About the job

Job summary

About HM Treasury

If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives, the Treasury can offer you an exciting opportunity to influence decision making that affects the whole of the UK. Working at the heart of government, we collaborate across government to promote responsible public spending and drive strong and sustainable economic growth.  

Our work ranges from protecting customers through the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, to promoting British trade around the world and supporting people across the country on jobs, growth and more.  

HM Treasury is proud of a diverse and inclusive work environment, committed to fairness and the promotion of equality of opportunity for all. We know that having a range of experiences, ways of working and thinking makes us stronger and better at developing policy that reflects the needs of every community. We embrace different views and experiences and value the new perspective that people from a variety of circumstances bring to the work we do. We welcome applications from candidates who have not previously worked for the Civil Service, mid- and late-career changers with transferrable skills, people from all backgrounds and circumstances regardless of disability, gender, age ethnicity, LGBT+ identity and socio-economic status.  

We are part of the Darlington Economic Campus, a pioneering new cross-government hub which brings people together to play an active role in the most important issues of the day whilst working closer to the communities we serve. The campus provides the opportunity for people from all over the UK to help shape the future of the country, and our flexible working practices ensure you can collaborate effectively with our partners. It’s central government, made more accessible to you! 

Job description

About the Group

Public Spending Group

The Public Spending Group is a high-profile and rewarding place to work.  We help the Chancellor decide what to spend £1.2 trillion a year on and ensure government delivers value for money for the taxpayer. We are responsible for reporting to Parliament and the public on how taxpayers’ money is spent. We drive forward improved outcomes and efficiency in public services and make sure value for money is at the centre of decision-making through better evaluation, data and analysis. 

We advise on overall government policy on public sector pay and pensions, the biggest single driver of public spending. We collaborate with and directly support departments to deliver the Government Finance Function strategy, building finance, debt and risk capability across government and developing the management information, tools and frameworks to better understand and ensure value for money.

About the Team

General Expenditure Policy team (GEP)

GEP sits at the heart of HM Treasury's Public Spending Group! We are a friendly and inclusive team, responsible for reporting to the Chancellor and Chief Secretary on spending control, covering around £1,200bn of public expenditure. We work with Strategy Planning and Budget Group, the Fiscal Strategy Group, spending teams and No. 10 to manage risks and ensure Ministers have advice on future public spending strategy and on options for funding new priorities, both at fiscal events and as they arise throughout the year.

This role sits in the Planning & Performance Unit: a close-knit team that values wellbeing and inclusion, and is committed to delivering real-world outcomes for citizens. We work within HM Treasury, as well as with No10 and Cabinet Office, to tackle to build a system to monitor the delivery of government programmes, ensuring they are delivering the intended outcome. Our analysis supports significant government processes including Spending Reviews, the ongoing Productivity Programme, No10 Delivery Board, and Permanent Secretary Performance Management.

About the Job

The Planning and Performance Unit of the team is responsible for reforms to the government’s planning and performance framework. The successful candidate will lead the branch responsible for the reporting elements of this framework.

This is a high-profile role on an area of key importance to the upcoming Spending Review. You will be working at the centre of government with a large amount of senior engagement with other parts of the centre (particularly No.10 and Cabinet Office), departments across Whitehall and outside of government, to deliver a key strategic priority for HMT and government as a whole.

This will require strong policy and analytical skills to identify customer needs and opportunities for join-up with other initiatives, including the latest technological approaches (such as AI & machine learning), and iteratively improve the data products we are able to produce. Improving the links between real-world outcome performance and spending data will be a key area of new work.

We mostly use Microsoft Power BI for performance reports and visualisation, so previous experience of this or similar tools is highly desirable, but not required. Willingness and ability to learn to use new tools is critical.

Key accountabilities:

1. Managing two direct reports, and matrix management of others where required, and playing a leadership role across the wider team and Public Spending Group. You will actively lead and distribute the branch’s lively portfolio of work across it.
2. Lead the team’s approach and influence cross-Whitehall policy development on collecting and visualising government performance data.
3. Delivering the steady-state operation of the performance system, working across government to commission and process regular reporting from departments.
4. Carrying out ongoing analysis of departmental performance to identify challenges and support senior engagement and decision making, and in time bringing this together with finance performance data to give a comprehensive view of performance across the board.
5. Engaging with key stakeholders, including Ministers, spending teams in HMT, No.10, Cabinet Office, IPA, relevant teams around Whitehall and externals.

In GEP, we cover a broad area, including spending strategy, analysis, in-year spending control, Green Book and major projects, public value and performance budgeting. Over time, responsibilities in the role may expand to cover other priorities, and candidates are expected to be amenable to taking on new responsibilities, subject to overall capacity constraints.

Candidate Drop-In Session 
 
We will be running a candidate drop-in session for this role to give you greater insight about the role as well as the chance to learn more about HM Treasury and the recruitment process. If you would like to join us, then use the appropriate link below to join the call at the right time. 

Tuesday 20th February 2024 13:00 – 13:45 Click here to join the meeting

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please contact Matthew.Cowie@hmtreasury.gov.uk 

Person specification

We are looking for the below skills, experience and behaviours and we will ask you to demonstrate these in your application form. Please review the Candidate FAQ document that is attached to the advert for guidance on how to complete your application form.  

1. Experience applying data visualisation tools and/or analytical skills to support non-specialist and senior audiences make decisions (Experience)
2. Behaviour: Analysing and assessing evidence and data to develop policy recommendations (Making Effective Decisions)
3. Behaviour: Developing clear and compelling messages and delivering them effectively to get agreement to change from a wide range of partners, using evidence to challenge and resolve differences (Communicating and Influencing)
4. Behaviour: Ability to work independently, planning and driving forward longer-term projects, while also delivering high quality urgent work (Delivering at Pace)

 The lead criterion is: Experience 

If we receive a large number of applications, we will conduct an initial sift on the lead criterion only. 

Candidate Guidance Support Session 
 
We will be running an overview of Success Profiles and the STAR approach; top tips for the application and interview process and an opportunity to ask general questions around our recruitment practices. If you would like to join us, then use the link below to join the call at the right time. 

Friday 16th February 2024 12:30 – 13:15 Click here to join the meeting 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £52,960, HM Treasury contributes £14,299 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.

Recruitment Timeline 

Closing date: Sunday 25th February 2024

Shortlisting: w/c 26th February 2024

Interviews:  w/c 4th March 2024

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline. 

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile. 

Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.

Eligibility Statement  

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Checks will be performed as part of pre-employment checks in line with this. Please refer to the Candidate FAQ document attached to the advert for more information. 

Individuals appointed to the Treasury Group will be subject to National Security Vetting. To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out applicants will normally need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. A lack of UK residency in itself is not always a bar to security clearance but the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case by case basis using all information that can be obtained following a successful application. 

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks.  

For many roles, security clearance is also required. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements of the role before they can be appointed. The level of security clearance required for this role is Security Check (SC)   

Please read the Vetting Charter for information on what to expect during the vetting process and what will be expected from you.  

Many areas of your life may be explored during your vetting journey, and it is important that every individual, regardless of their background and experiences, should feel comfortable going through this personal process, whilst having confidence that it is fair, proportionate, and inclusive.  

These short videos address common concerns and preconceptions which applicants may have about national security vetting.  

If you have questions relating to security clearances, please contact HMTSecurityVetting@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.