About the job

Job summary

This position is based nationally

Job description

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Job Title/ Position        Finance Business Partner: DG Operations – Prison Analysis 
Grade    SEO
Number of Vacancies    1
Business Group    Finance Business Partnering
Directorate    COO - Finance Business Partnering
Location    National 
Hours    37.0
Post Type     Permanent 
Role Type/ Team    Finance

Ministry of Justice an Inclusive Employer

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer of choice and ensuring equity of opportunity for all. We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring in terms of their culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity

Overview

The Finance Business Partnering Group within prisons provide Finance Business Partners (FBPs) to support HMPPS, act as a trusted advisors and provide independent challenge. FBPs have a level of authority and respect to proactively influence decision making and drive continuous improvement, and play a central role in planning the workforce requirements to support a safe regime.  Within the current economic climate the role of the finance business partner is especially important; acting as the liaison between financial processes and budget holders, and supporting senior prisons leaders to navigate through times of exceptional inflationary cost pressures and initiating and supporting plans to mitigate against this.

The DG Ops. prison analysis FBP team is small:  Led by a Grade 7 and with 3 x SEO (including this post).  The work they do however impacts across all prisons in England and Wales and there is a direct influence into national outcomes.

The team that this role sits in is responsible for reporting on the in-year performance of all areas that sit under the prisons remit of the Director General Operations for HMPPS.  The post holder will work with the wider team on the monthly production of information to stakeholders.  The team also leads on any in-year efficiency exercise, fiscal events and change.  

The post holder will become the subject matter expert for all spend and budget requirements relating new accommodation as it comes on line.

The post holder will arrange budget transfers and ensure processes around budgeting and forecasting within the wider Prisons Group for this budget are efficient, this includes identifying and resolving any issues that arise. They will maintain a record of all decisions made and will be part of the decision-making process, feeding into submission to the Prisons Leadership team and on occasion, Ministerial submissions.

Strong analytical skills are essential for this post.  The post holder should be able to take complex financial information and interpret it and present it in a way that makes the biggest impact.  Excellent Excel skills are essential.

Role Summary

Finance Business Partnering SEOs are responsible for building strong relationships with their directorate, understanding the business, and explaining financial information for budget holders in an understandable manner.
The job holder will be required to undertake the following duties and responsibilities.

•    Stakeholder Engagement – develop and maintain strong partnerships with senior prison leaders and senior leaders within the Finance Directorate.

•    Budget management – work with budget holders to develop robust budget plans and monitor delivery

•    Risks and issues – identify and monitor budget risks and opportunities, supporting stakeholders to develop mitigating actions

•    Reporting – to be able to translate financial information to non-finance stakeholders, providing the narrative behind the numbers to influence decision making

•    Critical friend to the business – feel confident to challenge and advise business colleagues on their spending plans and keep a focus on outcomes and business priorities. Give advice to support decision making, encouraging options analysis and appropriate governance. Use your insight to add value.

Typical Role Responsibilities

SEO FBPs are developing expertise and responsible for building strong relationships and understanding the business within a directorate or possibly supporting a lower risk Director led unit. They aim to communicate financial data and other information clearly and provide valuable financial advice, challenge and support, strategic insight, and business solutions.

Entry Routes

Suitable for staff with the required skills and / or experience from within or outside Finance

Within Finance  

This role may be suitable for Finance individuals at HEO or SEO with the required influencing and interpersonal skills.

From Outside Finance

This role may be suitable for HEOs on promotion and SEOs with the required data analysis, influencing, stakeholder management and numeracy skills and who are interested in joining the Finance function.

Progression Routes

Staff in this role typically transfer to Management Reporting SEO, Financial Accounting and Reporting SEO or Business Support SEO roles, or progress to Financial Business Partnering G7, Management Reporting G7 or Financial Accounting and Reporting G7 roles.

