Army Finance Senior Executive Officer
Ministry of Defence
Apply before 11:55 pm on Friday 27th September 2024
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About the job
Job summary
The Army has 9,000 civil servants in 300 locations and The British Army comprises of 112,000 experienced, committed and highly skilled Regular and Reserve soldiers. The British Army protects the United Kingdom’s interests at home and abroad, providing a safe and secure environment and is supported by the civilian workforce. Army HQ Andover is where the Army is commanded from and the Chief of the General Staff has the responsibility for preparing, training, and equipping the forces under his command for operations worldwide.
The Director Resources is responsible for planning and leading the Army Top Level Budget (TLB) and ensuring that decisions at the highest level of the Army are taken with full understanding of their financial implications. We will provide you with an exciting and worthwhile career supporting the Armed Services and will actively encourage and support further training and development.
This position provides the challenge and the opportunity to shape the current and future needs of Infrastructure for Army and pan Defence Training capability. Reporting to the Senior Finance Business Partner you will have the opportunity to help shape and deliver a living and working environment fit for a winning Army and the society we serve. As part of the Finance Team, you will be responsible for financially managing the financial programme In Year in support of delivery of the Army’s Command Plan in pursuit of its strategic objectives.
This position is advertised at 37 hours per week. You will be required to work on a hybrid basis at Army HQ meaning 3 days per week in Andover office (60% of your time in office) in line with changing priorities.
Please be advised that the Army is conducting a review of its current Finance and HR Operating Models. At the time of advertisement this post is deemed to have an enduring requirement and it is not anticipated that this post will be likely to change in the immediate future, however, is in scope of ongoing reviews.
Job description
We are currently recruiting for an experienced finance individual to lead and manage the delivery of the Financial Operations Team, ensuring that Financial Operations are effective and complementary of other finance processes. The post-holder's technical knowledge, insight, and ability to work constructively with people at all grades will make them a valued contributor to the decision-making process and a champion for change. The post-holder will need to establish and develop effective working relationships with contributing teams and individuals across the Army and Defence.
You are expected, through Management Reporting, to produce the monthly financial reports to meet their business area and Finance Business Partner’s needs. Ensuring that financial reporting is accurately completed both within corporate reporting systems and for input of accounting entries to support decision making. Typical responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Providing insight to the Business, Finance Leadership Team, and wider Finance teams
- Providing the consolidated financial position at various levels within the organisation. Utilising information obtained from Finance Business Partner reviews to provide commentary, subject to the relevant endorsement.
- Maintaining and producing standardised reports / dashboards along with supplementary information to the Finance Business Partner and Finance Leadership Team as appropriate.
Routine Requirements
- Delivering the required information ensuring outputs are accurate, timely and meet the expected standards for month end activities, ensuring your team utilise the correct accounting entries completed in compliance with relevant internal and wider government policy and a robust audit trail maintained.
- Corporate system input is consistently delivered for your business area.
Continuous Improvement
- Dedicating time to sharing best practice and ideas for refining standardised processes and procedures.
- Seeking feedback on the services provided, and continuously striving to improve the service provision. Promptly address any key issues that arise ensuring that processes or ways of working are adapted accordingly, and customers are informed where there is an impact.
- Managing issues highlighted during internal or external audit, engaging relevant stakeholders to enable corrective action.
Delivering your area of responsibility
- Management of team members, empowering, motivating and coaching to enable effective delivery.
- Supporting individual’s personal development and careers, ensuring you and the team make time to develop themselves and their peers.
- Being open to challenge and new ideas, sharing of knowledge and experience, encouraging others through building a supportive team environment.
- Ensuring the team are getting the basics right at the first attempt.
- Exercising sound judgement and interpretative ability, and application of innovative thought to derive novel solutions.
- Seeking advice, referring upwards as required, where problems are particularly complex or have wider implications.
Person specification
- Highly numerate with a record of success in a financial management role with excellent attention to detail and accuracy
- Experience of leading a team with excellent people management skills with the ability to promote team cohesion, adapt to changes and improvements.
