Audit Scotland
Senior Auditor (Performance Audit & Best Value)
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Senior Auditor (Performance Audit & Best Value)
""Audit Scotland"****— Recruitment for Senior Auditor Roles (Fixed-Term, 12 Months)**
Location(s): Edinburgh, Glasgow, and regional offices across Scotland
About the Role
Audit Scotland seeks Senior Auditors on a 12-month fixed-term basis within the Performance Audit and Best Value (PABV) business group. We currently have up to four vacancies, with a maximum of two open to external candidates.
About Audit Scotland
We provide the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission with essential services to ensure the Scottish Government and public-sector bodies are accountable for the proper, efficient, and effective use of public funds. With around 350 staff across Edinburgh, Glasgow, and six regional offices, we conduct rigorous audits across Scottish public services.
Overall Purpose of the Role
The Performance Audit and Best Value Group (PABV) delivers high-impact audits on key public sector challenges:
- Affordability of public services
- Health and social care integration
- Digital transformation
- Community empowerment and inequalities
- Skills and training
- Economic development
- Climate change
In Best Value audits, we examine how councils deliver services to their communities. The audit programme is dynamic, adaptable to emerging risks and opportunities.
As a Senior Auditor, you will:
- Support high-quality, evidence-based performance and Best Value audits
- Conduct multi-layered, complex audit work
- Make critical audit judgements while overseeing junior colleagues
- Build engaging relationships with serving public bodies and public stakeholders, fostering improvement.
Core Responsibilities
As a lead member of the audit team, you will:
- Strategic scoping & planning:
- Lead audit risk assessment and determine the scope and depth of required work alongside analysts
- Design and refine audit methodologies tailored to risk
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
-
Audit delivery & leadership:
- Produce audit outputs (e.g., reports, presentations) that are clear, compelling, and evidence-based
- Translate complex issues into accessible findings and persuasive recommendations
- Regularly contribute to external promotion of Audit Scotland’s work
- Oversee timelines, costs, and audit quality, acting as a leadrieer for high-risk or large-scale audits
- Produce audit outputs (e.g., reports, presentations) that are clear, compelling, and evidence-based
-
Team collaboration & mentorship:
- Mentor and coach auditors and analysts
- Maintain clear accountability for journal-level progress reports
- Collaborate across Audit Scotland to strengthen organisational impact
-
Relationship management:
- Interface directly with public officials, boards, committees, and local authorities
- Develop open dialogue with stakeholders to address audit concerns
-
Emerging trends & programme refinement:
- Share insights on public service challenges with Audit Scotland leadership
- Family-engage with public service users and develop methodologies centred on their voices
Knowledge & Experience
At minimum, you must have:
- Degree-level education or proven technical expertise without formal qualifications
- A sharp analytical mindset well-acquainted with both quantitative and qualitative datasets
- Experience generating balanced problem-solutions through citational analysis and structured reports
- Self-directed continuous professional development (CPD) tracking and plans for further growth
Key skills you’ll rely on daily:
- Project/people management: deliver work on time, on budget, and under senior management delegation
- Public-sector subject-matter expertise (desirable, but industry knowledge may suffice)
- Written and spoken communication, tailorable to diverse audiences
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Person Specification: Essential & Desirable Criteria
Essential (Shortlisting & Interview)
-
Degree-level equivalent education OR direct experience in:
- Audit & scrutiny
- Research or policy strategy
- Data analytics (code-based or interactive tools)
- Service transformation or financial management
-
Technical rigour: competency with:
- Project & time management
- Cross-functional data processing (solutions like R, Python, or Excel advanced features)
- Problem-solving and balanced judgement within constraints
- Supervisory skills for networks of analysts
- Relationship building with senior stakeholders
Desirable (Preparatory Edge)
- Expertise in audit methodologies and financial analysis (methods like discounted cashflow evaluations, performance benchmarking)
- Proficiency in data visualisation (Power BI etc.) and terse reporting styles
- Subject-matter knowledge of Scottish public sector structures, HMIE frameworks or relevant regulations (qualification preference: CIPFA, ICAS or industry-recognised equivalent)
- Experience with multi-stakeholder public engagement (sobriety or academics on community feedback)
- Training in audit-specific governance frameworks (ISO standards, qualitative cost-effective strategies)
Why Join Us?
- Contribute to audits noticed in Scottish Politics—your recommendations shape policy
- Progressive workplace culture valued by internal and external nominations
- Salary banding reflects experience and delivered results (check candidate feedback)
- Localised working environments across Scotland and from home options
- Commitment to enhancing public-sector accountability through new methodologies
Apply ASAP—this is a 12-month engagement with eligibility later for timely permanent promotions.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills