Pre-16 Assurance Manager

About the team

This role is in the Pre-16 Assurance Team within the Assurance Division of the Funding and Financial Oversight Directorate (FFO) of Strategy and Operations Group.

The team comprises the grade 6 Head of Pre-16 Assurance, 4 grade 7 managers and 21 assurance staff.

The team provides regularity assurance over circa 77 billion of grant funding, paid to local authorities, local-maintained schools, academy trust schools and early years providers, to both the DfE Accounting Officer, and the National Audit Office (NAO).

About the role

We are seeking to recruit a high-calibre individual to be part of the Pre-16 Assurance Leadership Team. You will work as part of the team to deliver the overall assurance plan, with lead responsibilities for a number of critical assurance projects.

This is an exciting time for the Pre-16 Assurance Team. DfE funding for the schools and early years sectors continues to grow, with the recent expansion in Early Years funded childcare places and the growth in Special Education Needs funding, as part of the SEND Reform programme. This growth means we need an assurance manager to lead the development of assurance strategies for new funding streams and to manage operational assurance delivery.

The role will include working alongside colleagues in policy and funding teams to identify new areas of grant funding and to consider how our assurance strategies can be developed and enhanced to provide the appropriate level of assurance. This will require a strong understanding of assurance principles and the ability to design assurance strategies for complex transactions. You will also need to be comfortable with analysing financial data.

You will also be required to lead the delivery of an assurance programmes, working alongside other assurance managers, drawn from:

• Local authority regularity assurance: this portfolio includes responsibility for the High Needs Dedicated School Grants (DSG), and part of the remit would be to consider how we further develop our assurance approach to this expanding area of funding.

• Academy financial regularity assurance

You will work as part of the team to continually look for areas where we can improve and enhance our assurance arrangements, taking advantage of AI and other technologies, as we work at pace to deliver the annual assurance programme.

The role will offer the opportunity to apply your strategic audit and assurance knowledge, together with strong project management skills.

Your main responsibilities will include:

Leadership and Delivery

• Lead the planning, delivery and reporting on pre-16 assurance work-strands, ensuring assurance objectives are delivered effectively and efficiently.
• Own team outputs and deliverables, ensuring plans align with wider assurance objectives, departmental and strategic priorities.
• Develop, manage and deliver risk-based assurance plans that deliver efficient and effective assurance over grant funding.
• Ensure assurance activities support the successful achievement of Assurance Division objectives.
• Identify delivery risks and emerging issues, taking timely action to maintain performance and quality standards.
• Oversee the production of clear, concise and evidence-based assurance assessments, reports and briefings for senior stakeholders.
• Work with other assurance managers, contributing to the management and delivery of the annual regularity assurance programme.
• Liaise with the NAO Audit Team to facilitate delivery of their regularity audit of grants (a key element of their external audit of the Departments annual report and accounts).

Assurance and Risk Management

• Design, develop and implement assurance frameworks, strategies, plans and approaches for complex or high-value grant programmes and funding streams.
• Oversee the delivery of either:
• the local authority regularity assurance programme, which includes the review of individual local authorities annual reports and accounts, grant returns, internal and external audit plans and reports,
• the academy financial regularity assurance programme, which includes the review of academies annual reports and accounts, external audit opinions, external audit management letters and internal scrutiny summary reports.
• Evaluate assurance findings and grant data sources to identify trends, risks, control weaknesses and opportunities for improvement.
• Ensure sufficient assurance is obtained that grants are being used for their intended purposes and in accordance with funding agreements and departmental requirements.
• Lead the escalation and reporting of significant risks and assurance concerns, supporting effective decision-making by senior leaders.
• Actively contribute to the Grants Transformation Programme Risk and Assurance strand, working collaboratively with other stakeholders to develop a robust, streamlined approach to assurance for claims-based grants.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain strong partnerships across policy, delivery, finance and commercial functions.
• Collaborate with grant policy, management and delivery teams to improve assurance practices and strengthen risk management.
• Communicate assurance findings and recommendations clearly and professionally to audited bodies (local authorities, academy trusts and early year providers), senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Bring together diverse perspectives and evidence to support balanced and informed assurance judgements.

People Leadership

• Create a clear sense of team purpose and foster a high-performing, inclusive and collaborative culture.
• Empower individuals and teams with confidence and empathy to take initiative, exercise professional judgement and contribute to continuous improvement.
• Manage performance proactively, setting clear expectations and providing regular, honest, direct, kind and constructive feedback.
• Support the professional development of team members through coaching, mentoring and targeted learning opportunities.
• Promote knowledge sharing, collaboration and continuous learning across the team and wider assurance community.
• Champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing, ensuring all colleagues are supported to achieve their potential.

We welcome applications from candidates seeking part time or compressed working pattern. However, due to the nature of the work and the shift coverage required, the minimum number of contracted hours for this role is 30 hours per week over a 4 day period.

Essential Criteria

• Extensive experience in assurance, audit, risk management, governance and control environments.
• Strong expertise in designing, developing and implementing audit / assurance strategies for complex transactions.
• Significant experience of analysing audit evidence, complex information and producing evidence-based recommendations.
• Proven ability to lead teams, with an approachable, supportive and challenging style, able to set direction and deliver high-quality outputs in an assurance environment.
• Experience of delivering improvements to processes, controls and assurance arrangements.
• Strong stakeholder management, influencing and communication skills (both verbal and written).
• Ability to prioritise competing demands and maintain focus on strategic outcomes.

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of the education, academy and/or local authority sectors, including their financial governance, control, and assurance requirements.
• Knowledge of government grant management standards and assurance requirements.
• Knowledge of regularity requirements within public and/or education bodies.
• CCAB or equivalent qualified accountant (g. ICAEW, ICAS, ACCA, CIPFA, CIMA).

Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview in the event of a tie break situation to make an informed decision.