Senior Audit Manager (Audit Services Group)

Audit Scotland provides the Auditor General and Accounts Commission with the services they need to carry out their duties. Together we ensure that the Scottish Government and public-sector bodies throughout Scotland are held to account for the proper, efficient and effective use of public money. We employ around 340 staff in a wide variety of roles, working from our main offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen.

Overall purpose of the role

As an inspiring leader you’ll manage and lead your team to make complex audit judgements and harness the power of the team to deliver a portfolio of audit work to a world-class standard. You will use your experience and knowledge to make complex judgements and have a clear understanding of the important issues and risks facing our clients and stakeholders. You will generate and lead dialogue about these subjects, facilitating conversation across your portfolio of clients and contacts to develop further understanding and share knowledge.

What you will be doing

As one of our senior members of staff, you’ll be inspiring our people to make Audit Scotland a world-class public sector audit organisation with your ability to:

• provide effective leadership, build capacity and resilience in the team and motivate, support and encourage people to achieve their full potential
• deliver a range of reports and other outputs and present findings at the highest client and stakeholder level, including the Scottish Parliament, Accounts Commission, local audit committees and conferences
• undertake significant risk-based decision making, using considerable judgement about the quantity and depth of research, investigation and auditing required in proportion to the circumstances and communicating this to the team
• constructively challenge and test team judgements and conclusions, adding value from a strategic perspective
• develop and maintain a wider view of the external environment to understand any developments that could affect the context of the audit in the medium to longer-term and develop appropriate audit activity for the dynamic work programme
• ensure work is properly resourced in terms of people, abilities and knowledge and communicate this to the team, taking responsibility for significant audit budgets across a range of clients
• conduct an ongoing review of the team’s work to ensure that it is delivered to time, quality and budget
• take lead responsibility in identifying, developing and maintaining relationships with key staff at the highest levels within client and stakeholder organisations
• have responsibility for quality and accountability for the approval of audit work
• embrace and promote best practice and share it across the organisation to improve quality
• influence organisational culture and contribute to the overall management of Audit Scotland, by participating in and contributing to and leading on corporate activities.

Your portfolio will include financial audit work across a range of public sector bodies. In addition, our Senior Audit Managers are increasingly expected to be involved in key aspects of our dynamic programme of performance audits.

Knowledge and experience

You will be a fully qualified accountant (CIPFA, ICAS, other CCAB, or equivalent), and have practical experience of managing high-quality external audits, preferably in a public sector environment. Self-aware in your own abilities, you can plan and manage your own work to time, cost and quality. You will have well-developed analytical skills and the ability to convert your analysis into clear judgements backed up by useful recommendations for improvement. You know how to work seamlessly within a professional audit team to bring out the best in your colleagues. You work collaboratively with colleagues on cross-cutting and strategic issues.

You will also have:

• a deep knowledge and understanding of the wider public sector, how it works and the issues it is facing
• a deep knowledge and understanding of the business of Audit Scotland and the challenges and opportunities arising
• extensive experience in leading audit teams and managing, coaching and developing people
• discipline, resilience and be organised with excellent project management and time management skills – delivering through your team(s) to time, quality & cost criteria
• strong verbal and written communication skills and sound judgement and experience to present balanced findings and make convincing and persuasive recommendations that have impact
• the ability to analyse complex problems and recommend practical solutions – drawing upon your range of experiences, intuition and professional scepticism to add value that might not be apparent to less experienced professionals or recognise when to draw on other expertise when required
• strategic and creative thinking, solving demanding problems where the answers are not immediately clear
• the ability to deal with difficult situations and challenging individuals in a calm, professional and effective manner
• appropriate management planning skills and experience to ensure work is properly resourced in terms of people, abilities and knowledge
• the foresight to identify potential organisational challenges and intervene before they manifest into issues.

You will have a plan that includes your own continuous development, inspiring others and helping Audit Scotland lead on being a world-class organisation. You will undertake professional and personal development to maintain technical expertise, meet CPD requirements and enhance your career prospects at Audit Scotland.

