About the job

Job summary

Ofgem works on behalf of energy consumers to ensure that every household and business in the UK can rely on a safe and sustainable energy supply. 
  
What we do matters: making a difference to people’s lives now, and for generations to come. We offer a diverse range of flexible working career opportunities: roles that are stimulating and rewarding. And it’s important to us that we recruit from a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds – bringing different perspectives and experiences to our work. 
  
To promote a financially resilient market, our Financial Advisory team undertake market monitoring activity and provide financial advice and analysis on a wide range of retail market issues. Our team plays a vital part in providing expert financial advice on new market entrants, the financial health of established suppliers, trade sales, market and supplier-specific financial risks and critical policy decisions.  

You will provide input on key corporate finance issues, such as cost of capital and capital structures for regulated entities. More broadly, you will support Ofgem’s corporate and regulatory finance work across all areas of the organisation, providing corporate and regulatory finance advice to policy and other teams. You will also offer technical advice on the cost of debt and equity, gearing, rating agencies and other issues. In this role you will offer expert financial advice on regulated retail and commercial activities. Working with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, you’ll play a critical part in regularly reviewing retail supplier financial information, advising on market health and regulatory interventions.  

 
It’s a role that will suit a part-qualified accountant or an individual with a similar level of commercial or financial expertise. You will ideally have some exposure to, or experience of, economic or energy regulation. You’ll enjoy taking the initiative in your work, and you should offer good all-round communication skills. You should have a good knowledge of project management and analytics and be familiar with data management and basic financial analysis. It’s important that you can build positive relationships with different stakeholders. 

Within Ofgem you will be part of our Analysis Profession which will support you in all aspects of personal and professional development. Whether it is formal or informal training, further education we are here to support you in your career in Ofgem. 

Within Ofgem, this role is known as Senior Financial Advisor.

Job description

The current energy market environment is unprecedented. The record increase and volatility in global gas prices has put the market under severe strain and is putting upward pressure on customers’ energy bills. Now more than ever we need to go further and faster in pursuing the country’s climate goals and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels to protect ourselves from similar future price shocks.   

Such challenging times require bold action. We are looking for people to meet the challenges we face head-on, and help us deliver a greener, fairer energy system.   

Team Purpose   

The Financial Advisory sub-profession is a dynamic, friendly, and inclusive team consisting of financial experts with a range of financial skills and backgrounds. It provides advice to the organisation on corporate and regulatory finance issues, has financial oversight of the retail market, as well as leading on the operation and implementation of Ofgem’s RIIO price controls. It has sub-teams in Corporate Finance, Finance Policy, Strategic Planning and Investor Relations, Regulatory Reporting, Commercial Advisory, Retail Financial Monitoring and Financial Modelling.   

After the initial deployment, you will have the opportunity to work flexibly across Ofgem as a member of your Profession, working on cross-Ofgem projects, and/or in teams that require your skills and expertise.   

To support the team deliverables, utilising your expertise to ensure successful outcomes across the team and wider profession:  

• Use your financial expertise to lead on the monitoring of supplier financial resilience.   
• Use your expertise to understand the complexities of the energy retail market, licence conditions, and reporting frameworks used to collect and analyse financial and operational information from licensees.   
• Review data and complete risk assessments relating to the financial position and performance of licensees under different stress-testing scenarios and the financial projections submitted by new licence applicants.   
• Set clear and transparent work objectives, milestones, and success metrics and lead on successful outcomes.   
• Collaborate closely with other teams to manage interdependencies and risks.  
• Understanding and modifying the Licence conditions, Price Control Financial Instruments and regulatory reporting templates used to gather data from licensees.  
• Lead drafting and preparing of regulatory reporting templates and guidance.  
• Helping develop a systematic approach to handling data to facilitate more efficient and timely processes and higher quality of analysis, risk assessments and decisions.  

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Have a recognised finance qualification, e.g. CCAB, CFA, MSc Finance or have relevant finance or commercial experience, that can be demonstrated by proven record of high performance and substantial achievements in past positions (Lead criteria).  
• High standard delivery of outputs including complex (strategic & adaptive) projects with minimal supervision, financial analysis, conducting risk assessments both qualitatively and quantitatively.   
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to communicate effectively complex issues to non-expert audiences with the ability to process and communicate complex information and data to senior stakeholders.  
• Proven experience of working across organisations and influencing outcomes with extensive experience of working collaboratively within a diverse team.   
• .  

Desirable Criteria

• Demonstrable understanding of economic regulation (price controls, energy wholesale markets) and/or the energy sector 
• Knowledge and use of Power BI – Data View, report building and dashboards etc.  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £45,614, OFGEM contributes £12,315 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.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), and upload a copy of your CV anonymising all details where necessary.  

You will then be asked to answer 3 Technical Questions evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within these answers how you meet each of the essential and desirable skills and capabilities. 

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expect all candidates to abide by these principles. Ofgem take any incidences of cheating very seriously. Please ensure all examples provided are of your own experience. Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant applications will be withdrawn from the process. 

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.