About the job

Job summary

The Insolvency Service is a leading Government agency which plays a crucial role in providing essential services to the public and to business. The work we do is important to the proper functioning of markets, the economy in general and support for thousands of people each year who are in financial difficulty.

Inclusive and diverse teams are important to us. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups underrepresented in our workforce. The Insolvency Service strives to ensure that the agency is a safe, inclusive and welcoming place for everybody to bring their true self to work and to help the agency to achieve its diversity objectives. We have 10 active employee network groups available to join or become an ally, these include LGBT+, FACES, Disability & Health, Break the Stigma, Women’s, The Shed, Carers, Part Time Workers, No Limits and Grass Roots.

We offer full-time, part-time, job share and flexible ways of working. We value capability, technical skills and experience and we place great emphasis on lifetime development to support our people. We encourage our employees to become more involved in areas they feel strongly about whether it be for the benefit of the agency, though our Engagement network or in their own local communities via volunteering opportunities.

The Insolvency Service is a great place to work, learn and grow your career.

Our Structure

The Finance, Commercial, Sustainability and Property Directorate manage, oversee and analyse the Agency’s financial and commercial activity. By reporting on our current position, forecasting our future budgets and working closely with internal and external stakeholders, we play an active part in understanding the agency’s performance and in shaping its current and future financial position.

Job description

The role is within the Project & National Interest Case Team which works within the Finance, Commercial, Sustainability and Property Directorate, and is strategically placed at the heart of the organisation to provide project finance advice to key stakeholders and Senior Leaders across a growing project portfolio.

We are recruiting a Finance Business Partner within the Insolvency Service' Finance, Commercial, Sustainability and Property directorate.  This is an interesting and rewarding role within an established team of finance professionals.

Please note that as this is a Finance role month-end is a critical time, therefore leave for the 1st and 2nd working day of each month can only be approved by exception. 

The post may be located in the Birmingham office if approved by the director and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis to manage potential capacity issues in this location. 

Responsibilities

The successful candidate can expect to be involved in a range of the following:

Finance Business Partnering:

• Be the single point of Finance contact for your stakeholders, fostering excellent working relationships
• Hosting or attending meetings, e.g. monthly forecast review meetings, presenting key finance information at project boards
• Field and reply to finance queries from stakeholders, focussing on delivery outcomes whilst remaining impartial and providing appropriate challenge
• Being a key stakeholder on strategy formation, working collaboratively with stakeholders and Finance colleagues

Technical and Accounting:

• Ensure accounts are reflective of the accruals concept.
• Provide auditable and transparent records relating to accounting transactions.
• Monitor and address potential issues of novel and contentious spend.
• Provide advice around accounting and VAT treatment of transactions, ensuring financial transactions are appropriately recorded

Business Case Development:

• Provide financial input into business case development, working collaboratively with stakeholders to obtain information, challenging assumptions when necessary
• Assessing financial impacts across multiple years, e.g. capitalisation and IFRS16 lease accounting
• Assisting with obtaining necessary internal and external approvals of business cases

Budgets, Forecasts and Spending Reviews:

• Work closely with stakeholders to support them with developing robust financial forecasts, utilising available tools, e.g. resource tracker
• Understand potential under and overspends and areas of financial risk early, reporting and monitoring appropriately
• Provide monthly consolidated returns to stakeholders such as the Management Accounts and Financial Accounts team.
• Provide annual budget and spending review returns to the Financial Planning Team, matching these to internal forecasts and applying narrative to support

Line Management (if required):

• Provide the Cost Centre Manager (CCM) with line management support, undertaking quarterly performance reviews and developing capability.
• Oversight of CCM’s Cost Centre and Ledger Management duties relating to transactions and journal processing.
• Oversight and support the CCM’s cross-team task.
• Provide CCM direction on non-standard reporting requirements, ensuring delivery to stakeholders in a suitable method and reviewable time-frame

Person specification

The successful candidate will demonstrate evidence of:

• You will have an inquisitive mind and be able to constructively challenge at all levels to achieve the right results.
• You are able to keep your own and the team’s efforts focused on the goals that really matter and successfully manage, support and stretch yourself to deliver agreed outcomes by being proactive and taking ownership and accountability for decisions and commitments.
• You will have a keen eye for detail and a tenacious approach to your work.
• You will have strong analytical and problem solving skills and be able to recognise patterns, trends and draw key conclusions in a wide range of evidence and data.
• You will have the ability to build and establish positive relationships with a range of stakeholders to support the delivery of business outcomes and possess good interpersonal skills and communication skills, written and verbal.

Essential

• You must be a CCAB member (including CIMA) or in the final year of studies towards full CCAB/CIMA qualification. Those in their final year of studies will be committed to competing their studies and logbook within 12 months of appointment. This will be a contractual obligation, funding will be provided in this circumstance.
• Experience in Management or Project Accounting
• Have a strong level of excel skills, with the willingness to enhance further
• Be able to work autonomously without prompt
• Desirable
• Experience of PowerBI
• Experience of Business World

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £41,880, Insolvency Service contributes £11,307 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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV, 500-word personal statement and Behaviour statements. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

With particular reference to the essential criteria stated in the person specification, and in no more than 500 words, please explain how you consider your personal skills, qualities and future aspirations demonstrate your suitability for the role. 

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

We will test your behaviours, and experience as part of the sift process, if successful you will be invited to a short interview where we will test your behaviours, technical skills, and strengths.

Candidates will be expected to provide a short accounting treatment assessment presentation. This will be scored as part of the selection process.

Full details of the selection process will be made available to shortlisted candidates once the sift has been completed.

Expected Timeline (subject to change)

• Sift – w/c: 11/03/24
• Interview – w/c: 18/03/24
• Location - MS Teams

Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Insolvency Services from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to:  Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Transforming Workplaces

The Insolvency Service is currently delivering an exciting five-year transformation project that started in April 2022 which will define our future direction supporting a gradual migration to a Regional Centre model combined with smarter ways of working. As part of this, transforming our estate will align us with the government modernisation programmes making The Insolvency Service a great place to work.  

We are letting you know about our future plans because if you are joining the Insolvency Service and are recruited into an office over the next five years that is not one of the Regional Centres, you will be expected to move to one of the Regional Centres in the future. This move would not attract financial assistance.   

The 11 Regional Centres are : Birmingham, Cardiff, Croydon, Edinburgh, Exeter, Ipswich, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Stratford.

Hybrid Working

Insolvency Service operates a hybrid working policy subject to business need, giving people the flexibility to choose when and where they work and collaborate with others.

Individuals are expected to work from one of the office locations stated in the advert to connect with their colleagues, as required by their role and business team needs. There is flexibility to split the working week, spending a minimum of 60% in the workplace, which includes the office, site visits, court etc.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

Contact Government Recruitment Service via insolvencyrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.