KEY SKILLS

• Excellent people skills, able to influence and build and maintain strong working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders at all levels, both internally and externally.
• Excellent management skills with an ability to manage through change, inspire, motivate, and develop capability within a team.
• Enthusiastic, motivated, adaptable, and proactive with the ability to work flexibly in a changing environment and respond to shifting priorities.
• Ability to innovate and challenge established thinking in self and others, and to offer insights and ideas with practical application coupled with the ability to drive change.
• Insightful business awareness with the ability to understand and analyse changing business context and landscape to assess and manage risk, capitalise on emerging opportunities, make sound evidence-based judgements, promote the interests of UKRI and research and innovation.
• Ability to instil confidence within stakeholders at the most senior levels, acting as a trusted advisor.
• Excellent communication skills including good experience of writing reports to a high standard
• Strong understanding of risk, assurance, and audit activities

KNOWLEDGE

Strong understanding of prevailing governance standards and public sector rules including but not limited to:

• Managing Public Money.
• HM Treasury and Cabinet Office standards and rules, particularly in relation to: Corporate Governance; Risk management; Spending Controls; Regularity and Propriety (conflicts of interest, gifts and hospitality, ethics).
• Internal Audit Standards.
• Audit Committee best practice.
• Orange Book.
• FRC Corporate Governance Code and its public sector equivalent.
• Government Functional Standards.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE

(S) – Assessed at shortlisting
(I) – Assessed at interview
(S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview

EXPERIENCE (S/I)

• Strong assurance management experience, including supporting and implementing effective assurance management strategies, policy, and frameworks in an organisation.
• Experience collaborating with senior teams and being a trusted advisor providing expert professional advice to senior management.
• Ability to innovate and challenge established thinking in self and others, and to offer insights and ideas with practical application coupled with the ability to drive change.
• Excellent management skills with an ability to manage through change, inspire, motivate, and develop capability within a team to deliver quality outcomes.
• Experience of attending Committees and Boards.
• Experience of working with internal and external Auditors (preferably National Audit Office)

QUALIFICATIONS (S)

• Certified Internal Auditor, IIA

Or

• Equivalent Assurance qualification

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,745, UK Research and Innovation contributes £16,439 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

ROLE OVERVIEW FOR MANAGEMENT ASSURANCE LEAD

The Management Assurance Lead works as part of the Risk and Assurance team, with the Head of Risk and Assurance, supporting the Director of Risk & Assurance and other UKRI senior leaders to ensure that UKRI operates best practice throughout its risk management and integrated assurance arrangements. The postholder may support work with stakeholders in government and other funders and partners on risk, assurance, and control framework approaches.

FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

This role does not have direct financial responsibilities but will assist the Head of Risk and Assurance to manage the team’s budget and spend.