Finance Profession Lead for Government Finance Function
HM Treasury
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 6th October 2024
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About the job
Job summary
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.
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
Public Spending Group
The Public Spending Group is a high-profile and rewarding place to work. We help the Chancellor decide what to spend £1.2trillion 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.
The Government Finance Function (GFF)
The GFF ensures that finance is at the heart of decision making in Government – delivering value for money, strengthening public trust.
The Finance Function comprises of over 10,500 FTE spread across 39 Government organisations.
The Function needs to move at pace to make further progress towards its vision and the decision has been taken to strengthen and formalise the functional centre for the Government Finance Function, aligned to the Civil Service Functional Leadership model.
The People and Capability Team
This role sits within the People & Capability team. Priorities for the team include:
- Developing a high performing, capable and diverse Function for the future, with great people in the right roles with the right skills
- Learning & Development – the Government Finance Academy (GFA), determining the future strategy for the GFA ensuring a future focussed and sustainable model to deliver a high quality learning and development offer for the Government Finance Function.
- Career Framework: Standardising expectations of skills, qualifications and experience required to succeed in roles across GFF, supporting attraction, development and retention of diverse talent across the function.
- Talent Management: developing a robust and diverse talent pipeline through a dynamic and engaging talent management strategy.
- Encouraging a diverse and inclusive environment across the Finance Function.
- Developing an attractive reward and retention strategy to help attract and retain great people.
- Resourcing and strategic workforce planning to ensure succession plans are in place for the function’s pivotal roles.
- Building excellent links with networks across Government to utilise expert services and embed our initiatives in departments, sharing knowledge, best practice and resource.
As the Finance Profession Development Lead for the Government Finance Function, you will be joining our team of HR, Finance and L&D professionals who are responsible for leading the GFF People and Capability offer for the function.
At the heart of this work is the need to build strong and diverse functional capacity and capability, by attracting, developing, training and retaining functional specialists across Government Finance Function. This role is responsible for overseeing the Finance Professional Development offer, including Accelerated Development programmes, Finance Fast Stream, Finance Apprenticeships, and to support professional development linking into the Government Finance Academy wider learning offer.
Success in this role will require you to work across Departmental boundaries as a trusted partner, utilising your professional skills and experiences to build a strong network across internal and external stakeholders at all levels, including with Professional Institutes and HMT technical teams. You will use these relationships together with your own skills and experience to identify capability needs and promote finance professionalism to support GFF priorities and growth of the finance function.
Key accountabilities include:
- Leading the development and delivery of the Finance Professional Development offer across the Civil Service, which includes all professional qualification routes, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and advocating for a professionally qualified finance workforce.
- Providing expert oversight of GFF professional training schemes, ensuring they are high quality and support our functional talent pipeline – these include Finance Apprenticeships, Finance Fast Stream and accelerated development programmes, to ensure improved professionalism at the most senior levels across the function.
- Oversight, development and delivery of the Finance Fast Stream offer, ensuring finance requirements and needs of the function are met, working with other professions and Cabinet Office colleagues on development of the overall fast stream scheme.
- Ensuring the Finance Fast Stream is fit for purpose at all stages, from recruitment materials, including Finance Recruitment Boards, Finance End Scheme Assessments, performance management process incorporating profession requirements. Working with senior Director sponsors and senior governance committees to shape the programme, making recommendations on future requirements and numbers, ensuring reporting and MI is robust to support and enable workforce planning.
- Leading development and delivery of the Finance Apprenticeship offer for the function, working with broad networks including departmental Heads of Finance Professionalism from across Government and CO colleagues to manage contracts and requirements on behalf of the GFF to ensure a fit for purpose scheme(s) that meets professional requirements. Developing a streamlined, professional, accessible offer linking to functional workforce requirements, ensuring best value for the function and optimum efficiency and professional rigour. Linking Apprenticeship recruitment to support GFF needs, working with Departmental Heads of Profession and Attraction colleagues.
- Creating and maintain professional communities to support professional development including events for Fast Stream, Apprentices, Senior Leaders and other groups.
