NFI Governance & Assurance Lead

Job summary

Please note that the PSFA (including the National Fraud Initiative) will imminently be moving from the Cabinet Office to the Department for Work and Pensions.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority is at the cutting edge of the government’s response to tackling fraud against the public sector and builds on the internationally recognised reputation of the Counter Fraud Function as a world-leader in tackling fraud and corruption in the public sector.

Fraud represents a cost to the government which is estimated at £33.2bn - £58.8bn per year. At PSFA, we play an instrumental role in spearheading the Government's response to fraud by developing innovative policies and initiatives to counter this threat with the mission of funnelling real, tangible financial benefits back to the public.

In pursuing this goal, we utilise a network that spans across public and private sectors. Serving as the foremost experts in public sector fraud, PSFA affords those who work with us unrivalled access to Ministers in an area that is rapidly rising to the forefront of the Government’s agenda. With an ever-expanding remit in an arena of growing ministerial priority, now is a truly exciting time to join a team that has an impact throughout the machinery of government.

The NFI team manages and delivers the NFI data matching service. This service includes a national data matching exercise to identify fraud and error across a range of public sector datasets, and data pilots to test the effectiveness of processing new and different types of data for fraud. The team works as part of the PSFA’s wider fraud data services team. This role offers flexibility in location, with a requirement to attend face-to-face meetings across the UK at least 5-10 times per year. This includes Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Birmingham and other regional hubs.

Job description

This hands-on, specialist delivery SEO role, will be a shared strategic resource across both the NFI Operational Delivery Team (ODT) and the NFI Business Development Team (BDT). This SEO role acts as the NFI’s primary operational assurance lead for data governance, legal compliance, and security standards and is one of seven SEOs across the NFI team.

You will take day-to-day operational ownership for reviewing data protection impact assessments (DPIAs), managing memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and Data Sharing Agreements (DSAs), and coordinating security policies and data deletion. You will serve as the governance bridge between the NFI team, external IT suppliers, and security colleagues outside the PSFA (e.g., wider Civil Service Security function, and broader public sector partners). This role may involve line management responsibilities.

Key responsibilities include:

1. Operational Assurance & DPIA Drafting

• Lead the technical review, and quality assurance for all NFI Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), ensuring they meet UK GDPR/DPA standards prior to formal submission through the internal governance process.

2. Supplier & External Stakeholder Liaison

• Act as the primary day-to-day governance liaison with external third parties, including the NFI IT supplier/platform teams and security colleagues outside of the PSFA (e.g., Cabinet Office or DWP Security). Ensure technical changes, supplier workflows, and platform architectures are tabled as appropriate before the NFI Security Working Group (SWG) so they adhere strictly with government security standards.

3. Legal Frameworks & Agreements

• Lead the operational drafting, maintenance, review and tracking of all Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and Data Sharing Agreements (DSAs) with participating public and private sector bodies (as appropriate).

4. Policy Compliance & Incident Management

• Monitor, audit, and enforce adherence to the official NFI Data & Match Deletion Policy across external suppliers, data processors, and internal operational systems in accordance with data protection law.
• Draft, update, and exercise NFI-specific Security Incident Response Plans and internal staff data security guidelines. Act as the primary operational coordinator during near-misses or data incidents, liaising directly with supplier and external security leads.

5. Governance Technical Expert Support

• Act as the Single Point of Contact (SPoC) for central PSFA, Data Governance teams and the Data Protection Officer for NFI related DPIAs.
• Representative to the NFI Security Working Group (SWG).
• Manage and maintain the NFI Risk Register, ensuring risks, mitigations, and actions are accurately recorded and tracked.
• Provide high-capability capacity to absorb urgent ad-hoc compliance commissions and ministerial briefing requests for G7 leads.

Person specification

Practical DPIA & Data Protection Expertise: Hands-on experience drafting, evaluating, and reviewing Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), managing information governance compliance and applying UK GDPR / Data Protection Act principles in data-heavy operational environments.

