Delivery Manager - Assurance

Job Overview

We are looking for an enthusiastic audit professional (CCAB/IIA qualified) to join our successful teams to work across our Cheshire & Mersey Regional Assurance Teams. Whilst the role is predominantly regional based, you may be required to work across the wider MIAA footprint as part of the role.
Base Location : Chester (working across Cheshire, Wirral, Staffordshire and Shropshire Regional Assurance Teams).

To support the Senior Audit Managers/Regional Assurance Directors in relation to client management. To direct and supervise staff to deliver Assurance projects and work streams on time, to budget and to quality standards. To operationally manage a portfolio of Assurance and Advisory projects including highly complex, technical, and confidential pieces of work. To respond to client instructions or queries covering a broad range of issues of including highly complex, technical, and confidential matters.

To respond to staff requests for instruction, guidance, and training. Responses may be routine to highly technical and sensitive in nature.

• Support the Engagement Managers/Regional Assurance Directors in relation to client management. This will include, but is not limited to, drafting Audit Committee papers and conducting internal quality assessments.
• Direct and supervise staff to deliver Assurance projects and work streams on time, to budget and to quality standards.
• Operationally manage a portfolio of Assurance projects including highly complex, technical, and confidential pieces of work.
• Support the Assurance Director through the 3 Regional Delivery teams to deliver and report on Assurance Assignments.
• Respond to client instructions or queries covering a broad range of issues including highly complex, technical, and confidential matters.
• Respond to staff requests for instruction, guidance, and training. Responses may be routine to highly technical and sensitive in nature.
• Client management responsibility for a small portfolio of clients.

Communication and the establishment of personal credibility at Board level with the clients are central to the job. This is built upon the provision and receipt of routine, highly complex, contentious, and sensitive information of a confidential nature. These skills and requirements will be expected to be constantly developed and enhanced to meet changing environments and requirements. Discussions with senior and non‑finance staff form a substantial element of the job often concerning contentious and complicated financial, control and governance issues at a corporate level.

Communication will involve negotiating with external agencies. The job involves significant involvement in persuading and negotiating the reasoning behind recommendations with senior staff, up to and including Board level, across a range of disciplines in order to arrive at an agreed position. Communication of findings and advice will be personally and principally delivered through attendance at Director level meetings, committees, or groups of clients through high-level presentations and potentially to large groups of staff.

Work is managed rather than supervised, with the jobholder working within procedures, broad guidelines as defined by the Quality System and Corporate policies but having substantial freedom to act with autonomy and to interpret policies, standards, and legislation.

The nature of the work necessitates a thorough and concentrated focus on processes to deliver consistent and robust opinions whilst balancing competing priorities. The work pattern is often unpredictable but there is routinely a need to actively participate and lead senior-level discussions and workshops requiring high levels of sustained concentration. Meeting competing deadlines is a routine element of the job.

There is extensive scope for decision making in respect of planning and organising the personal and teamwork schedule, managing priorities, forming judgments on the adequacy and effectiveness of systems, and producing recommendations to deliver improvements. These decisions will be based upon detailed analysis and evaluation of complex systems issues and options across a range of systems. Such analysis will incorporate an assessment of potentially conflicting and multi-layered information e.g., option appraisals, serious disciplinary cases.

• Professional accountancy qualification (CCAB) or MIIA qualified or equivalent.

• Demonstrable PQE skills knowledge, experience and expertise which could be in audit (either internal or external). Can be external audit with a large accountancy practice that has included experience of auditing large organisations and management or supervisory role of junior staff. Alternatively, internal audit experience in private or public sector. Must include attendance at Audit Committee and executive director exposure.
• Must have experience of working in audit and demonstrable…