About the job

Job summary

We recognise the challenges that people with protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

Are you looking for your next career move in finance?

Have you got advanced skills using a range of applications including Microsoft Excel?

Do you have the ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Job description

Management Accountants are responsible for running the month end finance process including the production of the monthly reporting for Directorate Governance and Performance boards. You will support in managing the in-year budgeting and forecasting processes, adding value to the numbers by ensuring the integrity and accuracy of data and that financial risks, issues and opportunities are captured and monitored. Your work and sound understanding of the business and its objectives will provide a clear narrative on financial performance that draws out the story from the data, explaining what the numbers are demonstrating and highlighting whether there is cause for concern or a need to act. The variety and breadth of the issues we deal with makes this a fascinating and fast-paced role.

To thrive in this role, you must have experience of working to a monthly management accounting timetable and have strong organisational skills. You will have experience of financial management and transactional data analysis skills, being able to optimise financial data and insights for your stakeholders and leveraging advanced MS Excel skills to deliver to both a high standard and at pace.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Leading on the preparation of monthly reports and meaningful variance analysis on financial performance with commentary into risk management, mitigating actions, deep dives and/or financial modelling.
• Providing assurance on the integrity of information in financial systems, maintaining the accuracy and completeness of all actual spend, budgets and forecasts as well as working with the Finance Operations team to manage and interrogate underlying transactional data.
• Creating, reviewing, and uploading of journals within month-end deadlines.
• Developing a sound knowledge of the business areas supported, their needs and priorities, providing financial insight to stakeholders to ensure they understand the financial implications of their decision making.
• Working collaboratively and proactively with Finance Business Partners, and key business stakeholders to build trusted relationships and drive performance and continuous improvement.

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

About you:

You will have good interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders and colleagues. You will have experience of utilising facts and evidence to aid negotiation and influencing and are a confident communicator with the ability to deliver sophisticated financial concepts to a varied audience, both verbally and in writing.

Organisational skills are pivotal to this role and you will have the ability to deliver against multiple objectives, whilst maintaining the highest standards. You work well with colleagues at all levels, and see the importance of building effective working relationships both within and outside of your immediate team.

Additional Information:

A minimum of 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace, although requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another DfT workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance. 

A recruitment and retention allowance may also be applicable for this role. This is not guaranteed and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis at appointment stage.

Benefits

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.

Find out more about what it's like working at the Department for Transport

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, Ability and Experience.

When considering applying please look at how your experience relates to the role and within your CV and Personal Statement please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following: 

• Your experience in analysing data to use in making evidence-based decisions.
• Your experience of delivering quality work to tight deadlines and changing work demands.
• Your experience ensuring the integrity of financial transactions to ensure management reporting is accurate.

Please fully utilise the 750-word count when completing your personal statement.

After submission of the first stage of your application (personal details) you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Numerical and Verbal test. If you successfully pass the tests, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application (CV and Personal Statement).

If you are successful at both of the application and Civil Service Numerical and Verbal test you will be invited to an interview.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests and submission of the full application is 23:55 on Tuesday 16th January 2024. If you fail to complete the online test and the statement of suitability before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the tests will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

The sift is due to take place from Wednesday 17th January 2024.

Interviews and assessments are likely to be held from Wednesday 31st January 2024.

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include:

• An Interview
• An Excel test

This interview will be conducted online via MS Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within.

The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

For further information on Success Profiles visit our Careers website.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

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

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

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.

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.