Appointment of the Chief Executive Officer

SWAP Internal Audit Services

Welcome

Welcome and thank you for visiting this site and taking the time to consider becoming the next Chief Executive of SWAP Internal Audit Services.

SWAP Internal Audit Services is a not-for-profit internal audit partnership dedicated to improving the efficiency and productivity of public sector organisations and helping them manage their risks. Drawing on a highly skilled workforce, as well as the shared expertise of our local government partners, we also have experience working for a range of clients, including housing organisations and charities, as well as police and fire authorities.

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious and innovative leader to drive forward our strategic growth ambitions. With an unwavering eye on quality, SWAP is committed to utilising new technologies to ensure our services are at the cutting edge of advancements to enable our partners and clients to add value to their business.

We hope that the information provided on this site, will give you a flavour for who we are, and what the role will entail. With a 100% remote workforce, we are seeking an experienced leader who is not only technically experienced in the world of audit but someone who appreciates the opportunities and challenges overseeing a commercial enterprise in a fast paced, evolving sector.

For a confidential conversation regarding your candidacy, please do not hesitate to contact our colleagues at Anderson Quigley who are supporting our search.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Julian Neilson
The Board of Directors Chair

About us

SWAP Internal Audit Services is a not-for-profit internal audit partnership dedicated to improving the efficiency and productivity of public sector organisations and helping them manage their risks.

Drawing on a highly skilled workforce, as well as the shared expertise of our local government partners, we also have experience working for a range of clients, including housing organisations and charities, as well as police and fire authorities.

We pride ourselves in conforming to the International Professional Practices Framework of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).

We are specialists in independent business improvement, assurance, and specialist consultation services. We use our skills and experience to help public sector entities reach their full potential. From cyber security services to fraud investigation, asset management to cashflow services, we offer solutions to improve productivity and efficiency.

Our business plan is focused on three key objectives:

  • Continuous improvement
  • Being an outstanding place to work
  • Sustainable growth

Partnerships:

Most internal audit teams in local government are relatively small, even in some of the larger authorities around the country. Few can afford to maintain sufficient depth in specialist resources such as IT, data analytics, fraud etc. and may have to choose between inadequate audit coverage or buying in the service. By pooling resources, SWAP enables its partners to share the cost of maintaining a high-quality internal audit service. Additional benefits include increased service resilience, the ability to share knowledge and benchmark against one another.

SWAP is the largest partnership of its type in England and Wales. There are currently in excess of 20 partners (including police, and police and crime commissioners, district, borough, and unitary councils Each of these partners contribute to a central SWAP budget for the provision of internal audit services. The more partners there are, the lower the apportioned overhead cost for each partner. Sustained growth in this way has meant that SWAP partners did not incur increased costs in the first 12 years the company was in operation, despite other budgetary pressures.

SWAP also deals with  external clients. As SWAP is a not-for-profit TECKAL organisation, any surplus we generate through this work is used for the benefit of our partners. External clients have included academy schools, local councils, charities, housing associations, fire and rescue services and others.

At SWAP Internal Audit Services, our strength lies in the fact that we are a wholly owned public sector audit partnership.

Working in partnerships allows us to:

  • Share knowledge around public sector auditing
  • Formulate fresh perspectives on best practice and risk
  • Expand our network of highly qualified professionals
  • Benefit from specialist knowledge around grant certification
  • Increase your value for money
  • Benchmark client performance with that of our partners

Our partners:

Our team:

At SWAP Internal Audit Services, we are supported by an outstanding Senior Leadership Team. With a wealth of experience in public sector auditing, their combined leadership provides you with a strong focus on compliance, productivity and top-quality services.

We pride ourselves on our innovative approach to internal auditing. We value the power of the collective mind and are constantly seeking to harness opportunities to work together and form new partnerships. At the very root of all this is our informed, experienced and forward-looking professional workforce.

Learn more about our board of directors and senior leadership team.

