Ministry of Justice

Job Title & Grade:

Assurance and Risk Auditor

Contract Type:            Permanent

Salary range (depending on location):     

National - £29,303 to £31,061

Please note that unless you are currently employed by the Civil Service and are earning more than the minimum above, if successful you will be offered the minimum for the grade depending on your location.

Location:        

Nottingham, South Tyneside and Liverpool

Directorate:

Contract Management and Assurance        

Team:

Core Assurance & Risk Management Team

Working Pattern:

The post is supported by the MOJ flexible working policy and includes colleagues who work flexibly, remotely (as part of hybrid working), part time or as part of a job share etc.

If you are applying for a part time role, please note that in order to meet business demands we need cover for a minimum of 25 hours and to cover 4 days of the week

To meet legal requirements, if you are between the ages 16-18 and you are a successful candidate, you will be required to complete an apprenticeship after your initial on the job training.

Reporting to:

Lead Core Assurance & Risk Auditor

Closing date for applications

26th August 2025

The Legal Aid Agency

We are an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). We are responsible for operationally administering the legal aid fund to provide criminal and civil legal aid advice to people in England and Wales. 

Our people are at the heart of achieving excellence. Employing around 1,200 colleagues across England and Wales, we feel proud to have some of the best People Survey results in the Civil Service.

Our LAA commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain, and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

As a Disability Confident organisation, we will offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for this role. Under the Equality Act 2010 a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities which has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months.

If you are responding to a role within the Legal Aid Agency and would like to be considered under the guaranteed interview, please indicate this in your application and let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the sift or later selection processes.

The LAA’s goal is to build an organisation that is open and inclusive and truly values and celebrates the diversity of its workforce. One that reflects and understands the needs of the diverse society we serve. This is regardless of social background, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, beliefs, disabilities or long-term illness or caring responsibilities.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long-term condition (for example dyslexia, anxiety, autism, a mobility condition or hearing loss) and need us to make any reasonable adjustments to support you through the recruitment process, please let us know by adding the information to the applications system or emailing LAARecruitment@justice.gov.uk after you have applied so that we can discuss options with you.

Contract Management and Assurance (CMA)

Based in every office of the LAA, bring together a wealth of expertise and knowledge to support the organisation in managing our providers and assuring risks. CMA work closely with our provider base to ensure the smooth running of our contracts and assure the delivery of legal aid.

We ensure that Providers deliver quality legal aid services in accordance with contractual requirements and relevant legislation. We interpret and analyse data to effectively manage risk and to influence providers to improve performance and effectively deliver change. We also engage with the wider Justice System to promote partnership working and influence provider behaviour.

Core Assurance and Risk Management Team

We undertake a monthly cycle of re-performing samples of eligibility applications and payments to legal aid providers. This work is designed to identify the level of reported error on the Legal Aid Fund and is reported as the LAA’s Regularity position on the Agency’s accounts. The team’s work is closely reviewed by the National Audit Office who re-perform samples of their testing. The team’s findings are also shared with Assurance’s Recoveries team, Contract Management and Case Management. It also carries out audits and data validation exercises in all areas of crime and civil work to ensure provider work is carried out in accordance with Legal Aid Contracts.

Job Summary

The role holder is responsible for reviewing Legal Aid Provider files against claim data and contractual requirements to make robust decisions regarding their accuracy. You will produce detailed reports justifying your decisions and communicate your findings with both internal and external customers.

The role requires attention to detail, working with data from a range of sources and a flexible approach to changes in business priorities. Assurance and Risk Auditors develop their knowledge to gain subject matter expertise in different areas of law.

Key Responsibilities:

•             Analyse data from a range of sources to select, request and review provider case files.

•             Validate provider claims to make detailed assessments and communicate results to internal and external stakeholders.

•             Work with Contract Managers and providers to enforce any recoveries identified.

•             Consider appeals against auditor assessments.

•             Answering queries from other teams and providers.

•             Storing and recording all work in line with team processes and LAA requirements.

•             Work flexibly to support the team in the delivery of ad hoc and urgent tasks.

•             Work independently to adhere to team time standards whilst escalating any issues to the team manager.

•             Use experience to identify and suggest improvements to processes and share knowledge with the team.

Essential Knowledge, Experience and skills       

•             Microsoft 365 Applications (specifically Excel)

Person Specification            

•             You can analyse information to make considered decisions.

•             You enjoy working with data with a focus on accuracy.

•             You are happy working in a process driven environment and understand the importance of making decisions according to set rules and guidelines.

•             You remain effective and can be flexible when faced with conflicting deadlines.

•             You always have a plan in place to make best use of your time.

•             You are a highly organised, able to motivate yourself to work independently and take accountability for your decisions.

•             You communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.

Assessment approach

Application Process

To apply complete an application based of the following behaviours:

Making Effective Decisions

•             take responsibility for making effective and fair decisions, in a timely manner

•             analyse and research further information to support decisions

•             talk to relevant people to get advice and information when unsure how to proceed

•             explain how decisions have been reached in a clear and concise way, both verbally and in writing

•             demonstrate the consideration of all options, costs, risks and wider implications, including the diverse needs of end users and any accessibility requirements

Delivering at Pace

•             regularly review the success of activities in the team to identify barriers to progress or challenging objectives

•             identify who and what is required to ensure success, set clear goals and areas of responsibility and continually assess workloads considering individual needs

•             follow relevant policies, procedures and legislation to complete your work

•             ensure colleagues have the correct tools and resources available to them to do their jobs

•             have a positive and focused attitude to achieving outcomes, despite any setbacks

•             regularly check performance against objectives, making suggestions for improvement or taking corrective action where necessary

•             ensure that colleagues are supported where tasks are challenging

Communicating and Influencing

•             communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing

•             take time to consider the best communication channel to use for the audience, including making the best of digital resources and considering value for money

•             interact with others in an enthusiastic way

•             express ideas clearly and with respect for others

•             listen to and value different ideas, views and ways of working

•             respond constructively and objectively to comments and questions

•             handle challenging conversations with confidence and sensitivity

When submitting an example of a behaviour remember to include the situation, what you did and why, and what was the outcome / result.

Please note that if we have a large number of applications will we do an initial sift on the Making Effective Decisions behaviour.

Interview / assessment Process

If you are successful through the application stage, you will be invited to an interview / assessment centre in person or via Microsoft Teams where you will be assessed against the following:

•             Strengths relevant to the role

•             Some or all of the following Behaviours:

o            Making effective decisions

o            Delivering at Pace

o            Communicating and Influencing

 •            Practical exercise to assess your analytical skills.

•             Your Experience of implementing, promoting, or understanding diversity and inclusion policy - Diversity is the presence of difference, this can include one or more of the protected characteristics (Gender, Age, Race, Disability etc.) or it can be about working patterns, whether we like to jump into a task or reflect on it before acting. Inclusion is how we welcome, value, and celebrate diversity, giving everyone a voice, tapping into ideas, and enabling everyone to be themselves at work and achieve their potential.

For this grade/ role we would expect the candidate to demonstrate understanding of the terms Diversity and Inclusion and be able to explain why they are important to them and to where they work. Examples of action they have taken (in or outside of work) to embrace diversity (e.g., increasing understanding) or improve inclusion for others will increase the strength of their answer.

Shortlisting is planned for week commencing 25th August 2025

Interviews are planned for week commencing 8th September 2025

If you would like more information on this opportunity, please contact karen.watson@justice.gov.uk

Complaints procedure

If you have any complaints about this recruitment activity, please share your concerns by emailing LAARecruitment@justice.gov.uk initially. We aim to respond to any complaint within 10 working days.