Role Responsibilities/Tasks

•    Developing an understanding of the business, its stakeholders, and deliverables
•    Building and maintaining relationships with customer budget holders
•    Providing advice on compliance with policy, standards, accountabilities, and controls
•    Translating, owning, and adding insight to financial data to provide clear information and evidence to support business activities and requirements
•    Providing guidance at appropriate level budget holder meetings and boards
•    Reviewing and providing input to business cases/ strategic documentation
•    Identifying and applying relevant costs, benefits, and investment appraisal techniques
•    Providing relevant coaching and training to the business
•    Providing ad-hoc analysis and presentations to drive and support business decisions, such as efficiency and cost reduction options, using all available data and analytics tools

Behaviours Required 

Success Profiles will enable a fairer and more inclusive method of recruitment by enabling us to assess the range of experiences, abilities, strengths, behaviours, and technical/professional skills required for different roles. This flexible approach to recruitment focuses more on finding the right candidate for the specific role. To find out more about Success Profiles to support your application please click here for further guidance.

•    Managing a Quality Service
•    Communicating and Influencing
•    Working Together
•    Delivering at Pace

Please refer to the Civil Service Behaviours Framework, which can be found here, to complete this application:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf

If we receive a large volume of applications, we reserve the right to conduct the sift based on one lead behaviour. The chosen lead behaviour for this campaign is Managing a Quality Service.

In addition to Civil Service Behaviours identified above, the candidate will be assessed on the following:

•    A Statement of Suitability is required consisting of a maximum of 500 words
•    CV
•    A presentation

Interpersonal Skills

•    Possesses emotional intelligence and can think empathetically, considering the strategic goals of others
•    Fosters a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration between the business, finance, and other corporate services
•    Can tailor their communication style to a range of audiences, including internal and external stakeholders
•    Uses facts and evidence to aid negotiation and influencing
•    Helps others to understand the interdependencies between business and finance
•    Proactive and passionate, inspiring others to continuously improve
•    Ability to "speak the language" of finance to business, and vice versa, acting as the critical translator between the two

Professional Skills & Qualifications

Holding a professional qualification is not a mandatory requirement for this role.

Key for Levels of Professional Skills

•    A = Awareness
•    W = Working
•    P = Practitioner
•    E = Expert

Core	Level
Budgeting, forecasting, and costing	P
The Budgeting Framework	W
Commercial acumen	W
Investment appraisal and evaluation	W
Strategic analysis and insight	A
Oral and written presentation skills	E
Performance and risks	W
Data and analytics interpretation	P
Useful	Level
Taxation	A
Interpretation of accounts	A
Government financial reporting	A
Supporting the PAC agenda	A
Understanding the role of the NAO	A
Risk management and fraud	A

In addition to salary, a pensionable, non-contractual specialist allowance may be applied to this role depending on the candidate’s qualifications. Specialist allowances apply to certain roles only, are non-transferable to other roles and are subject to annual review.

Travel

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working.  Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

A base location near or within the region will be allocated to the successful candidate. The post holder is expected to meet their own travel costs to and from their base location. If required to attend a location other than their base location, post-holders may be entitled to claim some or all any extra expense (beyond the usual base location travel costs) in line with the T&S policy.

The successful candidate will be appointed to either one of the locations specified in the advert or, if nearer to their home, an alternative MoJ office location in the region which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed upon completion of pre-employment checks.

Applicants are advised to access the JCC/JSO office map, which is updated whenever a new JCC/JSO site opens, to determine potential travelling times and distances to MoJ locations before applying for a job.

Application Process

To apply please complete the online application form. Applications will be sifted by a panel who will look at the Civil Service Behaviour framework and what is evidenced in your application. Should many applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour, Communicating and Influencing.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate the essential role requirements within the application behaviour responses.  

Candidates who are successful following the sift process will be invited to interview, where the behavioural elements and strengths will be tested further alongside other elements of the post. Further details will be provided to shortlisted candidates in advance of the interviews.

Training

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Networks

The opportunity to join employee run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees.

Interview dates: Expected WC 08/04/2024

For further information please feel free to contact Emma Deane at emma.deane1@justice.gov.uk

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,868, Ministry of Justice contributes £10,804 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 and Experience.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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.