Assurance Analyst

On behalf of the MOD, we are looking for an Assurance Analyst (Inside IR35) for a 6 Month hybrid contract based up to 3 days per week in London.

An active SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. (Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active security clearance.)

Role purpose

The Assurance Specialist is accountable to the Programme Director for the end-to-end assurance of the Def HRS Programme - ensuring compliance with internal Programme process, Portfolio and business requirements as well as Government, regulatory and legal compliance. This role reports directly to the Grade 6 Head of Programme Management.

This is a hands-on senior role. The successful candidate will have personally led assurance of a large-scale ERP implementation and will be able to challenge, monitor, test and evaluate processes, products to make sure they meet the highest standards. You will be able to spot errors, run audits, write reports, and help teams fix problems to improve overall delivery confidence. You will be able to turn data into clear summaries for senior leaders and help upskills team members in internal assurance best practise.

Key accountabilities

Assurance leadership . Support G7 Assurance and Compliance Lead to oversee assurance and compliance activity across the programme, ensuring appropriate and proportionate reviews at key life cycle stages. . Develop and implement assurance and compliance frameworks and strategies, aligned to Cabinet Office guidance, MOD policy and audit expectations. . Co-lead assurance activities, ensuring confidence in the accuracy and integrity of programme artefacts. . Support internal and external assurance reviews and act as the focal point for engagements, ensuring evidence is structured, complete and traceable. . Control and evidence gateway reviews between key stages of the programme . Provide independent assessment of control effectiveness, identifying risks, gaps and areas of non-compliance. . Develop and maintain expert knowledge of Civil Service assurance standards and relevant Cabinet Office guidance, applying them effectively across projects. . Co-lead the integration and oversight of RAIDO (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies and Opportunities) management across DefHRS, ensuring a coherent and aligned approach across all programme functions . Ensure RAIDO data is accurate, consistent and effectively governed, underpinning programme reporting, decision-making and assurance activity . Provide assurance to SLT and governance forums that RAIDO positions are robust, evidence-based and actively managed, with clear ownership and mitigation actions . Drive continuous improvement in RAIDO processes, enabling better visibility, integration and exploitation of programme risks and dependencies. . Support the development of information governance and compliance strategy and frameworks, ensuring adherence to MOD policies, UK GDPR and statutory requirements. . Support oversight of audit readiness, ensuring documentation, controls and evidence are complete, accessible, and compliant. . Establish and maintain a single source of truth for programme artefacts and reporting. . Provide oversight of audit readiness and information control across programme outputs

Technical delivery assurance

Support Head of Delivery to: . Assure the quality of Oracle Fusion HCM and payroll configuration and design decisions. . Assure all activity to deliver Defence HRS recorded and delivered using programmatic controls eg RACI Matrix

Governance, risk and reporting . Provide clear, honest delivery reporting to the Programme Board, SRO and Ministerial-level stakeholders; escalate early and with options. . Own assurance risks and issues, including those associated with external compliance requirements. . Prepare the Programme for, and respond to, IPA, Gate and internal assurance reviews.

Leadership . Co-lead a matrixed delivery function of Civil Service, military and supplier staff; set standards, build capability and manage performance. . Work in close partnership with the Head of Programme Management, Head of Change, Head of Product, Head of Delivery and CSM.

Essential criteria . Demonstrable, personal experience of leading assurance activity in at least one large-scale ERP implementation to go-live (Oracle Fusion) in an organisation of significant scale and complexity. Candidates must be able to describe their specific accountabilities, the decisions they made and the outcome. . Senior stakeholder credibility - able to brief, influence and withstand challenge at board, 3-star and Ministerial level, and to translate assurance risk into business consequence. . Leadership of matrixed teams, including supplier resources, across dispersed locations.

Desirable criteria . Experience of Programme Assurance in a highly regulated, security-sensitive environment. . Familiarity with the Project Delivery Functional Standard, IPA assurance and Green Book/business case disciplines. . Project delivery or Agile certification (MSP, APM, PRINCE2, SAFe or equivalent experience)

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident

As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, the MOD guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.

This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

Armed Forces Covenant

The MOD guarantees to interview veterans or spouses/partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates/military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different.