- Supporting engagement with the Accountancy Institutes and other partners to support professional development and training of staff across the GFF.
- Lead functional and professional mentoring programmes, with responsibility for developing and promoting mentoring guidance, working with capability and talent leads to support initiatives to promote best practice, creating opportunities for mentoring as part of the GFA curriculum.
- Working as part of the Skills Capture Tool project team to develop and enhance the online skills tool. Acting as the lead contact with the developers and testers, leading engagement and awareness sessions, promoting professional development with Fast Streamers, Apprentices to support uptake and adoption.
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. Confident and effective communication skills both orally and in writing, with people within and outside the GFF (Communicating and Influencing).
2. Experience working in learning / L&D and a passion for building skills and capability across government with an understanding of Civil Service Learning Frameworks desirable (Experience).
3. Strong organisational and stakeholder management skills with the ability to work effectively with wide range of stakeholders across boundaries, making connections and bringing people along with you. A strong team player with the ability to work flexibly across a demanding but rewarding team (Working Together).
4. Strong research and analysis skills including the ability to present data insights with impact (Changing and Improving).
The lead criterion is: Communicating and Influencing
If we receive large volumes 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 including top tips for the application and interview process and an opportunity to ask general questions around our recruitment practices. Please note that this session is not role specific, so we will be unable to answer specific questions about roles we are advertising. If you would like to join us, please use the link below to join the call at the right time.
Thursday 3rd October at 12:30: Join the meeting now
At interview stage, you will be assessed on the below criteria:
- Experience
- Strengths
- Behaviours:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Changing and Improving
- Delivering at Pace
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Changing and Improving
- Delivering at Pace
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Changing and Improving
Benefits
- 25 days’ annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King's birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant)
- Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
- Generous parental and adoption leave package.
- A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 28%
- Onsite restaurant and coffee bar. The London office also offers a gym, showers and prayer room
- Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving
- Access to a retail discounts and cashback site
- A Rental Deposit Advance Scheme to help meet the total costs of deposits for privately rented homes
- A range of active staff networks, based around interests and diversity
Flexible Working Arrangements
HM Treasury views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they can enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including; part-time, compressed hours and job sharing. Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees the flexibility to adjust their working patterns throughout the week which is subject to operational needs and line management approval.
At HM Treasury we have an incredibly broad remit; our work touches every citizen of the country. So, it’s important our employees come from the widest possible range of backgrounds, bringing us the widest possible range of perspectives and ways of thinking. We are committed to ensuring that all staff can realise their potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
HM Treasury operates an office based working approach across all Treasury sites - Darlington, London, and Norwich, and along with the rest of the Civil Service, has an expectation of a minimum of 60% attendance in the office, along with working remotely. This blended working approach allows you to work collaboratively, meet stakeholders face to face, support others and promotes a healthy work life balance (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review. All our offices have been recently modernised and designed to collaborate and connect with colleagues as well as desk and quiet space to allow a range of ways to work.
The office working expectation is linked to the location of the role. If you apply to a post in a single location, then you will not be able to meet this expectation at any of our other sites or move your role to another location.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Recruitment Timeline
Closing date: 06/10/24
Shortlisting: w/c 07/10/24
Interviews: 23/10/24
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.
Location-Based Reserve Lists
You will be placed on a reserve list if your application is successful, but we cannot offer you a post immediately. Where more than one location has been advertised, candidates will be approached for roles in merit order according to the first preferred location stated on your application form.
Please note that a place on the reserve list does not guarantee an offer. We would still encourage you to apply for other HM Treasury opportunities that you are interested in. If you are offered a role in your first preferred location and you decline the offer or you are unable to take up the post within a reasonable timeframe, you will be removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances.
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.
Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, individuals appointed to the Treasury group will be subject to National Security Vetting. The level of security vetting required for this role is Counter Terrorist Check (CTC)
To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out, applicants will need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. In exceptional circumstances, a lack of residency would not be a bar to security clearance however the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case by case basis once the advert closing date has passed.
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
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 : Suzanne Ibbotson
- Email : suzanne.ibbotson@hmtreasury.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk
Further information