Person specification - specific knowledge and experience

*S = Shortlisting criteria, I = Interview criteria, A = Assessment / Exercise

Essential

• A fully qualified accountant (CIPFA, ICAS, other CCAB, or equivalent) (S)
• Extensive experience in leading audit teams and managing, coaching and developing people (S, A & I)
• Excellent project management and time management skills – delivering through your team(s) to time, quality & cost criteria (S&I)
• A deep knowledge and understanding of the wider public sector, how it works and the issues it is facing (I)
• Ability to analyse complex problems, make sound judgements and recommend practical solutions (S, A & I)
• Experience in presenting balanced findings and making convincing and persuasive recommendations that have impact (S & I)
• Excellent communication (verbal and written) and interpersonal skills, and are confident in building and maintaining effective relationships with senior stakeholders (S & I)
• Experience of leading discussions with senior staff in a range of organisations and dealing with difficult situations in a calm, professional and effective manner. (S & I)

Desirable

• Deep knowledge and understanding of the business of Audit Scotland and the challenges and opportunities arising (S & I)
• Digital ICT audit experience (S)

Interested? Next steps 

• Click the apply button to complete an application form. If you wish, you can also share your CV.
• We offer a range of benefits, please visit our careers page for more information at https://audit.scot/about-us/work-with-us.
• Our application deadline is midnight on 10 November 2025.
• Applicants who are invited to interview will asked to complete a short assessment exercise in advance of the same.

Organisational position

See attached role profile

Audit Scotland

Our vision is that public money is well spent to meet the needs of Scotland's people.

To achieve this, we support the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission to provide clear, independent and objective assurance on how effectively public money is being managed and spent. Our work covers about £59bn of public spending, almost 300 public sector accounts, and the services and projects that affect all people and communities in Scotland.

As well as what we do, how we do it is integral to delivering our vision and critical to our wellbeing and our organisational success. We put our organisational values of equality, independence, innovation, integrity and respect at the heart of everything we do.

We employ around 340 staff in a wide variety of roles, working from our main offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen.

There has never been a more interesting or important time to join us. We offer a rewarding place to work, a supportive and open culture and a wide range of professional development opportunities. Benefits include 42 days of annual leave including public holidays, an attractive local government defined benefit pension scheme with 17.6% employer contributions, personal development allowances and flexible working hours.

Diversity and Inclusion 

We value the unique perspective a diverse workforce brings to what we do. Therefore, we’re keen to increase representation in our workforce and support progression of minority ethnic groups. We are also a proud disability confident employer.

Reasonable Adjustments

Audit Scotland’s recruitment process may include various stages and activities including application forms, online assessments, and interviews, to assess whether you meet the requirements of the role.

As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to providing inclusive and accessible recruitment where everyone is supported to perform at their best.

When applying for a job with Audit Scotland, you will be asked in the application form if you need an adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process. Please include the reason you require an adjustment and details of what adjustment/s might help.

Some examples of adjustments that have been given to candidates include changing the time, location or format of interviews and providing additional time in any assessments and interviews. This is not an exhaustive list, and we will consider any adjustments that you might need.

As part of our commitment to equality and diversity, our equality network groups would be delighted to offer an insight into Audit Scotland’s culture of inclusivity. If you consider yourself to have a visible or hidden disability and wish to hear more about life at Audit Scotland or wish to speak with someone about the possibility of any adjustments, please contact Careers@audit.scot or call 0131 625 1500 for further information and a member of the HR team will be in touch.

How we work 

We employ around 340 staff in a wide variety of roles. They work in a hybrid environment, covering time in the office, at home as well as at client sites across Scotland. This isn’t your typical work from home or work from office type job. We’re flexible about working patterns and we’ve transformed how we deliver high-quality public audit. We support you to work in the ways that achieve the best results for you, your team and the business, including your physical location and how you manage your hours. Put simply, we trust you to do your job, and want you to have the ability to have a rewarding work-life balance and best support your individual circumstances, be that childcare, adult carer responsibilities or managing disabilities.

Other conditions 

Audit Scotland is committed to ensuring that:

• We minimise our impact on the environment in accordance with Government policy affecting public sector organisations.
• We uphold the principles of equality, fairness & diversity.
• We all work within a safe environment and adhere to good standards of health & safety.
• All information is protected and managed appropriately.
• We maintain independence and political neutrality.