Internal Audit Practitioner Level 4 Apprentice - work, earn and learn
Within local government there is a statutory requirement for an Internal Audit function. The Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2015 require that a local authority ‘must undertake an effective internal audit to evaluate the effectiveness of its risk management, control and governance processes, taking into account public sector internal auditing standards or guidance’.
The Internal Audit section in the Directorate of Finance and Legal Services provides independent, objective assurance in innovative ways designed to add value and improve the Royal Borough’s operations using data and technology wherever possible. It helps the Royal Borough accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes.
As an apprentice you will become an important part of this work. You will review frontline and back-office services (e.g. finance), helping to provide an opinion on the effectiveness of the control framework and risk mitigations in those areas, to a range of stakeholders including residents, senior management and councillors.
We are looking for someone with a keen interest in internal auditing, who is eager to learn, and is driven and self-motivated to deliver high quality work for a truly unique and exciting London borough.
This role is based at the Royal Borough of Greenwich which participates in the Cross Council Assurance Service (CCAS). CCAS is a service in which PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) contract with several public service organisations to provide internal audit, assurance, and advisory services under a framework contract. The number of public service organisations in this agreement is over 40 and includes local authorities, housing associations and NHS bodies.
This year 5 local authorities are recruiting to at post within each authority. In addition to the Royal Borough of Greenwich, the other London authorities are The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London Borough of Enfield and London Borough of Lewisham. You will find further details on their websites.
In addition to working towards a formal qualification (Internal Audit Practitioner Level 4 Apprenticeship), the apprenticeship will differentiate itself from other training schemes as participants will develop specifically as an internal audit professional and will have the opportunity to work cross-borough and alongside PwC auditors.
This apprenticeship standard will be jointly delivered by MBKB Training and the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).
The following elements make up the Internal Audit Practitioner standard:
1. Knowledge Units
2. Skills Units
3. Behaviour Units
4. IIA Certificate in Internal Audit and Business Risk
5. Certified Internal Auditor (IAP exam) - Essentials of Internal Auditing
The duration of the position is a 2 year fixed term contract, starting 18 September 2023.
Your specific tasks will be:
6. Working with and being supervised by more experienced senior audit staff, conduct audit assignments and follow-up activities from the current audit plan, and report on these in accordance with the procedures set out in the audit manual and in accordance with the expected standards of the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards.
7. With the support and direction of supervising officer/s, research the activities being audited by spending time with the area of the organisation being audited; walking through how they operate a task/process; and reviewing policy, processes and standards related to the activity being audited in accordance with the Council’s internal audit methodology.
8. With the support and direction of supervising officer/s, communicate the results of audit work to audit management and audit clients, by contributing to written communications that are in an appropriate format, are clear, concise, logical, and grammatically correct.
9. Ensure strict adherence to the organisations’ policies, regulations and audit requirements.
10. To take responsibility, relevant to the post, for ensuring that organisations’ statutes and government legislation is upheld.
11. To adhere to the Nolan Principles of Public Life:
Personal Development:
12. To undertake a varied programme of work experience, practical and theoretical training leading to a recognised apprenticeship qualification in IIA Practitioner Level 4 apprenticeship standard as part of an apprenticeship programme.
13. To actively participate in their own development plan, which will be agreed with the line manager and the assessor from the training provider. To undertake the requirements of the academic element of the apprenticeship (e.g. attendance at college and completion. This will typically include attending on-line learning, workshops, webinars, coaching or shadowing of academic work). A minimum of 20% of working week will be allocated to this.
As a Royal Greenwich apprentice, there are many fantastic benefits you can enjoy. Please refer to the link ‘Benefits of working for us’ to learn more.
To be eligible to apply for this apprenticeship you must be living in England, preferably in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and be 16 years of age or older by mid-September.
Please note: to be eligible for funding to complete the apprenticeship qualification you must have ordinarily been a resident in the UK for at least the previous three years before the start of the apprenticeship and have the right to work in the UK.
If you have been granted leave to remain status, this must cover the entire duration of the qualification to be eligible for funding and for your application to move to the next stage.
The main eligibility criteria:
14. You must have a willingness to undertake professional qualifications and have as a minimum GCSE English and Maths Grade 4 (previously Grade C), or equivalent e.g. Level 3 Apprenticeship.
15. Not already qualified to the same or higher level in the same field
16. To qualify for Government funding for the apprenticeship, applicants must have the correct status which is usually having been resident in the UK for 3 years, but there are some exceptions to this which will be checked at the time of application.
17. Not be in full-time education
Diversity Statement: Royal Borough of Greenwich values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this. We therefore encourage applications from all sections of the community.
High Volume Applications: Royal Borough of Greenwich reserves the right to close any vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date should there be a high volume of applications received.
Standard DBS: This role requires a Standard DBS. (This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act,1974).
Advert Close: All vacancies close at midnight unless otherwise stated.
How Applications are Scored: Each application is scored according to how well the supporting statement addresses each point on the Person Specification for the role. Candidates will be short-listed for interview on the extent to which they meet the specific points within the Person Specification. The Person Specification is supplied with the job advert. When completing your application, please use the supporting statement section to tell us how you meet each of the points on the Person Specification. We need to have this information in order to consider your application.
Salary: Salaries advertised are for a standard working week of 35 hours unless otherwise stated. Please use this to help you calculate a pro rata salary.
Our Staff Values: are important to us. Candidates will be continuously assessed against our staff values throughout the recruitment process. Where candidates demonstrate views and behaviours that do not meet the standards of our staff values, we reserve the right to reject their application/ registration.