Our business plan:

Our mission is to help organisations succeed, learn more about how we plan to do that here.

Our services

Internal Audit and Advice

  • OPERATIONAL REVIEWS & ADVICE
    Our operational reviews and advice services provide a comprehensive evaluation of day-to-day activities, identifying opportunities for improvement within internal systems and processes.
  • STRATEGIC REVIEWS AND HEALTHY ORGANISATION
    An organisational health check is a highly effective way to identify critical areas where assurance or procedures could be improved in your business, as well as recognising areas where potential savings could be made.SWAP Internal Audit Services can provide your organisation with an award-winning organisational health check, based on eight essential corporate functions which underpin day-to-day operational activities. Our approach is based on the IIA (Institute of Internal Auditors) three lines model and provides an overarching view of an organisation’s governance arrangements. The eight topics covered are corporate governance, financial management, risk management, programme and project management, commissioning and procurement, performance management, information management, and people and asset management.
  • WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING SESSIONS
    We run a variety of workshops and training sessions on a wide range of topics, including risk management
    , internal audit plan design, cyber security and fraud awareness aimed at:
    • Committee Members
    • Senior Leadership Teams
    • Internal Audit Teams
  • EXTERNAL QUALITY ASSESSMENTS FOR INTERNAL AUDIT TEAMS
    With our quality assessments, you can be confident that your internal audit function meets the required professional standards as well as benefitting from a valuable independent peer review of your audit processes and practices. 
  • WE OFFER:
    • Targeted advice and assistance to management and the board 
    • Reviews focussed on finding solutions in specific problem areas
    • Help to improve performance and secure value for money in the use of resources
    • Attendance and facilitation at workshops and committee meetings
    • Provision of guidance and advice on the design of controls
    • Review of new or updated operational or financial control procedures
    • Critical friend role on the development of governance, risk management and assurance arrangements
    • Transformation and major project advice

Technology Auditing

  • PROTECTING YOUR ORGANISATION
    Technology is at the heart of any successful organisation. Without technology and its supporting infrastructure, systems, communications and data, many organisations would simply fail to achieve their objectives. SWAP have invested heavily in added value audit approaches to cyber security, covering both technology and human psychology and behaviour. Our Cyber Security Framework Reviews provide the baseline for high level assurance over 20 key control areas, with a clear and focused basis for your future risk assurance cyber reviews. These can also be delivered as single control audit both at a high level and a detailed risk assurance review. SWAP auditors are here to help you stay one step ahead of potential cyber-attacks.
  • DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
    We realise that undertaking any form of digital transformation is a major undertaking involving change of both processes and technology. It can fundamentally change the way you deliver services to the public whilst also allowing the public to access more services. SWAP can be there with you through the assurance journey, from the identification of ambitions within your digital strategy to providing specific risk advice as part of digital projects. SWAP auditors can help mitigate risk surrounding people, process, and technology. We believe that it’s better to identify and manage risk during a transformation than risk costly regression and workarounds which will soon eliminate proposed savings.
  • SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES
    At SWAP, our specialist auditors can review and advise on the internal and external technology risks impacting your organisation’s ICT estate, as well as emerging technology and communications. Examples of reviews we can offer include:
    • Infrastructure 
    • Enterprise and security
    • Data centre and cloud provision
    • Software licensing and compliance
    • Primary applications
    • Network communications, telephony, and resilience
    • ICT strategy and service management
    • System implementation reviews/project assurance

Counter Fraud Specialists

At SWAP Internal Audit Services, our specialists understand fraud risk and are highly qualified to help you detect and prevent fraud and corruption before it is too late. Our range of counter fraud services are designed to help reduce the likelihood of fraud having an impact on your organisation’s financial well-being or reputation.

