist or technical audiences can understand. Our work can cover any area where government spends public money, ranging from government’s plans to build new hospitals to the use of data analytics to tackle fraud and error. Our lessons learned reports bring together what we know on important recurring issues to make it easier for others to understand and apply the lessons from our work, such as government’s use of external consultants and key findings from the NAO’s financial audits.

We are 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.

Relationships and Accountability: You will lead a team to deliver value for money work to time and budget. You will work with other people of all grades. You will work with Senior Audit Managers who support and manage the team to deliver high-quality reports. The Director is accountable for the overall quality and impact of the audit. You will commonly meet and interact with senior people in the NAO and in government bodies.

The people we are looking for: This role operates within the NAO’s hybrid working model, with a minimum expectation of two days per week working from the office (or at an audited body), in line with our organisation wide approach. We are committed to supporting flexible ways of working and actively encourage applications from candidates seeking part time hours. Working patterns, including office days, are agreed with the line manager. Based in either our London or Newcastle office, you’ll join a collaborative and supportive environment that values work life balance, flexibility and professional development.

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: A minimum of a 2:1 degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., social research methods, mathematics, statistics, economics, management science/ operations research), or a research based postgraduate qualification, and relevant experience; or relevant experience in research, analysis or performance audit. This may include but is not limited to experience in management or other consultancy or working as a researcher. For Senior Auditors this means: An ACA qualification or other professional qualification (e.g., ACCA, CIPFA, CIA, MIIA, CIMA) with relevant experience working in performance and/or internal audit.

Abilities: It will be essential that you can demonstrate the ability to:

• Balance tasks and priorities to lead a complex, challenging portfolio of work including supporting the work and development of others.
• Use your technical knowledge and expertise to deliver high quality work across our VFM reports and wider work.
• Scrutinise a wide range of government and third-party information sources and consider reliability and usefulness.
• Make sound judgements and reach clear conclusions that are clearly evidence based.
• Analyse complex ideas or proposals using a wide evidence base to develop meaningful recommendations.
• 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.
• Think creatively and innovatively in how you work.
• Engage effectively with colleagues and clients at all levels, including specialist NAO teams and the people we audit to create impact through your work.
• Influence and add value by building your understanding of the challenges faced by the people we audit.

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

• 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.
• Compliance with corporate responsibilities and interest in supporting others to do so.
• Working in accordance with the NAO's values and champion our diversity and inclusion strategy.
• Intellectual curiosity, especially about using data and evidence to answer questions.
• Flexibility to make a significant contribution across a range of public sector spending areas and outputs.
• Ability to lead a team and work co-operatively and collaboratively to deliver outputs.
• Drive and determination to overcome obstacles, resistance or challenges in order to achieve goals.
• Passion for improving government and the ability to defend and promote your point of view in the face of challenge.

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. Applicants will not be discriminated against on the grounds of any protected characteristic or any other extraneous factor.

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 be aware that we do not provide sponsorship for work visas for this position. Applicants must already meet the nationality requirements outlined above.