About the job

Job summary

We lead Government’s work on the future governance of football. In 2021 the government commissioned a Fan-Led Review of Football Governance to explore ways of improving the sustainability of English football in order to protect vital community assets. The Review was published later that year and highlighted the need for reform. 

The Government has since published a White Paper setting out a comprehensive plan to introduce an independent regulator for English football clubs to put fans back at the heart of football and help to deliver a sustainable future for all clubs. The Football Regulator Implementation Unit is responsible for delivering the reforms set out in the White Paper, including through the Football Governance Bill and setting up the football regulator.  This role will sit within the team responsible for setting up the Football Regulator. These roles are being recruited on a loan or fixed term basis to the end of March 2025, with the possibility to extend. This role will be based in DCMS on an interim basis. Subject to the overall progress of the programme, the intention for this role is to transfer to the Football Regulator once fully established.

Please note that the location of the Football Regulator has yet to be determined.

Job description

Working closely with the DCMS Finance team, as the Football Regulator Head of Finance you will be responsible for shaping the finance function, enabling and ensuring a high standard of financial planning and management of the programme’s budgets and delivering the finance systems and processes needed to operate. 

You will brief and support the Deputy Director for implementation in addition to directly advising the interim Chief Operating Officer.

You will support the achievement of the programme’s financial objectives and help ensure the programme’s delivery meets the expectations of DCMS, Treasury and government more widely as you promote and protect government interests. 

We are looking for a leader who can set direction, however some of your responsibilities will include:

Designing & implementing the finance operating model

• Making recommendations to the SLT within the Football Regulator on the future Finance function
• Designing and implementing the Finance function processes, policies and procedures 
• Providing relevant expertise to inform delivery of a finance system

Compliance and Control

• Ensuring Treasury controls are understood by all partners, that they are in place and complied with to satisfy audit requirements
• Ensuring financial business risks are tracked and mitigated as effectively as possible

Financial Budgeting and Forecasting

• Advising and working with the SRO, Exec team, HM Treasury and DCMS Finance
• Providing high quality financial advice to the budget holders at a strategic level
• Consolidating and monitoring financial accounts forecast and budget
• Leading on fiscal events and collaborating with DCMS central strategic finance
• Providing regular reports on expenditure against budget, forecasts and risks 

Please review the attached Candidate Information Pack for a full list of responsibilities. 

Person specification

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience:

Essential Requirements

• Leadership and management experience with a strong track record of delivery in a high profile, financial environment
• Excellent financial skills with experience of formulating and implementing strategies, policies and programmes which cross service or professional boundaries
• Strategic finance/financial management experience (planning, budgeting, forecasting and in-year reporting)
• Well developed leadership, communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to quickly secure the confidence of senior stakeholders, Board-level colleagues and chief executives, building highly effective, influential and collaborative relationships
• Knowledge and experience of central government finance and the associated financial reporting rules and requirements, including HM Treasury and NAO arrangements
• Experience of providing visible leadership to support long term projects 
• Finance professional, with a professional qualification eg CIMA, ACCA, CCAB
• Experience in implementing new finance processes and systems

Desirable Skills

• Experience in setting up a new organisation or new finance function
• Experience of working with or for an Arms Length Body
• Experience working with shared services providers & solutions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,462, Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes £15,244 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.

To apply for this post, please send us the following documents no later than 23:55 Monday March 4th 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 750 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.

The interview process will assess behaviours and strengths and potentially include a presentation which will be provided at interview.

The behaviours to be tested at interview are:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

As part of your interview, you may be asked to deliver a short oral presentation. Full details of this, including the topic, and whether or not you will need to use visual aids, will be sent to you prior to your interview.

Your interview will take place remotely via GoogleMeets.

For indicative sift and interview dates please refer to the attached Candidate Information Pack.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to DCMS 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. 

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

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

 DCMS has a London and a National pay scale. For more information on this, including the circumstances in which each pay scale will apply, please see the ‘Information for Applicants’ document.

If the vacancy is offered as FTA/Loan, existing Civil Servants must join on a Loan basis only. Prior agreement to be released on loan must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter.

Reasonable Adjustment

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process.

In order to request an adjustment, please:

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on 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 a verbal test rather than a written one. 

Alternatively, contact the Government Recruitment Service via dcmsrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility difficulties with any of the attachments, please contact us. Contact details can be found in the 'contact point for applicants' section of the job advert.

Feedback

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 counter-terrorist 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.