  • PROUD CIFAS MEMBER
    CIFAS is a not-for-profit fraud prevention membership organisation. They are the UK’s leading fraud prevention service, managing the largest database of instances of fraudulent conduct in the country. CIFAS has members from all sectors, sharing their data across those sectors to reduce instances of fraud and financial crime. As a CIFAS member, SWAP has access to their insights and alerts.
  • COUNTER FRAUD REVIEWS
    Our specialist Counter Fraud Team can help with:
    • Investigations
    • Counter fraud reviews
    • Fraud awareness training and tailored workshops
    • Fraud prevention advice
    • Risk mitigation strategies
    • Policy development and support
    • Confidential reporting service

Data Analytics 

  • DATA ADVICE & SUPPORT
    Our specialist Data Analytics Team can help with:

    • Identifying data quality issues in existing records.
    • Advice on the structure and content of data sets.
    • Offering practical solutions to enhance the value your data provides.
  • DATA VISUALISATION
    • Advice on existing or planned data visualisations, including through Excel or PowerBI
    • Support on creating dashboards/ pivot tables/ other visualisation tools
    • Use of data visualisation to assist with audit scoping and/ or audit reporting
  • EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
    We are starting to utilise more advanced, emerging technologies. The team can talk through our experience with the early adoption of:
    • Automation
    • Natural Language Processing (NLP)
    • Continuous assurance
  • DATA KNOWLEDGE SHARING
    We regularly liaise with a whole range of data analytics professionals from across all sectors to share knowledge and experiences. We also contribute to, and are part of, dedicated data analytics knowledge sharing forums. These are a platform to discuss emerging issues, best practice, and case studies.

The role

Chief Executive Officer (AQ2827)

Apply now

Terms of appointment

Working at SWAP:

  • You plan your workday, predominantly home based and the hours you work (37 hour week – Monday to Friday).
  • Visiting with partners and clients, so transport and the ability to travel is essential.
  • You will get reimbursed for your travel expenses to partners and clients.
  • We have working areas at our partners and clients, where you will work should you visit.
  • You will have the support of the wider SWAP team.

What we offer:

  • Flexible working scheme including the ability to work from home, where we will support you as an employer
  • Generous annual leave allowance with the option to purchase additional leave
  • Professional training
  • Pension scheme including Life Insurance
  • CSSC Scheme
  • Medicash Scheme
  • A competitive salary of £83,454 to £99,743 per annum (pay award pending)

Nurturing your talent

Every member of our team brings something to the organisation that forms part of our success. We want to help you maximise your skills, so we encourage all staff to undergo training, with support for ongoing study generally available for people at all levels.

Valuing your contribution

What you do at SWAP matters. We recognise the work our team members put in, and we are keen to offer career progression to the talented individuals that work with us. If you’re looking to start a new career, we want to hear from you.

A great place to work

We want you to love working at SWAP. We want SWAP to be a great place to work and we always place emphasis on your health and wellbeing. As such, we encourage a culture of teamwork and open communication that we believe makes a real difference. We also strive to foster a healthy environment based on understanding and fulfilling the needs of our employees.

How to apply

Anderson Quigley is acting as an advisor SWAP Internal Audit Services. An executive search process is being carried out by Anderson Quigley in addition to the public advertisement.

The closing date for applications is noon on Friday 04 October 2024.

Applications should consist of:

  • A full CV.
  • A covering letter outlining your motivation and details of how you meet the qualification, skills and experience criteria of the person specification.
  • Please include details of two referees in your CV, though please note that we will not approach your referees without your prior consent and only should you be shortlisted.

Should you wish to discuss the roles in strict confidence, please contact Helene Usherwood at helene.usherwood@andersonquigley.com or +44 (0)7719 322 669 or Aino Betts at aino.betts@andersonquigley.com or +44 (0)7743 934 723.

Timetable

Search and advert closes Friday 04 October
Longlist meeting w/c 14th October
Preliminary Interviews (AQ and candidates via Teams) Thursday 17, Friday 18 and w/c Monday 21 October
Shortlist meeting w/c Monday 28 October
Final panel interviews (All day face to face) Tuesday 05 November – Taunton Cricket Club