Senior Counter Fraud Manager

Department for Culture, Media and Sport; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 46,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A UK government department in Manchester seeks an experienced professional to join the Grants, Risk, Assurance and Fraud team. The successful candidate will implement the Counter Fraud Strategy, advise on policy areas, and analyze data to identify anomalies indicating fraud. Essential skills include strong expertise in counter-fraud techniques, excellent communication, and stakeholder management. Offered salary is £54,582 with various benefits like flexible working, a Civil Service pension, and development opportunities.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

26.5 days annual leave

Civil Service pension contribution

Access to employee benefits system

Volunteering leave

Generous parental leave

Staff bonuses

Occupational sick pay

Qualifications

• Strong track record in counter-fraud techniques.
• Ability to advise on fraud risk across organisation.
• Fast-paced environment adaptability.
• Excellent communication skills at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Drive implementation of Counter Fraud Strategy.
• Provide expert advice at various stages.
• Analyze data to identify fraud patterns.
• Manage relationships with Public Sector Fraud Authority.

Skills

Utilising recognised counter-fraud techniques

High quality advice on fraud risk

Excellent communication

Developing and managing diverse stakeholders

Education

Relevant qualifications in fraud prevention

Tools

Excel

Analytical techniques

Job description

About the job

The Grants, Risk, Assurance and Fraud team - or GRAFT - is a small, diverse and friendly team of experts that sits within the Finance Directorate in DCMS and was created to provide advice and guidance to ensure the Department and its public bodies spend money and manage their risks wisely.

The Fraud team work closely with other professional experts within the department such as governance, project delivery, risk management, commercial and finance to support our policy and delivery teams to ensure appropriate controls are in place to mitigate the risk of economic crime.

The Fraud team also support DCMS Group’s network of counter fraud colleagues to ensure their organisations are aware of the risks associated with economic crime and meet the standards required of public bodies when managing public money.

Job description

As part of GRAFT, you will be reporting directly to the Head of the Economic Crime and Counter Fraud Team.

Responsibilities

• Drive implementation of the department’s Counter Fraud Strategy. This includes overseeing the fraud risk assessment programme within DCMS, deciding which expenditure requires full fraud risk assessments and completing those or bringing in resources to do so.
• Provide expert advice to high‑profile policy areas, either at design or assurance stage, as well as advising on live cases across DCMS Group.
• Identify opportunities and undertake data analysis to highlight anomalies that indicate potential fraud or error and ensure that action is taken and benefits realised.
• Improve compliance with key standards and best practice guidance in the core department and support Public Bodies to raise their maturity. This can be achieved through formal assurance assessments alongside upskilling sessions.
• Manage the relationship with, and reporting to, the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), including commissioning and quality‑assuring Action Plans for DCMS and key public bodies alongside any other ad‑hoc commissions.
• Represent DCMS at cross‑government forums or working groups, to share best practice and innovation across the department.

Person specification

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience.

Essential requirements

• A strong track record in utilising recognised counter‑fraud techniques to identify fraud and reduce risk (Technical Skills)
• Ability to work across an organisation, providing high quality advice on different fraud risk areas (Technical Skills)
• Proven ability to work as part of a team delivering at pace in a fast‑moving environment.
• Be an excellent communicator, able to explain complex ideas both verbally and written at all levels.
• Proven ability to develop and manage diverse stakeholders and their needs.

Desirable skills

• Ability to manipulate data to identify anomalies for investigation, either using Excel or other analytical techniques
• Experience in investigations and intelligence handling
• Understanding of fraud and error loss measurement

Information session

We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted by Will Paterson and will take place on 27th November at 13:30.

Please register your interest by filling out the Information Session Registration Form by midday on the 26th November. Invites will only be sent after this deadline has passed.

The session will not be recorded and will not focus on the DCMS recruitment process – please direct any queries on timelines, reasonable adjustments, onboarding etc. to [e-mail].

Behaviours

• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

Examples of the technical skills that may be required for this role can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/730050/Annex_B_-_GCFP_Brochure.pdf

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £54,582, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes £15,812 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

DCMS values its staff and offers a wide range of benefits to everyone who works here. We’re committed to developing talent, and supporting colleagues to have great careers in our department. Some of the benefits we offer include:

• Flexible working arrangements and hybrid working – DCMS staff work on a flexible basis with time spent in offices, and time spent working from home
• 26.5 days annual leave on entry, increasing to 31.5 days after 5 years’ service
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Access to the Edenred employee benefits system which offers discounts to popular retailers and access to various useful resources such as financial and savings advice
• 3 days of paid volunteering leave
• Up to 9 months maternity leave on full pay + generous paternity and adoption leave
• Staff reward and recognition bonuses that operate throughout the year
• Occupational sick pay
• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme which offers staff 24/7 confidential support and resources such as counselling, debt guidance and management advice
• Active and engaged staff networks to join including the LGBT+, Ethnic Diversity, Mental Health and Wellbeing and Gender Equality Networks
• Exceptional learning and development opportunities that you can explore alongside your day to day work
• Season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme and much more!

Terms and conditions at SCS grades will vary. Those applying for SCS roles should refer to the candidate information pack for more information on terms and conditions.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

• This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
• To apply for this vacancy, you will need to submit the following documents which will be assessed against the experience success profile:
• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential and desirable criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages and you should insert your CV into the "Job History" section on the Civil Service Jobs application form.
• A Statement of Suitability (max 750 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed.
• The interview process will assess behaviours and technical skills. You will be asked to prepare and deliver a short presentation to test your aptitude for the role, which will look at the technical skills and give you an opportunity to demonstrate your counter‑fraud experience.
• Throughout the interview, you will be required to prepare a presentation. Full details of this, including the topic, length of time, and whether or not you will need to use visual aids, will be sent to you prior to your interview.
• Your interview will take place remotely via Google Meet.