Head of Counter Fraud

Office for Students; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 82,000 - 87,000; Full time

Job summary

A higher education regulatory body is seeking a Head of Counter Fraud based in Bristol or London. The role involves leading the design and implementation of interventions to mitigate misuse of public funding and ensuring compliance among universities. Candidates should have significant experience in audit or investigations, strong leadership abilities, and excellent communication skills. The position offers a generous salary package alongside flexible working arrangements.

Benefits

Generous Civil Service defined benefit pension

Flexibility including job share options

Hybrid working arrangements

Qualifications

• Experience of working creatively within complex legislative frameworks.
• A successful track record of influencing senior stakeholders.
• Experience in leading audit practices in public or private sectors.
• Outstanding oral and written communication capabilities.
• Highly developed leadership skills with team management experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of intervention approaches.
• Monitor compliance with registration conditions by universities.
• Oversee existing audit team and collaborate with legal teams.

Skills

Creative problem-solving

Influencing stakeholders

Communication skills

Leadership

Agility in complex environments

Education

Professional accountant or internal audit qualifications

Job description

Head of Counter Fraud

Salary: £82,082 - £86,006 plus London weighting £3,566 (where appropriate)

Location: Bristolor London

Generous Civil Service defined benefit pension

About us

We are the independent regulator of higher education in England. We aim to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers.

We’re proud of our people, our culture and the benefits we offer. We care about supporting and developing our staff. At the OfS we want to create a welcoming and engaging working environment which is free from discrimination.

We’re looking for skilled, committed people who care about students and their experience of higher education. Join us and you’ll be part of an energetic, forward-looking organisation with high ambitions and big opportunities for our people.

About the role

The Head of Counter Fraud role will be based in the Provider Governance team. The team leads on the OfS’s approach to policy development and casework, monitoring how universities and colleges comply with the OfS’s conditions of registration relating to management and governance, and to intervene in a way that ensures student and taxpayers interests are prioritised.

This is a new specialist post to lead on the design, development and implementation of an intervention approach to mitigate against risks to misuse of public funding by providers in receipt of funding directly or indirectly from the public purse, including funding distributed by the Student Loans Company.

You will work closely with the existing enforcement and investigations and legal teams, and will oversee the work of the existing provider audit team.

About you

You will have led a counter fraud function overseeing the delivery of audits, investigations and activity directed at mitigating against risks of this nature. Other similar roles managing counter fraud activity both in terms of policy development and casework may also demonstrate appropriate experience. You’ll be experienced in assessing risks and designing innovative approaches to testing these, working with relevant existing powers to design and implement relevant interventions.

Professional accountant, internal audit or counter fraud qualifications (such as Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist, ICA or ACFE) are desirable, but not essential.

Essential experience required for the role

• Experience of working creatively and agilely within a complex legislative and regulatory framework to establish a credible and effective intervention approach.
• A successful track record of influencing and collaborating with a range of senior stakeholders to deliver best practice in counter fraud, investigations and audit activity in large and complex organisations.
• Experience of developing, leading and delivering a counter fraud / investigations / audit practice / identification of risk, either in the public or private sector.
• Outstanding ability to communicate (both oral and written) and work effectively and collaboratively with a range of peers, partners and senior colleagues, combined with the ability to respond quickly to fast moving priorities.
• Highly developed leadership skills, with proven ability to build and inspire a team, develop capability and create an engaged and motivated workforce.
• Line management experience and experience in coaching staff.

Desirable experience

• Experience of working in a regulator and / or the higher education sector would be an advantage.
• Experience of working closely with government on the development of new legislation would be an advantage.

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Application process

There are 3 online application questions to complete, alongside providing a copy of your CV.

Reasonable adjustment

We are committed to ensuring Celebrity recruitment process is accessible to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support you through the application stage, please contact us at [e-mail] and we will be happy to help.

Working for us

The OfS regulates the higher education sector on behalf of all students. We value diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do.

We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Flexibility is important to the OfS, as we recognise that it can enable people to work more effectively. A set of organisation-wide principles shape our approach to flexible and hybrid working, which our teams then use as guidance on how they deliver their business goals. This would usually mean working from the office for two or three days in a typical week.

To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants, flexible working, for example job share and part time working (with a minimum 0.8 FTE), apply to this role.

If you would like to talk further to someone about this role, please contact us at: [e-mail] date for applications

Monday 2 February at noon

Interviews

As part of the interview process, candidates will be asked to prepare and give a short presentation.

For information: the OfS does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence.