About the job

Job summary

• Do you enjoy collaborating with others to find solutions which optimise financial outcomes?
• Are you able to explain complex financial information to range of stakeholders?

To support the Head of Management accounts in delivering key strategic financial reporting. You will be expected to produce consolidated reporting, with narrative, for the Executive leadership Team to build and analyse intelligence underpinning full year forecasting, particularly with staffing.

In addition you will support Assistant Directors and Head of Divisions to understand their budgets in relation to their key deliverables/stakeholders, including challenging forecast optimism and improving their understanding of variance narrative. You will help to identify, communicate and support in the alleviation of financial pressures and improve their financial acumen.

Part of your role will be to develop the Management Accounts Team by critically reviewing process and reporting, offer workable solutions and by openly sharing your knowledge and experience to help the team develop their professional skills

Job description

Key Responsibilities

• Build and maintain relationships with budget holders - Work across a number of Directorates to increase financial capability and ensure that senior managers understand and are challenged about their use of resources to meet business objectives.
• Support the development of realistic budgets for Directorates which are based on operational plans and aligned with wider organisation funding opportunities/bottlenecks to ensure that all resource needs are identified.
• Support the development of forecasts which highlight significant financial risks and opportunities early and provide advice to ensure that risks and opportunities are fully understood so that mitigating decisions are taken.
• Ensuring that financial reports to senior management highlight key insights in a meaningful and understandable way. Translating and adding financial insight to financial data to provide clear information and evidence.
• Ensure that budget holders can make decisions based on accurate financial information.
• Contributing to development of business cases and track and report delivery of planned financial costs.
• Support the production of Directorate business plans providing expert advice in relation to business planning. This should include impact of staffing structures, contractual commitments and/or savings initiatives, as well as considering the short-, medium- and long-term financial outcomes.
• Contribute to the corporate induction training sessions.
• Support the spending review process, providing expert advice and analysis.
• Providing ad-hoc analysis and presentations to drive and support business decisions.

Person specification

Ability 

• Good awareness of UK accounting standard.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders (training delivery, facilitation).
• Excellent analytical skills, the ability to understand the drivers of business performance, identifying trends and opportunities to improve business and/or finance outcomes.
• A proven ability to work with senior colleagues to deliver improved performance, underpinned by excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to present information clearly.
• Strong understanding of the drivers of budgets/forecasting including how to support non-finance stakeholders to deliver their financial objectives.
• Adaptable and willing to review role and priorities with senior management team to meet the current and future needs of the organisation.
• Mentoring of finance colleagues to improve professional skills. 

Experience

• Working in a finance team or function, ideally in Finance Business Partnering or Management Accounting.
• Experience of communicating, supporting and offering senior stakeholders financial advice and guidance.
• A proven track record of delivering results.
• Good understanding of the importance of handling information sensitively - in line with data protection requirements.
• Accurate and relevant record management skills and practical IT and office skills, including Microsoft Office.
• Experience of process/reporting improvements. 

Technical 

• High level of competency in MS excel.
• Strong technical budgeting and accounting skills to ensure Treasury financial reporting requirements and International Accounting Standards are applied correctly.
• Production and presentation of accurate, timely and meaningful management reporting.
• Good research, analytical and judgement skills - to evaluate complex information, support and own unbiased decisions, and demonstrate accountability.
• Ability and willingness to learn and expand professional knowledge and understanding of the range of our systems and processes.
• Fully qualified accountant is desirable, however, candidates who are able to demonstrate commitment to complete the qualification and meet the other criteria will be considered (CIMA, CIPFA, ACCA or ICAEW).

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,657, Charity Commission contributes £11,787 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 and Experience.

To apply for this post, you must complete an online application with the following: 

• A blind CV setting out your Job History/Full Qualifications/Previous skill and experiences.
• A Personal Statement (maximum 750 words) describing how you match the essential abilities, experience and technical skills on the attached job description.

At interview you will be asked to give a presentation on a prepared topic.  You will also be assessed on your, experience, and the following behaviours:

• Seeing the Big Picture.
• Changing and Improving.
• Communicating and Influencing.
• Managing a Quality Service.

Interview Arrangements

Interviews will be taking place face to face in our Liverpool and Newport offices.

The sift is due to take place on 12/05/2024
Interviews will be held via MS Teams on 23/05/2024

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

At the interview, the panel can then probe further and ask applicants to provide further specific examples that show how they best demonstrate their skills.

We reserve the right to raise the score required at any stage of the process to manage numbers.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.

Behaviours

The distinguishing Behaviours (the required skills, knowledge, and behaviours) for this role are set out in the Civil Service Behaviours Framework 2018 (Success Profiles - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) and should be referred to when making this application. 

You are required, under the Behaviours approach, to describe how you have dealt with a specific situation. 

You must give evidence of your knowledge, skills, and behaviours and how you have applied this, such as what you did or said and how you interacted with other people. 

When you are giving your examples, do not spend too many words on description and background information. Avoid using general or unspecific statements. Instead say what the situation was, what you did, what your thought process was and what was the result. 

This post is full time however those applicants who do or wish to work an alternative working pattern are welcome to apply. The preferred working pattern may or may not be available. You should discuss this with the vacancy holder.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled persons, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

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

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via Charitycommissionrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.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 an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Reserve Lists

If we have more successful candidates than available vacancies, we will hold a 12-month reserve list as standard. 

During that time, we may use the list to fill the same, or similar roles with closely matching essential criteria, without further testing of merit. Any appointments from the Reserve list will be made in strict merit order.

Applying

We recognise everyone as an individual, accepting people for who they are and treating everyone fairly. 

All applications for these vacancies must be made online. There are limited exceptions to this. Paper applications will only be considered if you have a disability that will prevent you from applying online. If this is the case, please email Charitycommissionrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk 

Once you have submitted your application it cannot be amended; only submit your application when you have completely finished and answered all the relevant questions. 

Please note that late applications will not be accepted. 

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

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

Concerns/Complaints

The Charity Commission’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition. 

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the values in the Civil Service Code and/or if you feel the recruitment has been conducted in such a way that conflicts with the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance hrselfservice@charitycommission.gov.uk.

 If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web page here.

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.