Principal Auditor

About the role
This is an exciting opportunity within West Northamptonshire Council, one of the largest unitary authorities in the country. We have established our own dedicated Internal Audit, Risk Management, and Counter-Fraud team, and we are looking for a motivated individual to join this growing service.

As part of our Internal Audit team, you will primarily support the Council as well as other partners, including Northamptonshire Children’s Trust. Your work will play a crucial role in ensuring the organisation operates effectively and efficiently.

While the position offers hybrid working arrangements, you will be required to attend the main Northampton town centre office (One Angel Square) at least one day a week, with additional attendance at other council sites as necessary.

What will you be doing?
In this role, you will be responsible for managing the delivery of a varied portfolio of internal audit work across all areas of the organisation. You will report to the Internal Audit Manager, providing assurance on the effectiveness of risk management, governance, policy, and internal control processes.

The role also includes supervising and supporting other auditors within the team, working collaboratively to ensure all audits are completed to the highest professional standards. You will have the opportunity to work closely with senior management, identifying opportunities for improvement and implementing far-reaching innovations based on your findings and recommendations.

The position offers hybrid working arrangements, giving you the flexibility to work from home and at various council sites as required.

About you
We are seeking an enthusiastic and motivated individual who holds a full CCAB accountancy qualification or membership of the Institute of Internal Auditors. Alternatively, significant relevant experience commensurate with these qualifications will also be considered.

To succeed in this role, you will be a team player with excellent communication and problem-solving skills. You will have meticulous attention to detail, a questioning approach, and the ability to prioritise tasks effectively. Working under pressure to meet personal and team targets should come naturally to you.

Equally important is your ability to think strategically and innovatively about how to improve systems and services. You will need to challenge existing processes and work closely with senior leaders to drive meaningful improvements across the organisation.

In return, we offer excellent working conditions, including a generous holiday entitlement, a comprehensive pension scheme, and flexible working arrangements. You will also have access to our employee benefits scheme, which includes a lease car sacrifice option and discounts at numerous retail outlets.

About us

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain **what DEI means to us**.

**West Northants Council, where careers thrive.**

Our benefits
We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

- **Generous annual leave entitlement** starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
- **Cycle to Work** scheme.
- **Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover** (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
- **Employee discounts** with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
- **Car Lease scheme**via Tusker.
- **Payment of professional subscription / membership**:

- If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
- **Employee Assistance Programme** - We have an employee support programme ru