Director of Transformation and Assurance (FTA)

Job summary

The Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) is driven by its unparalleled access across government to build ‘better insights, better outcomes’ for our clients.

This role offers a strong platform for career progression within the Agency and the wider civil service, providing opportunities to develop leadership, stakeholder engagement and strategic relationship management skills across government.

The Agency’s unique access across the public sector exposes you to different risk and control environments, allowing you to gain insights, apply experience, contribute meaningfully, and continue developing professionally.

Job description

We are an executive agency of HM Treasury established in April 2015 to improve the quality of internal audit provided to central government.

Most of the Agency’s people are professionally qualified internal auditors, accountants or investigators.

Many are also specialists in areas including counter fraud, project management, digital and commercial audit.

This is a new Director role responsible for the development and delivery of the Government Internal Audit Agency’s (GIAA) specialist internal audit services, predominantly in the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) functional area, but also in Project and Programme Management (PPM) and other specialist disciplines.

We are recruiting an accomplished senior leader with experience of leading technology-led transformation in a large and complex organisation. The successful candidate will bring strong technology credibility, a sound understanding of risk and control frameworks, and the ability to influence and provide authoritative challenge to senior stakeholders.

The post holder will shape and grow GIAA’s specialist assurance capability, ensuring our services remain relevant, impactful and forward-looking as technology, AI and emerging risks transform the way government operates.

We lead both the Government Internal Audit Profession and the Government Internal Audit Function.

Our workforce brings with it a unique depth of experience gained in a wide range of government departments, related bodies and other sectors.

This enables us to offer a high-quality service based on cross-government insight and a strong understanding of our customers’ business.

In GIAA, we aim to be a great place to work and to ensure that we have the capability and capacity to make even more of a significant contribution to achieving A Brilliant Civil Service over the coming years.

Our initial focus was on becoming “a single audit practice”. We are now focused on taking GIAA to the next level so we can provide better insights and better outcomes for government.

As Director of Transformation and Assurance, you will:

• lead GIAA’s strategic shift towards a more DDaT-focused approach to assurance, ensuring technology, data and digital risks are reflected effectively in audit planning and delivery
• shape and deliver a compelling approach to technology-related risk and assurance, helping senior clients understand and manage emerging risks across cyber security, AI, cloud services, data quality and operational resilience
• build GIAA’s specialist capability and capacity, developing the skills, expertise and partnerships needed to provide high-quality, forward-looking assurance across government
• position GIAA as a trusted adviser to senior digital and technology leaders, providing insight that supports better management of complex and rapidly evolving risks
• harness insight from specialist assurance work to identify cross-government themes, emerging risks and opportunities to strengthen controls and governance
• play a leading role on GIAA’s Executive Committee, helping to shape the Agency’s strategy, transformation and long-term effectiveness.

This is a new role and it will evolve over time but initially, the primary responsibilities will be:

• providing strategic leadership for GIAA’s specialist internal audit portfolio, including DDaT, Project Portfolio Management and Commercial and Contract Management (including Grants), ensuring services are high quality, impactful and delivered to agreed professional standards
• developing and implementing a medium and long-term strategy to grow GIAA’s specialist assurance capability, with an initial focus on DDaT and the development of wider organisational capability in areas such as AI and core technology controls
• building influential relationships with senior stakeholders across government, ensuring specialist risks are appropriately reflected in audit planning, client engagement and assurance activity
• leading and developing a directorate of around 60 people, including two SCS1 Deputy Directors, creating a high-performing, inclusive and collaborative culture and building capability for the future
• overseeing the effective deployment of internal resources and external specialist partners, ensuring GIAA has the right expertise and capacity to meet client needs and deliver value for money.
• championing quality, innovation and continuous improvement across specialist services, ensuring delivery complies with the Global Internal Audit Standards and GIAA methodology
• working across GIAA and the wider government internal audit community to turn specialist insight into improved strategic risk management, governance and controls
• contributing collectively to the leadership of GIAA as an Executive Committee member, supporting delivery of the Agency’s strategy, transformation, performance and financial sustainability.