- Experience in leading and/or influencing organisational change.
- Ability to work flexible and adapt to changing priorities.
- Strong communicator, able to communicate at all levels and excellent presentation skills.
- Ability to develop collaborative relationships with a range of stakeholders and teams.
- Highly developed planning and organisational skills in a fast-paced financial environment and experience of delivery and meeting tight deadlines within changing priorities.
Essential:
- Level 4 qualification in accounting such as Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) or Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB)/Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) or currently working towards such training.
- Working in the Finance community over an extended period.
Qualifications
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Changing and Improving
- Making Effective Decisions
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
Benefits
As a civil servant working alongside the Army, you will be part of a forward-looking organisation with inclusive workplace policies, excellent career prospects and a job that makes a difference.
The Army prides itself on being a supportive employer and where possible encourages flexible working,
helping you to maintain a great work/life balance.
Benefits for Army Civil Servants include:
- Learning and development tailored to your role including the opportunity to further develop Climate Change and Sustainability experience within a project and programme delivery environment.
- A dynamic and innovative working environment that offers flexible working options.
- A working culture that encourages inclusion and diversity.
- Opportunities for personal and professional development.
- Highly Competitive Pension Scheme.
- Flexi-time scheme.
- Alternative working practices.
- 25 days paid annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years’ service.
- Ability to roll over up to 10 days leave per year.
- Highly competitive pension scheme.
- Personal and professional development of skills.
- Access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), a free service that assists you with achieving a productive, healthy environment that is conducive to a healthy lifestyle.
- An excellent range of family-friendly benefits, for example, enhanced parental, and adoption leave.
- 6 days special leave per year which can be used for volunteering activities.
- Local site benefits such as free parking, on-site gym facilities, shop, café and the opportunity to join and use one of the on-site messes.
Discover my benefits - outlines the range of benefits available to MOD Civil Servants.
Flexible working is encouraged with support available for a range of personal circumstances allowing a positive work/life balance. These job roles will likely be suitable for hybrid working, which is an informal, non-contractual and voluntary arrangement, blending a balance of attendance in the workplace (your permanent duty station which is based on business assessment of where the work is best done) and working from home as a personal choice (if the role is suitable for this).
If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post. Successful candidates can discuss their development options with their manager when in post.
The Duty Station for this role is Army Headquarters, Marlborough Lines, Andover SP11 8HJ.
To be eligible for this scheme in the Civil Service, candidates must meet the minimum standard for the role being applied for and:
- Have served for at least one year in His Majesty’s Armed Forces (as a Regular or Reserve); this includes time spent training
- Be in transition from, or ceased to be a member of, HM Armed Forces
- Not already be a civil servant, or be employed by a Civil Service Commission accredited public body
- There is no maximum time limit from when you left HM Armed Forces to be eligible for this initiative.
The post does not offer relocation expenses.
External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.
Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.
Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.
Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.
MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – we may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
At application you will be required to complete a numerical reasoning test, provide a CV and provide a personal statement of no more than 500 words. It is essential that your personal statement is aligned to provide evidence that you have the knowledge and recent practical experience outlined in the job description.
When choosing your Behaviour examples, please make sure you use real life scenarios that relate to your own experiences. Whilst technology may help to enhance your written submission, presenting the ideas of others or those generated by technology, could result in your application being rejected.
At sift, you will also be assessed on the following behaviours -
- Leadership
- Communicating and influencing
- Delivering at pace
At interview, you will be assessed against the following behaviours -
- Leadership
- Communicating and influencing
- Delivering at pace
- Changing and improving
- Making effective decisions
Application sifting will be scheduled to take place within 7 working days of the application closing date on the stated criteria. In the event of a large volume of applications, the initial sift will be carried out on the CV and the Leadership behaviour.
Interview date should take place no later than 10 days following the sift, and location will be at Army HQ, Andover. A minimum of 2 full working days’ notice will be provided. We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk .
As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical.
The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Lynsay Scratchley
- Email : lynsay.scratchley640@mod.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk
Further information
info@csc.gov.uk.
