Counter Fraud Lead (Risk and Policy)

Job summary

This is a great opportunity to join a team leading proactive prevention, detection and investigation of fraud, bribery, and corruption in the newly formed Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST). You will support the provision of expert advice on fraud risks and policies to senior leaders targeting high risk areas of fraud and error such as grants, procurement, and internal fraud, to help identify weaknesses and working with process owners to strengthen controls. You will support in creating a culture of fraud awareness working alongside key stakeholders in the Department, Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) and Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA).

The Counter Fraud team set the counter fraud, bribery, and corruption strategy, leading on fraud risk assessment and investigation activity, setting and implementing departmental policy and ensuring compliance with the Government Counter Fraud Functional Standards. Reporting to the Performance and Risk Committee, and Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee, the team leads on management assurance activity on counter-fraud, ensuring appropriate controls and response plans are in place for the Department and its various Partner Organisations.

The role sits in the Counter Fraud team, which is part of the Counter Fraud and Recoveries Division reporting to the Director of Grant Delivery.

Job description

• Supporting the maintenance and delivery of the Counter Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Strategy and Action Plan for BIST, including coordinating updates, tracking progress, and ensuring key actions are followed through.
• Acting as a key point of contact for counter fraud activity, providing operational advice, helping apply fraud risk management policies, and ensuring relevant performance information is collected, recorded, and shared appropriately across the department.
• Contributing to the implementation of the Government's Counter Fraud Functional Standards, helping ensure policies, controls, and processes are understood and consistently applied across BIST.
• Working closely with BIST teams and partner organisations to gather, analyse, and prepare management information on fraud risks, contributing to the production of required documents such as Initial Fraud Impact Assessments, Fraud Risk Assessments and the Enterprise Fraud Risk Assessment.
• Preparing information and updates for reporting to governance bodies, ensuring accurate, timely inputs on fraud risk management activity, compliance status, and progress against strategy and action plans.
• Supporting efforts to build departmental understanding of fraud and error, contributing to training materials, awareness activities, and engagement work aimed at strengthening counter fraud culture and good practice.
• Demonstrating positive behaviours and contributing to team capability, ensuring tasks are delivered effectively, maintaining strong communication, and supporting a collaborative, improvement‑focused working environment.

Person specification

Essential criteria

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage.

• Awareness of fraud risks, fraud indicators, and basic fraud risk management concepts.
• Confident communicator able to engage with teams across BIST and with partner organisations. Comfortable organising awareness sessions, training material development, and internal engagement.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to coordinate both team and cross-departmental activity to track progress against action plans, updates to fraud risk assessments and other priorities to keep delivery on schedule.
• Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to explain complex issues relating to counter fraud and data to different audiences, including BIST boards, to demonstrate performance in the counter fraud space.
• Demonstrate a flexible approach to dealing with a challenging and varied workload with the ability to manage conflicting priorities and deliver quality outputs at pace utilising organisation and project management skills.

Desirable criteria

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates.

• Project management experience or leading on organisational change, including the development and implementation of organisational counter fraud frameworks, policies, and procedures.
• Project Management (e.g. APM, PRINCE2) and / or Risk Management (e.g. MoR) qualification/ or Accountancy qualification

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,391, Department for Business and Trade contributes £12,280 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fullycommitted to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attractapplications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential 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.
• A Personal Statement of up to 750 words,