Job Description

Senior Provider Audit Officer
Salary: 54,439 - 56,968
Location: Bristol
Generous Civil Service defined benefit pension

About us
We are the independent regulator of higher education in England.
We aim to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers.
We're proud of our people, our culture and the benefits we offer. We care about supporting and developing our staff. At the OfS we want to create a welcoming and engaging working environment which is free from discrimination.
We're looking for skilled, committed people who care about students and their experience of higher education. Join us and you'll be part of an energetic, forward-looking organisation with high ambitions and big opportunities for our people.
About the role
The Senior Provider Audit Officer role is based in the Provider Audit Team, which delivers an assurance programme aimed at ensuring risks are anticipated and addressed, including risks relating to provider data and other key operational processes. The OfS's regulatory approach utilises data obtained from higher education providers, so it is important data is fit for this purpose.
You will work closely with staff at higher education providers to explore how they collect and manage data and to assess the accuracy of that data. Broader audits conducted by the team explore how key processes impacting on students are designed and implemented, contributing to the OfS's approach to regulating providers' compliance with our regulatory expectations.
You will be responsible for conducting audits and reviews of data accuracy and the effectiveness of underlying systems and processes at providers. You'll work closely with staff at providers and will report findings both to the providers and to colleagues at the OfS.
The role involves regular travel to providers across England, including overnight stays.
About you
You'll have worked as an internal auditor, or in a similar role where you tested compliance and assessed the effectiveness of systems and processes.
Essential experience required for the role:Experience in conducting exercises to test compliance and/or the effectiveness of systems and processes, such as internal audits, similar assurance work or investigations. Excellent numerical and data literacy skills. Experience of working with data and an ability to understand new data definitions. A proven ability to communicate complex technical issues both verbally and in writing. Experience in reporting findings from audits or similar exercises and effectively tailoring communications to different audiences. Ability to work with high levels of autonomy. Experience of managing own workload, including responding to emerging and changing priorities. Experience of working with a range of stakeholders and managing potential conflict while maintaining effective working relationships.
Desirable experience:An understanding of regulation and/or the higher education sector.
The competencies for this role include:
Delivering at PaceI promote the importance of following the appropriate procedures to ensure results are achieved on time and are of the right quality. I regularly monitor my own and my team's progress against milestones, ensuring individual needs are considered when setting tasks. I act promptly to reassess workloads and priorities when there are conflicting demands to be resolved. I show a positive approach to keeping the team's efforts focused on top priorities.
Communicating and InfluencingI actively deploy different methods for influencing others, including making the most of digital resources to respond to different learning styles. I act as a role model to others by communicating with clarity, honesty, and enthusiasm to build trust. I am open-minded and impartial in discussion so I can adjust my arguments to respect the diverse interests and opinions of others. I deliver difficult messages with clarity and sensitivity. I can articulate arguments and reasons in a clear and persuasive manner.
Collaborating and PartneringI seek information, resources, and support as appropriate from others across the OfS, to help achieve results. I invest time to develop an OfS common focus and team spirit where colleagues feel valued and respect one another. I take responsibility for creating an OfS working environment that encourages collaboration, diversity, and inclusion. I actively seek and consider input of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
Working for us
The OfS regulates the higher education sector on behalf of all students. We value diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do.
We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.
Flexibility is important to the OfS, as we recognise that it can enable people to work more effectively. A set of organisation-wide principles shape our approach to flexible and hybrid working, which our teams then use as guidance on how they deliver their business goals. This would usually mean working from the office for two days in a typical week.
To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants, flexible working, for example job share and part time working (with a minimum 0.8 FTE), apply to this role.
Closing date for applications: Monday 4 August at noon
Interviews: from week commencing Monday 18 August