About the job

Job summary

We have an excellent opportunity for a high calibre finance professional to join the Finance Business Partner Unit. Finance Business Partnering is one of five areas reporting to the Chief Financial Officer in the Scottish Government’s Finance Directorate. We provide financial advice and support relating to the development and delivery of devolved policy across all the government’s front-line spending programmes, encapsulating expenditure of some £50 billion annually.

Due to staff movements, we are looking to fill a Finance Business Partner post at C1 level.

Finance Business Partner has responsibility for one or more Ministerial spending portfolios or are embedded within specific business areas. They are critical to providing high quality financial support and advice to a range of stakeholders, including Ministers and Senior Officers, as well as supporting effective financial management, best value decision making and robust financial control.

Finance Business Partner leads on effective financial management of their portfolio areas.

Job description

• Provision of professional accounting, budgeting and wider financial stewardship advice up to senior levels;
• Analysis, scrutiny and provision of strategic input on all aspects of financial proposals and proposed expenditure;
• Driving value for money decision-making, including where there are complex financial issues;
• Provision of high quality finance support and advice to senior management and Ministers, including supporting key Ministerial meetings and attendances at Scottish Parliament Committees;
• Identifying, analysing and quantifying financial risks and opportunities, and options to reallocate financial resources;
• Improving financial awareness and capabilities across areas of responsibility, and

• Supporting continual improvement in finance processes and guidance including in relation to the ongoing finance transformation programme.

Person specification

Qualifications

You must be a fully qualified accountant (CCAB professional accountancy body or equivalent) with up to date CPD, and strong technical accountancy and financial management skills.

Essential Criteria
1. Excellent communication and relationship skills enabling the building of effective relationships within the Finance community as appropriate and, critically, with senior level stakeholders and customers.
2. Experience leading and implementing effective, sustainable change, modifying and improving behaviours and improving customer interactions, financial management outcomes and accountability.
3. Ability to constructively analyse, scrutinise and challenge financial and business plans and proposals within a partnership context. You must be able to demonstrate that you can understand and communicate complex finance and business matters to non-experts staff both orally and in written reports.
4. Sound understanding of value for money within a policy and/or service delivery context and be able to demonstrate how you have used this experience to improve efficiency and/or lower costs in an innovative or creative fashion.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,020, Scottish Government contributes £15,125 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

Sift and Interview dates TBC. Please apply using the link provided

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.