Third-Party & Supplier Liaison: Proven ability to work collaboratively with external IT suppliers, contractors, or cross-departmental security stakeholders to enforce data asset management compliance and security standards.

Governance Framework Management: Experience preparing, negotiating, or managing operational agreements such as MOUs, Data Sharing Agreements (DSAs), or multi-agency data policies.

Analytical Risk, Compliance & Governance: Experience monitoring compliance (e.g., data deletion or retention schedules), managing operational risk, overseeing data governance processes, and coordinating responses to security incidents or near-misses.

Autonomy & Delivery at Pace: Track record of driving work forward independently, managing competing priorities across multiple teams (ODT and BDT), and producing high-quality briefing materials under tight deadlines.

Central Government or Counter-Fraud Experience: Proven experience working in a central government environment or in a counter-fraud role.

Regional Mobility: Willingness and ability to travel (approx. 5-10 face-to-face meetings per year) to key regional operational sites and stakeholder hubs (including Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester).

Note: Experience of working with Google (Mail, Sheets, Drive, etc.) and Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) is also required.

Desirable Criteria

Specialist Counter-Fraud Insight: Deep understanding of NFI data-matching frameworks, public sector counter-fraud strategy, or complex data-matching environments.

Formal Assurance Qualifications: Professional certification or formal training in Data Protection or Information Security (e.g., CIPP/E, BCS Data Protection Certificate).

Strategic Stakeholder Engagement: Demonstrable experience influencing senior leadership within central government or complex multi-agency public sector environments.

The successful candidate must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security check needed is BPSS.

For further information on the NFI please refer to:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-fraud-initiative

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Your technical capability will be tested at the interview - the details together with further guidance will be provided in advance of your interview.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £45,292, Cabinet Office contributes £13,121 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).

• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• Please note that the PSFA (including the National Fraud Initiative) will imminently be moving from the Cabinet Office to the Department for Work and Pensions.

• 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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Application process

Please submit a CV and Statement of Suitability demonstrating how you meet the essential and any relevant desirable criteria. Your Statement of Suitability should include answers to the questions set out below and should be submitted as a single document, using no more than 1,250 words in total.

If we receive a high volume of applications, we may sift on the Statement of Suitability only.

1. Managing Data Privacy & Governance Agreements

Scenario: You are the governance lead for a complex data-sharing project.

Question: Summarise your approach to securing the project. Your response should demonstrate your ability to identify and address the fundamental data protection and legal principles essential for complex large scale data-sharing, ensuring a high-quality DPIA and DSA while maintaining project momentum.

1. Addressing Supplier Non-Compliance

Scenario:During a routine project update, you discover an external supplier has experienced a "near-miss" incident

Question:Briefly outline the actions you would take to resolve this, balancing supplier accountability with internal stakeholder assurance.

1. Balancing Competing Priorities

Scenario: You are managing a high-pressure workload including a ministerial briefing, annual security accreditation IT health checks, and an ad-hoc advisory request.

Question:Using a specific example, demonstrate how you prioritise these tasks, articulating the specific considerations and requirements for each type of deliverable within a central government or counter-fraud context to deliver high-quality results.

Selection process

Applications will be sifted on a Statement of Suitability including responses to questions and CV. If we receive a high volume of applications, we may sift on the Statement of Suitability only.

Your technical capability will be tested at the interview - the details together with further guidance will be provided in advance of your interview. The following behaviours will also be tested at interview:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – TBC

Expected interview date/s – TBC

Interview location - May be held in Burslem, Stoke on Trent

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5yrs UK residency in the past 5years]. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service/Disclosure Scotland/Access NI on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email accessni@ani.x.gsi.gov.uk

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.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 : Mani Begum
• Email : mani.begum@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service by email at : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.gov.uk. For further information on the Recruitment Principles and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/.

Attachments

Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 Opens in new window (docx, 94kB)Cabinet Office Employee Offer Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)