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        Management Accountant & Finance Business Partner – ALB FOM Team
Grade    HEO
Number of Vacancies    1
Business Group    Financial Management & Control
Directorate    Chief Operating Officer
Location    National
Hours    37
Post Type     Permanent
The department currently promotes a hybrid system whereby successful candidates will be expected to spend at least 3 days (60%) a week in an office/ nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office
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 Ministry of Justice (MoJ) sits at the heart of public service delivery and the government’s wider social reform agenda, working to protect and advance the principles of justice. The department has been at the forefront of the Government’s wider efficiency agenda making our finance roles an exciting and challenging opportunity.

·    The MoJ Management Accounting Centre of Excellence team sits within the Financial Management and Control Directorate and supports the department by providing a centralised, professional service to the department and individual business areas, adhering to the key principles in Managing Public Money, the Estimates Manual, the Spending Controls Framework and Budget Holder Responsibilities. It supports all MoJ operational Agencies, Arms-length Bodies (ALBs) and Head Quarter (HQ) functions (resource budget ~£10bn, capital budget ~£1.7bn) in providing robust, timely and transparent management accounting services. 

·    The MoJ Management Accounting Centre of Excellence works closely with other Finance teams, including the Finance Business Partnering teams, to provide a high-quality finance service to the department.  The Finance Operating Model (FOM) ALB team has a unique role within the functional Management accounting Team, in that in addition to delivering the Management Accounting service, it also provides a business partnering service to the NDPSs that have agreed to the FOM service provided by MoJ Finance.  Overall, it works to deliver an effective end-to-end process of data extraction, analysis, reporting, insight, and advice.

·    The MoJ Management Accounting Centre of Excellence will promote and maintain best practice in management accounting, business intelligence, data integrity and visualisation, reporting from a standard suite that is tailored where necessary. It will also seek to exploit new and existing technology as an enabler to delivering more efficient services and focus on streamlining and optimising processes.

·    The Ministry of Justice directly sponsors and provides financial guidance, challenge and strategic support to nineteen Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs). Through a dedicated ALB Finance team (with different individuals within the team actively engaging with specific ALBs), the MoJ ensures that the ALBs have a strong link into central MoJ Finance. This ensures two-way communication, maintains a shared understanding, builds trust and the benefits such communication brings are realised.  The ALB team is spilt over two directorates, Finance Business Partnering and Management Accounts Centre of Excellence of.  The ALB team that is based in Finance Business Partnering Directorate focus on the ALBs who produce their own accounts and the ALB team based within the Management Accounts Centre of Excellence focus on the four ALBs where we have an agreement to deliver their financial services.    This is a unique position, combining financial skills with the softer skills required by a finance business partner to build and maintain strong relationship with various external and internal stakeholders

Role Summary 

This role is unique in that is Management Reporting HEOs are responsible for key month end activities, ensuring accuracy and providing insight, which support the team to produce financial reports and for building strong relationships with the ALBs and understanding their business and key prioritise.

Typical Role Responsibilities

•    Ensure the integrity of transactions on financial systems, ensuring good controls and checks are in place to maintain accuracy.
•    Undertake month end activities, including producing journals, budget profiling and accurate forecasting.
•    Provide explanations for significant changes in forecast and actuals, providing updates on risks and issues to senior managers.
•    Produce high quality reports and insightful management information for managers.
•    Building strong relationships and understanding the ALBs key prioritises and how they fit into the financial context.

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 individuals in the following roles:

•    Management Reporting EO
•    Finance EOs/HEOs with the required numeracy and data analysis skills

From Outside Finance

This role may be suitable for EOs on promotion and HEOs with the required numeracy and data analysis skills, an interest in financial reporting and who are considering joining the Finance Function

Progression Routes

Staff in this role typically move into other HEO roles in Finance or progress to Management Reporting SEO or Financial Operations SEO roles.

Role Responsibilities/Tasks

•    Ensure the integrity of transactions on financial systems, ensuring good controls and checks are in place to maintain accuracy
•    Use the management reports to provide meaningful and insightful analysis for senior managers and decision makers
•    Undertake all month end activities, including approving journals, budget profiling and accurate forecasting
•    Provide explanations for significant changes in forecast and actuals; provide updates on issues and risks to senior managers
•    Produce high quality reports and insightful management information for senior managers
•    Develop an understanding of the business/ALB
•    Build and maintain strong relationships with the business/ALB

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.

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

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 working together.
In addition to Civil Service Behaviours identified above, A Statement of Suitability is required consisting of a maximum of 500 words

Interpersonal Skills

•    Support Senior Management Accountant in delivery of outputs
•    Develop collaborative relationships with key stakeholders across organisation e.g., ALB, finance, governance, customers
•    Ability to effectively negotiate with stakeholders

Professional Skills

Key for Levels of Professional Skills

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

Professional Skills    Level

Understanding of International Accounting Standards    A
Understanding of Government Accounts    A
Data Analysis    W
Interrogation of technical systems    E
Excel Skills    P
Drafting skills    P

Qualifications

Recommended:

• Level 4 qualification with AAT, CCABor CIMA
• Qualified with CCAB, CIMA or equivalent
• Working towards qualification
• Some financial experience

In addition to salary, a pensionable, non-contractual specialist allowance will be applied to this role. 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.

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 a large volume of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour, Working together. 

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.

For further information please feel free to contact Kay.Kotecha@justice.gov.uk

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,827, Ministry of Justice contributes £8,896 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.