Executive Director

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Job description

Background and Context

The National Audit Office (NAO) is the UK's independent public spending watchdog. We play an essential role in our democracy, providing independent assurance on government accounts and trusted impartial reports on how well public money is spent. Parliament, the media and the public use our work to hold government to account. Government uses our work to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. We audit the accounts of all UK government departments and national public bodies and publish more than 60 reports a year on the value for money of public spending. We are independent of the departments and bodies that we audit, and report directly to Parliament and the public. This independence enables us to provide authoritative assurance, and our work is highly respected across the political landscape.

Throughout our work, we have a clear focus on driving sustainable improvements in public service delivery; in delivering work of the highest quality; and of supporting government to respond to the complex challenges that face the UK today. Our work matters to the nation and its citizens.

In 2025 we will set a new five-year strategy, building on our achievements and responding to the value for money and accountability challenges facing our country and the government's responses to them. Developments in artificial intelligence, data analytics and sustainability reporting are driving changes in public services and our own work.

Our Executive Directors comprise the top management of our organisation. They each provide dynamic and visible leadership to around 200 highly skilled financial auditors and performance auditors responsible for auditing a group of government departments and major public bodies, driving performance and enabling continuous improvement. We are looking to appoint a high quality, corporate leader who combines a strong external perspective, an agile and insightful intellect, and the people skills and collaborative approach to inspire and get the best from our people.

The NAO has an active commitment to diversity and inclusion. Whilst we welcome applications from all candidates who can meet the role requirements, we would particularly encourage applications from individuals from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and from women, who are currently under-represented at senior levels.

Main purpose of the role

The NAO is led by Gareth Davies, the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG) who, together with the Executive Directors, forms the NAO's Executive Team, taking collective responsibility for the success of the NAO. The successful candidate will work with members of the Executive Team to execute the NAO's strategy for 2025 to 2030. The key areas of responsibility are set out in more detail below.

The role will be based at our London or Newcastle offices, and the Executive Director will need to build a visible presence and strong personal engagement with colleagues across the NAO, across both our offices.

Main Responsibilities

This role includes the following main areas of responsibility:

1. Business Management. Work collectively with Executive Team colleagues to achieve the NAO's strategic objectives.
2. External Relationship Management. Interact with key audited bodies and stakeholders to ensure successful delivery, raise our profile and extend our influence. Leading by example, promote an external, strategically focused NAO, working with and supporting colleagues to achieve this.
3. Service Delivery. Provide strategic leadership for the delivery of a portfolio of work. This will involve leading key aspects of client engagement and ensuring we deliver work that achieves greatest impact and influence. Provide excellent judgement and insight, and input to the development and direction of our service.
4. Group Accountability. Personal responsibility for leading around 200 highly skilled financial auditors and performance auditors responsible for auditing a group of government departments and major public bodies, driving performance and enabling continuous improvement. Coach Directors in the group in support of their personal development goals and career aspirations and work with senior colleagues to further develop the wider skills and talent of the NAO.
5. Ways of Working. Act as a role model for our people and exemplify positive business behaviours, including collaborative and inclusive ways of working. The Executive Team acts as the NAO's Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Group, ensuring effective oversight of the delivery of our D&I strategy. Each Executive Director champions one of the NAO's diversity networks, ensuring that the networks have confidence that their views, issues and concerns have a voice at senior levels.

In addition to these key areas of responsibility, Executive Directors may oversee specific corporate initiatives or development projects, acting as Senior Responsible Owner.

Skills and capabilities required

We are looking to appoint a high quality corporate leader with significant senior experience of leading the delivery complex professional work programmes. The successful candidate will be capable of leading around 200 financial and performance auditors in delivering the NAO's new strategy. You will be energised by the opportunity to help government make better use of its resources in solving the big challenges facing the UK. You are likely working now in a leading audit or consulting firm, public service leadership role, regulator or inspectorate. If you are not an auditor, then you need a good understanding of the role of public audit in providing assurance to Parliament and the public and supporting improvement in the value for money of public spending.

We are looking for someone who:

• Delivers excellence - produces high quality outputs and leads others to do the same; bold in driving further improvement in the NAO as a high performing organisation that delivers quality work and successful outcomes; challenges and encourages colleagues across the whole NAO to deliver our best through efficient, effective and inclusive ways of working.
• Seeks, develops and applies knowledge - very strong external strategic perspective (Clients, Public Sector, Parliament,) and ability to develop and communicate key insights, bringing this all to bear in shaping our strategy and work, and in aligning activity, people and resources to maximise our success.
• Increases our influence - focuses on key strategic issues and takes a strategic approach to influencing internal and external stakeholders, supported by skilful use of a range of tactical approaches to achieve influence, impact and 'buy-in'; clear vision for how the NAO can increase our influence, and is ambitious for our work.
• Is courageous and independent - intellectually curious and acts with integrity; challenges to get to what really matters in complex issues/ scenarios; takes initiative to anticipate relevant changes in our strategic environment; entrepreneurial and seizes opportunities to add value; identifies appropriate change for the benefit of the NAOs business.
• Is authoritative - highly credible and visible outside and within the NAO as a strategic corporate leader; can set a clear strategic vision, direction and goals (working jointly with others) and can inspire and equip others to achieve them; robust in giving difficult messages and confident to challenge others when needed.
• Collaborates - strong team player who can work jointly with Executive Team colleagues to shape direction and achieve progress with a shared responsibility for success; develops positive and collaborative working relationships at all levels and across all specialisms; draws the best out of others.
• Is Inclusive - takes an inclusive and empowering approach with people to get the best out of the diverse range of backgrounds and skills of our people. Sets high standards and manages performance robustly to encourage improvement and maximise contribution.
• Is ambitious - challenges self, other colleagues, and the NAO to deliver our best with stretching but achievable vision and goals; drives to succeed whilst keeping people engaged and motivated; invests in the development of other people and our corporate capability; brings positive change to our corporate culture and to the way we do our audit work.

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