Person specification

Essential Experience:

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate their knowledge, experience, capability and behavioural approach to a high standard against the following key criteria:

• a strong track record of leading/consulting/advising on significant technology-led transformation within large or complex organisations, functions or services; focused on building people capability and confidence, fostering strong relationships and driving impactful change
• significant senior leadership experience relevant to digital, data and technology, with the breadth of understanding and credibility to engage and influence senior executives and DDaT professionals
• robust strategic and commercial acumen gained in large scale and complex environments, with a proven track record of shaping cultural change, leading high-performing teams, driving continuous improvement, and delivering measurable impact, through dynamic strategic leadership
• a thorough understanding of risk, control and assurance frameworks, gained either through leading assurance activity or as a senior leader responsible for receiving and acting on assurance
• a proven track record in building organisational capability to respond to evolving technology risks and controls, including cyber security, AI, data quality and operational resilience with a focus on empowering ideas, and implementing innovation
• a proven ability to communicate complex technology and risk issues clearly, creating a compelling narrative that influences senior stakeholders and builds confidence, engagement and an appetite for strategic and organisational change.

If you would like to discuss the role prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please contact colleagues at Gatenby Sanderson who are supporting with this campaign: GIAAsearch@gatenbysanderson.com

How to Apply

Please refer to the attached candidate pack for all details on the application and selection process.

To apply for this role, you will need to submit your employment history, personal details and provide a statement of suitability of no more than 1,250 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential experience in the person specification.

Please submit your application direct to Gatenby Sanderson byclicking the link

• Once submitted your online application cannot be amended. Please ensure that it is fully complete before final submission.
• If you cannot apply online, please contact devon.coates@gatenbysanderson.com for assistance.
• The assessment process will include:
  • Case study situational judgement (1 hour preparation, 1 hour assessment – virtual)
  • Panel interview including presentation
• The recruitment team will contact candidates to inform them of the outcome of the longlisting and shortlisting process.
• If you are selected for a longlist interview, this will be conducted by Gatenby Sanderson.
• If you are subsequently shortlisted, you will receive comprehensive information about the next stages of the selection process. This may include an informal meeting with a member of the GIAA leadership team. This meeting will not form part of the formal assessment process.
• Please note that feedback is only available to candidates who attend the case study situational judgement and interview.
• Interviews will be conducted in person in central London

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £105,000, Government Internal Audit Agency contributes £30,418 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Benefits

• Competitive salaries and in-year rewards
• Flexible working
• A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Discount on big brands
• Volunteering days
• Season Ticket Loan and Cycle to Work Schemes
• Free eyesight tests
• Family-friendly HR policies
• 25 days’ annual leave increasing by one day per year of service to 30 days after 5 years’ service
• Geographically based Agency

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Recruitment Timeline

• Closing date: 9 November 2026
• Shortlist w/c 23 November 2026
• Assessments: w/c 30 November & w/c 7 December 2026
• Interviews: w/c 14 December (in person in London)

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline.

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs profile.

Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.

As part of our pre-employment security checks, if you are invited to interview and are not a current GIAA member of staff, you will need to bring:

• Proof of identity, e.g. your passport or driver’s license. Documents must be in date and valid.
• Proof of address, e.g. a utility bill or bank statement issued within the past 3 months
• Proof of your National Insurance (NI) number, e.g. letter from DWP confirming your NI number, or P60
• If you do not bring a UK or EU passport, you will need to bring other documentation of your right to work in the UK, e.g. your visa, biometric residence permit or birth certificate.

Further details regarding acceptable documents will be provided in the invitation to interview.

Please let us know if your contact details change at any time during the selection process.

Eligibility Statement:

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Checks will be performed as part of pre-employment checks in line with this. Please refer to the Candidate FAQ document attached to the advert for more information.

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, individuals appointed to the Treasury group will be subject to National Security Vetting. The level of security vetting required for this role is Security Check (SC)

To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out, applicants will need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. In exceptional circumstances, for example if you have been working abroad on a government posting, a lack of residency would not be a bar to security clearance however the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case-by-case basis once the advert closing date has passed.

Please read the Vetting Charter for information on what to expect during the vetting process and what will be expected from you. Many areas of your life may be explored during your vetting journey, and it is important that every individual, regardless of their background and experiences, should feel comfortable going through this personal process, whilst having confidence that it is fair, proportionate, and inclusive.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Gatenby Sanderson
• Email : GIAAsearch@gatenbysanderson.com

Recruitment team

• Email : giaarecruitment@giaa.gov.uk

Further information

Complaints Procedure: The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact: GIAARecruitment@giaa.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

SCS2-Director Transformation and Assurance-Candidate Pack_ Opens in new window (pdf, 795kB)Success Profiles - Candidate Overview (4) Opens in new window (pdf, 616kB)