About the job

Job summary

As the regulator for Great Britain's energy industry, Ofgem ensures a secure and sustainable energy supply to British households and businesses. Our core mission is safeguarding the interests of electricity and gas consumers by promoting value, security, and sustainability while overseeing market development, competition, regulation, and government schemes.

Ready to take a key role in Ofgem's financial operations? As a Finance Operations Officer, you'll ensure accurate and timely processing and payment of purchase invoices, contribute to month-end procedures, and support the audit of Ofgem's Annual Report and Accounts.

Your expertise spans various areas. First, you'll expertly input purchase invoices, ensuring prompt payments while strictly adhering to the Purchase to Pay process. You'll also excel in issue resolution, particularly in reconciling supplier statements through essential collaboration with suppliers and colleagues.

Building effective relationships is pivotal to your role. You'll foster strong connections with multiple teams, including the Financial Accounting Team, Procurement Team, Management Accounting Team, Finance Business Partners, and other corporate service functions like Payroll.

Additionally, you'll handle bank reconciliations and adjustment journals, actively investigating discrepancies and coordinating with stakeholders for resolutions. Your role is instrumental in supporting external audits of Ofgem's Annual Report and Accounts, ensuring compliance with auditors' queries and delivering necessary audit evidence within set deadlines. You'll also assist in preparing transparency expenditure reports.

Your commitment to accuracy is pivotal as the Finance Operations Officer. You'll guarantee precise invoice input and payments, offering dependable and accurate advice to Ofgem teams. You'll also ensure accurate accruals listings and journals. To complete your role, you'll consistently provide audit evidence and responses to audit queries within set timelines, meeting auditors' expectations.

In your interactions, you'll work closely with internal teams, including the Management Accounting Team, Finance Business Partners, Payroll Team, Procurement Team, Financial Accounting Team, as well as contract managers and budget holders across Ofgem. You'll also engage externally with the National Audit Office and Ofgem Suppliers.

If you're prepared to contribute your skills to our dynamic team, playing a crucial part in maintaining Ofgem's financial stability and accountability, we invite you to apply and become an integral part of our organisation.

Ofgem values inclusion, celebrating the diverse voices and experiences of our colleagues. We encourage different perspectives and experiences in our work, making everyone welcome in our inclusive workplace, where employees can bring their authentic selves to work.

Job description

Purpose

Ofgem is a non-ministerial government department and an independent National Regulatory Authority. Our principal objective is to protect the interests of existing and future electricity and gas consumers. We do this by promoting value for money, promoting security of supply and sustainability, for present and future generations of consumers, domestic and industrial users, the supervision and development of markets and competition, regulation and the delivery of government schemes. We work effectively with, but are independent of, government, the energy industry and other stakeholders within a legal framework determined by the UK government and the European Union.

Working in the Accounts Payable team, you will play a key role in the accurate and timely processing and payment of purchase invoices, completion of month end procedures, and supporting the audit of Ofgem’s Annual Report and Accounts. Reporting to the Financial Operations Manager, your work will support robust financial control across Ofgem.

 

Key Responsibilities

• Input purchase invoices on the accounting system to enable timely payment, ensuring compliance with the Purchase to Pay process.
• Process payment runs for renewable energy scheme participants.
• Respond to any standard invoicing queries received.
• Reconcile supplier statements when necessary, liaising with suppliers or colleagues to resolve queries.
• Build effective relationships with the Financial Accounting Team, Procurement Team, Management Accounting Team, Finance Business Partners and other corporate services functions such as Payroll.
• Prepare monthly bank reconciliations or adjustment journals, investigating discrepancies and liaising with relevant stakeholders to resolve.
• Support the external audit of Ofgem’s Annual Report and Accounts by assisting with queries from auditors to provide required audit evidence by the required due dates.
• Support other external reporting including preparing transparency expenditure reports.

 

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Experience of working in an Account payable team, with a good understanding of purchase ledger processes and procedures. (lead)
• Team player, customer focussed and able to effectively communicate with both internal and external stakeholders, offering advice and resolving queries.
• Ability to prioritise and work accurately under pressure.
• Excellent attention to detail and good analytical and problem-solving skills.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £24,623, OFGEM contributes £6,648 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, Experience and Technical skills.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), your career history and qualifications.

You will then be asked to provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the essential and desirable skills and capabilities.

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.