About the job

Job summary

The Army HQ Finance Business Partner (FBP) is the finance expert who ensures that the associated financial and economic implications are considered to protect and drive value. They maintain strong relationships with senior and wider stakeholders, bring insight and influence through effective communication, and ensure Finance is considered in delivering against strategic plans and objectives. We are looking for an individual with strong interpersonal relationships with the business who translates and reports information between business and finance. They will act as a trusted partner who provides valuable financial advice, strategic insight and providing solutions to Directors and other budget holders. This position is advertised at 37 hours per week. You will be required to work at Army HQ, Andover office at least 3 days per week. Please be advised that the Army is conducting a review of its current Finance and HR Operating Models. At the time of advertisement this post is deemed to have an enduring requirement and it is not anticipated that this post will be likely to change in the immediate future, however, is in scope of ongoing reviews.

Job description

This is a challenging role, and responsibilities will include:

• Build successful partnerships and maintaining relationships with both business leadership and wider stakeholders.
• Develop confidence and trust in the ability of finance to support business needs.
• Steer and influence AHQ senior leadership to make informed decisions that balance short term priorities (e.g. in year efficiencies) with longer-term sustainability.
• Act as the first finance contact for issues and queries raised by the business where there is no clear solution pathway in place or if a rapid resolution can be provided.
• Work collaboratively with the business and other functions to enable the delivery of business plans and objectives.
• Communicating with impact and providing insight including financial and wider business implications.
• Identify and communicate potential opportunities and risks to enable business leadership to make informed decisions around investments, change and continuous improvements.
• Demonstrate flexibility in undertaking duties unique to the needs of the business area and supporting the business to resolve complex problems.
• Drive financial performance against agreed targets working with stakeholders.
• Develop an understanding of drivers behind key variations and work with the business to identify remedial actions, risks, and opportunities
• Provide constructive challenge, scrutiny, insight, and analysis to the Business/Budget Holders on their financial plans and programmes to ensure ambitions are sustainable, aligned to strategy, maximise value for money and are linked to benefits.
• Input into the development of business cases, investment appraisals and proposals identifying and highlighting any potential issues. Undertake scrutiny of business cases valued between [insert values] to ensure that cases provide value for money, consider the wider corporate impact (e.g. legal, commercial) and through-life implications ensuring a robust risk assessment is undertaken.
• Work collaboratively with Finance Operations teams and other functions to ensure that senior leadership have the right information and advice
• Proactively identifying opportunities for continuous improvement in the service finance provided by engaging with the Business to prioritise those changes that could add most value.

Person specification

To be successful in the role, you will need to be able to demonstrate:

Essential Skills: Ability to work flexible and adapt to changing priorities.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,670, Ministry of Defence contributes £15,570 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

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

Please present your evidence using the S.T.A.R. format (Situation, Task, Action, Result).

A 500-word statement of suitability and CV will be required for this position; this cannot be uploaded to the advert. You will submit using the CV template provided on the CS Jobs dashboard, detailing job history, full qualifications, previous experience, and skills. Job-share will only be considered provided full time hours can be covered.

Please note that it is essential that your personal statement is aligned to provide evidence that you have the knowledge and recent practical experience for each of the following selection criteria in your application (word court 750).

Applicants are strongly advised to ensure that their submission uses the STAR format and demonstrates the behaviours of:

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Bigger Picture
• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service

detailed at Grade 7 level in the Civil Service Success Profiles –Civil Service Behaviours booklet. Comprehensive coverage on Success Profiles can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles  

You will be assessed against the following Success Profiles Behaviours at both Application and Interview:

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Bigger Picture
• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service

Application sifting will be scheduled to take place within 7 days of the application closing date.  

Interview date TBC but location is likely be at Army HQ, Andover. A minimum of 7 full working days’ notice will be provided. We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs.

If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk .

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical.

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.