About the job

Job summary

As head of Finance Business Partnering you will:

• Lead and maintain a strong and diverse team to provide insight into the financial position of DCMS business areas and Public Bodies.
• Lead the team in providing strategic financial advice to two Director General Groups including 45 Public Bodies, supporting teams through reporting and financial planning. 
• Maintain strong collaborative relationships both across the business and with wider senior stakeholders.
• Be an integral member of the Finance Senior Leadership Team and be a trusted partner to senior leaders across the Department in corporate, policy, programme and delivery areas.
• Provide advice, information and challenge to Directors and Deputy Directors with responsibility for departmental budgets. 
• Set the correct financial tone at the top of the operation and ensure finance is at the heart of all key decision making through oversight, support and challenge. 
• Provide oversight of the delivery of effective policy outcomes by providing tailored guidance, insight and effective solutions, ensuring public funds are being spent wisely and represent value for money.
• Be an active member of the DCMS Investment Sub-Committee, providing scrutiny of investment decisions using HMT’s Green Book.

Job description

Joining us in this role also means becoming part of the Government Finance Function (GFF). So, we wanted to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves.

We’re the GFF, a community made up of all the finance colleagues throughout government. We might work in different organisations, in different locations all over the UK, but one very important mission brings us together: to put finance at the heart of decision making, delivering value for money and strengthening public trust.

We manage big budgets, in big ways. And we do it all together. Which means, even though working with public money is a big responsibility, you’ll never shoulder it alone. We’re always sharing knowledge, expertise and resources with each other. And ensuring everyone within the GFF gets the learning and development they need: from internal training through the Government Finance Academy to support to pursue external qualifications. It makes the GFF a great place to progress your career, with plenty on offer to help you follow your interests and build a future you’re truly excited by.

We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted by Andrew Pattison, and will take place on:

Monday 15th July 12:00 - 13:00

The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. 

It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have about the application, and the interview and assessment process. 

Please register your interest by filling out this form and you will be sent an invitation. 

Find out more about us on our careers site: 

www.financecareers.civilservice.gov.uk.

Person specification

Essential Requirements 

• Fully qualified CCAB or CIMA accountancy qualification or equivalent.
• Experience of providing strategic financial management advice and tailored guidance, insight and effective solutions to senior leaders in order to deliver effective policy outcomes and able to build a reputation as a trusted advisor. 
• Developing and maintaining strong, collaborative and influential relationships with budget holders, and more widely across the business with senior and external stakeholders; Ability to collaborate and seek constructive outcomes in discussions and ability to challenge when required
• Experience of delivering at pace in a strategic finance leadership role. You will enjoy variety and be able to respond positively and strategically to the unexpected.
• Experience of Investment Appraisal processes and ensuring sound business cases are developed with strong commercial focus, options appraisal, realistic benefits and risk management with appropriate governance.
• Ability to lead, motivate and develop a diverse finance team and promote excellence.

Desirable Skills

• Experience of working with Arms Length Bodies (or similar organisations outside of Government).
• A confident understanding of how Government works, in particular Government Finance and the financial cycle.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £81,000, Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes £21,870 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.

To apply for this post, please send us the following documents no later than 23:55 on 21/07/2024 via the CS Jobs portal:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential and desirable criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 3 x A4 pages and you should insert your CV into the "Job History" section on Civil Service Jobs on the Civil Service Jobs application form.
• A Statement of Suitability (max 1000 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed.

For the shortlist, we will assess your experience and select applicants demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence provided in your application.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial sift will be conducted on the statement of suitability. Those who are successful in the initial sift will then be scored on all elements of the application.

Should you encounter any issues with your online application please get in touch with: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

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.