About the job

Job summary

Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you're seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it’s really like to work at HMRC.

   

Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full series and come and discover your potential.

The Chief Digital and Information Officer group (CDIO) is HMRC’s Digital, Data and Technology function and has a complex combination of employees, contractors and third-party suppliers.

With over 3,500 people, CDIO Group are a key part of ensuring HMRC has the systems and processes to run and deliver its services.

Sitting within the Financial Management division, within the CDIO Finance Directorate, this role is an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated, proactive finance professional, who enjoys working in a dynamic and challenging environment.

The Management Accountant Lead will work closely with the Finance Business Partners and the wider financial management division to help deliver dedicated exceptional financial services.

Job description

The Management Accountant Lead will: 

• Lead on the production and maintenance of the management accounts and financial reports, working closely with wider finance team.
  
  
• Maintain financial control and oversight for risks, recharges, accruals/prepayments, planned efficiencies/benefits/cost savings/Incremental cost of change.
  
  
• Provide robust financial insights and analysis to Head of Financial Management and the Finance Business Partners, to inform meaningful, strategic conversations with stakeholders. 
  
  
• Monitor and assure consistent and accurate accountancy processes across the team, with accounting standards and departmental accounting policies. 
  
  
• Lead on assurance and integrity of any financial data provided to support commissions (internal to CDIO and/or cross departmental).
  
  
• Drive cultural change to improve CDIO Finance leadership by role-modelling behaviours that inspire, motivate, empower, support, celebrate successes and tackle inappropriate behaviour / poor performance. Management of team members and/or oversight of others work and developing leadership skills within and across teams. 
  
  
• Influence and drive cultural change to improve financial information, innovation, processes, systems, assurance, and financial capability. 

Person specification

Management Accountant Leads deliver robust, clear, and timely financial management information and insight, including monthly management accounts, forecasts, dashboards, and analysis of options to inform decision making. They ensure the integrity and accuracy of data, that financial risks, issues, and opportunities are captured and monitored and that a clear narrative is provided on the financial position which reflects a sound understanding of their assigned business area and its objectives.

They maintain collaborative customer-focused relationships and networks across the wider finance community, working seamlessly with Finance Business Partners to ensure the business are supported in a timely, constructive, and consistent way.

They bring different sets of data together and draw out the story from the consolidated data. Their role involves monitoring both large and complex budgets and they will also be more involved in reporting to senior managers and delivering both analysis and effective challenge to assumptions.

They will manage teams of Management Accountants and will be providing leadership, strategic direction and ensuring effective service delivery. Their role involves dealing with greater complexity and ambiguity, for example, in navigating a path to provide insightful management reporting from disparate datasets and uncertainties in the operating environment. They will draw out the story from the data, explaining what the numbers are telling them to highlight whether there is cause for concern or a need to act.

Essential Criteria

• CCAB (includes CIMA, ACCA CIPFA, ACA) or equivalent fully qualified accountant.
  
  
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders.
  
  
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate financial data into meaningful insight to support analysis and decision making.
  
  
• Excellent IT/Excel, oral and written skills.
  
  
• Proven experience of working in a large and complex organisation.
  
  
• Excellent collaboration skills with the ability to support wider business stakeholders.
  
  
• Confident communicator, comfortable with robustly challenging senior business leaders and decision-makers.
  
  
• Ability to work in a culture of change, to think strategically and work comfortably with risk.
  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £54,439, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £14,698 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.

How to Apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:

• A name-blind CV including your job history, previous experience and qualifications. Please only provide details of the specific qualifications as outlined at the Essential Criteria within the advert.
  
  
• Please provide a 750 word Personal Statement that demonstrates your relevant skills and experience with reference to the listed essential criteria.
  
  
• A 250 word statement addressing the specified behaviour - Managing a Quality Service.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

In the event of a large number of applications being received, an initial sift may be held on your CV to ensure the required experience and qualifications are evidenced.

At full sift your CV, Personal Statement and Behaviour statement will be assessed, with the successful candidates being invited to interview. 

We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications.

Interview

During the panel interview, we will assess your experience and you will be asked behaviour questions and technical questions.

We will test the following behaviours at interview:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership
• Changing & Improving
• Communicating & Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture

The technical question will be based on accounting principles/standards.

Interviews will take place face to face. The interview location will be confirmed prior to interview, however please be aware this may require travel to a central location.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake, please contact us via: ubsrecruitmentexcellence@hmrc.gov.uk – Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example – ‘Please re-open my application – 362422 & vacancy closing date 05/08/2024’

To check that you are eligible to apply for this role, please review the eligibility information before submitting your application.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles – if this applies to you, we’ll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account.

Merit List 

After interview, a single merit list will be created, and you will only be considered for posts in locations you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location.

Criminal Record Check

Applications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.

Reasonable Adjustments

We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact the UBS Recruitment Excellence Team via ubsrecruitmentexcellence@hmrc.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in 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 if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Additional Security Information

Please note: in addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy. You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.

Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers

This role may be suitable for existing HMRC employees who are contractual homeworkers. Occasional attendance to the office will be required where there is a business need. Please consider the advertised office locations for this role when applying and only select locations from the ‘location preferences’ section that you can travel to.

Terms and Conditions

Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process.

HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.

Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process. 

Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.

Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

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.

New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

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.