Senior Audit Manager, Environment and Climate Change

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

Hours: Full time or Part time. The NAO welcomes applications from candidates who work part-time (0.8 FTE) minimum and are keen to support colleagues to work flexibly including on a job share basis.

Salary: London: c.£75,000, Newcastle: c.£67,500, pro-rata per annum.

Contract type: Fixed term until end of September 2027.

How to apply: To apply please register on our website and provide the following:

• An up-to-date CV
• Covering letter setting out briefly how you meet the required skills set out below (word limit: 600 words)

The closing date for applications is 24 June 2026. We expect interviews to take place in early to mid July.

Nationality Requirements:

• 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 note, we are not able to sponsor work visas. Please contact us at hrservicedesk@nao.org.uk should you have any questions on your nationality eligibility.

Our work: As the UK’s public spending watchdog, we examine how environmental and climate risks affect the delivery of government objectives, and how public bodies manage these. We scrutinise how central government manages public investment to address climate change and reverse environmental degradation. Providing independent insight to Parliament, we support better decision-making and value for money for taxpayers.

The Environment and Climate Change Insights team provides advice to financial and value-for-money auditors across the NAO, strengthening their engagement with government bodies. We draw on evidence from audits to produce insights and good practice guides, making it easier for government, Parliament and others to understand and apply the lessons from our work.

The Senior Audit Manager leads our work on ongoing sustainability reporting, engaging with government departments and parliamentary staff, and advising NAO auditors on expectations. We are advertising on a fixed-term basis until end of September 2027 to cover a sabbatical for this role.

Responsibilities:

• Lead an engagement and influencing plan to strengthen the quality of sustainability reporting by government bodies and promote scrutiny of this material.
• Support skills development of NAO financial auditors relating to climate-related risk, including judgements about whether climate disclosures meet expectations.
• Develop the team's programme of knowledge and insights publications, particularly on sustainability reporting, and lead the production of high-quality reports.
• Present on the NAO’s sustainability reporting expectations to parliamentary, governmental and non-governmental stakeholders at a senior level.
• Bring insight on climate- and environment-related financial risks and opportunities to teams that audit the value for money of government departments.
• Network with expert communities, standard setters, representative bodies, and other Supreme Audit Institutions, learning from their experience and sharing ours.
• Manage an Audit Manager and support their professional development.
• Develop and maintain your own professional knowledge and skills.
• Oversee budget management and financial reporting for a team of eight.

Additional responsibilities include:

• Work closely with two other Senior Audit Managers in the team, one environmental value-for-money specialist and one technical sustainability assurance specialist.
• Help the latter with the development of a methodological approach to sustainability assurance, in case of future requirement.
• Provide briefings for NAO senior leadership and MPs, and respond to correspondence with the public, as requested by your director.
• Present the NAO’s wider findings on environmental and climate themes to external and internal audiences.

Relationships and accountabilities:

• Reports to: Director of Environment and Climate Change
• Internal relationships: Heads of specialist hubs/functions; audit teams covering a range of government bodies; leads for value for money and financial audit; communications and Parliamentary relations teams. You will work particularly closely with the NAO’s Financial and Risk Management hub.
• External relationships: Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee; external experts within government, industry bodies and NGOs; national and international standard-setters; other international Supreme Audit Institutions.
• Staff resources managed: You will manage an Audit Manager, and (on a project basis where needed) others from the team and across the NAO.

Professional requirements:

• An ACA or other professional qualification (e.g. ACCA, CIPFA, CIA, MIIA, CIMA)
• A sound understanding of relevant frameworks, principles and standards for sustainability reporting and assurance (including but not limited to: HMT SRG, TCFD, UK SRS and ISSA 5000), and experience of working with these professionally.

Skills required:

• Engage and influence stakeholders
• Achieve impact with senior stakeholders, including Parliament and government, using evidence and insight.
• Represent the NAO credibly and with authority at senior levels, including with a range of external stakeholders.
• Build and maintain effective relationships and influence others at all levels of an organisation.

Manage and deliver projects:

• Manage projects effectively, using tools to plan work, track progress, manage risks and provide clear reporting.
• Manage competing priorities to deliver to deadlines and quality standards.

Analyse evidence and provide sound judgement:

• Use professional judgement and scepticism to assess the quality of existing reporting and challenge where improvement is needed.
• Make sound, independent judgements on complex issues and advise others clearly.

Produce and oversee high-quality outputs:

• Oversee the production of clearly written outputs, designed to engage a wide audience.
• Ensure that findings and recommendations are supported by robust, well-documented evidence.

Lead people and foster an inclusive, collaborative culture:

• Work in accordance with the NAO’s values and champion our diversity and inclusion strategy.
• Lead, develop and motivate colleagues from diverse backgrounds to deliver high quality work and achieve their potential.
• Work collaboratively and flexibly, supporting colleagues’ wellbeing while delivering organisational objectives.

Drive innovation and continuous improvement:

• Show creativity and innovation in improving how the team and wider organisation work.
• Demonstrate commitment to their own professional and personal development, to the NAO’s strategic objectives, and to corporate initiatives.

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 (HRServiceDesk@nao.org.uk).
• Applicants will not be discriminated against on the grounds of any protected characteristic or any other extraneous factor.