| Job description | Job Title: Senior Parliamentary Relations Officer
Location: London with occasional travel to our Newcastle Office
Salary: circa £55,000 per annum plus Civil Service employer pension contribution of 28.97%
Type: Permanent
Main Purpose of the Role:
The National Audit Office (NAO) is an independent parliamentary body dedicated to scrutinising public spending and driving improvements in government efficiency and effectiveness. We audit government departments and public organisations, providing robust, evidence-based insights that ensure transparency, accountability, and value for money. Our work supports Parliament in holding the government to account while fostering innovation and best practice across the public sector.
To maximise the impact of our work for Parliament, we are looking for a Senior Parliamentary Relations Officer who will play a central role building network of contacts and providing advice and support to the Director of Parliamentary Relations and senior leadership in ensuring that we build and maintain networks with key parliamentary stakeholders. We are therefore looking for a high calibre professional with a strong record of working in the UK Parliament.
About the National Audit Office:
The NAO has a high political profile and attracts significant parliamentary and media interest. We audit the financial statements of all central government departments, agencies and other public bodies, and report the results to Parliament. We also publish about 60 value-for-money and wider assurance reports each year to help Parliament to hold government to account and to help government to improve. Our reports cover the full range of government spending from the delivery of major government programmes such as new hospitals and HS2, to support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities and projects to deliver net-zero. We also undertake some work overseas, including engaging with other international public audit organisations in, for example, supporting their own Parliaments.
Our work is independent of government and used by Parliament to hold government to account in formal sessions of the Committee of Public Accounts and other Select Committees as well as frequent references during Parliamentary debates.
Our recommendations and reports help government improve public services and save public money. During 2023-24, the total audited impact of our work was £1.15 billion, this represents a saving of £17 for every pound spent.
As the NAO embarks on its new strategy, this is an exciting time to join the organisation in this demanding and interesting role. Most of the Parliamentary Relations Team’s outputs are submitted directly to the Comptroller & Auditor General or to Select Committee Chairs, so the successful candidate will need to be able to work under pressure, often to short deadlines, while meeting high quality standards.
Relationships:
The post-holder will work in a team reporting to a Parliamentary Relations Manager.
The post-holder will have contact with the Comptroller & Auditor General, the NAO Executive Team and NAO colleagues who audit and report on public spending including Directors and Managers.
The post-holder will have significant external contact with Parliamentary Committees, individual Members of Parliament and House of Commons officials.
This post is full time and will be based at our London Office, but you may be required to travel to other locations within the UK, including our office in Newcastle .
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Due to the nature of this role, candidates will be expected to work from the London office a minimum of two days per week. There may also be occasions where an additional day in the office is required to support specific business needs.
Nationality Requirements:
UK nationals & nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with (or eligible for) status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
Please note, we are not able to sponsor work visas. Please contact us at hrservicedesk@nao.org.uk should you have any questions on your nationality eligibility. |
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| Responsibilities | The key responsibilities include: -
• Working with the Director of Parliamentary Relations and colleagues in implementing the new NAO strategy 2025-30
• Working closely with select committees and MPs and their staff, to support evidence sessions and inquiries based on NAO work
• Building the NAO’s networks across Parliament, including individual Members of Parliament, House staff and Members’ staff networks
• Identifying opportunities for the NAO to engage with Parliament and maximise impact through our work
• Identifying and signposting key Parliamentary, political and policy developments and trends and their potential impact on the NAO work programmes and providing insight to colleagues on the implications to the NAO
• Embracing and utilising the potential of new technologies to further improve our support to Parliament
• Providing advice, training and guidance for NAO teams to increase their knowledge and confidence in dealing effectively with all Parliamentary stakeholders
• Quality assuring and commissioning of memoranda, briefings and other outputs for select committees. |
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