About the job

Job summary

Are you an experienced Finance leader?

Are you passionate about driving forward positive change?

Can you communicate effectively with a variety of stakeholders?

If so, we would love to hear from you!

Job description

The Finance Operations Unit is critical for the collection of income and payments to suppliers. This role is responsible for the collection and reconciliation of over £7 billion in Vehicle Excise Duty and over £600 million in fees and charges. This role has line management responsibility of the banking, cashiers, reconciliation and order to cash teams. You will oversee the smooth running of tasks such as cash collection, banking cheques and postal orders and customer invoicing.

This is an exciting time to join our dynamic team at the heart of finance, and you will play a pivotal role in driving change within our operational environment.

We support the development of our employees and offer learning opportunities to help them excel in their careers. On an annual basis, we extend the opportunity for staff to apply to undertake the AAT qualification.

Responsibilities

Your responsibilities will include, but will not be limited to:

• Providing a comprehensive support and advice service to business areas, customers and stakeholders.
• Provide direction, task management, support and coaching of the team.
• Manage query resolutions and escalation processes, providing advice and interpretation where needed.
• Lead and manage the continuous improvement of team processes to meet changing standards and audit requirements and ensure the delivery of maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

For further information about the role please see the attached role profile. 

Additional Information  

Applications will be accepted from full time/part time/job sharers. Full time roles at DVLA consist of 37 hours per week. Part time and/or flexible working may also be available subject to the needs of the business. If you have a flexible or part time working requirement, you should contact the vacancy holder in advance of making an application to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your desired working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role. To contact the vacancy holder, please use the job contact details listed under ‘Contact point for applicants’. 

This role will be based in Swansea, and we will be operating a hybrid working model that allows you to work between home and on-site giving you greater flexibility about where and when you work, subject to business needs and this also allows for ongoing support, development, and collaboration with colleagues. 

Therefore, the expectation is that you will spend a minimum of 60% of your working time based at your principal workplace (DVLA). We would encourage you to discuss the working arrangements for this role with us during the recruitment process. 

Person specification

• You will be an experienced financial professional with strong leadership and communication skills.
• You will be able to demonstrate experience in building and maintaining excellent stakeholder relationships at all levels.
• This is a fast-paced changing environment, so the ideal candidate will be proactive and demonstrate resilience, with an ability to prioritise effectively to meet challenging business needs and deliver on customer expectations. You will need to be alert to changes in guidance and opportunities for improvements, with the ability to develop and implement new and/or improved ways of working effectively.
• You will be a strategic thinker who proactively works to maintain awareness of impacts on your area and wider organisation with an ability to respond and plan accordingly.

We strive to ensure that DVLA is a great place to work where everybody can be their true self, be treated with dignity and respect, and according to their individual needs. We have a number of staff network groups run by staff to support their colleagues. 

Benefits

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. 

• Best in class learning and development tailored to your role  
• An environment with flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance 
• Generous average employer contribution of 27%, depending on rate of salary and chosen pension scheme 
• 25 days holiday, increasing by one day each year up to 30 days pro rata 
• Access to the staff discount portal 
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff 

There are many more opportunities and great benefits of working at DVLA, visit our Careers website for further information.   

 

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.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement of up to 1250 words. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

We need to understand how your skills and experience meet all the essential criteria for this role. You can use any part of your life to demonstrate your skills and experience, but it must be relevant to the role. You can refer to your work experience, education, hobbies, or interests. 

You can decide the best way to structure your personal statement. You may choose to address each of the essential criteria on their own. Or you can give one example that covers all the essential criteria we are looking for. Click here for further guidance on submitting your CV and personal statement. 

It is essential when submitting your personal statement that you provide as much detail as possible, within the word count, against the essential criteria outlined below as this will be used in conjunction with your CV to assess candidate suitability to move to the next round in the recruitment process. 

For your CV and personal statement, please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following essential criteria: 

• A strong finance background, including senior leadership within a finance environment.
• Change management within a finance environment.
• Working with stakeholders and demonstrating excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to prioritise your workload and work within tight timeframes.

The sift is due to take place on 9th February 2024.

Interviews will be held week commencing 26th February 2024.

This interview could be conducted fact to face at one of our designated offices, details of which will be provided to you should you be selected for interview. 

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. 

If invited to interview, this may consist of a range of question types. These could include questions around behaviours and how you would respond in any situation as well as specific examples of things you have done. 

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

•              an 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.