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Job description

Details

Reference number

268769

Salary

£43,308 - £53,837 Civil servants applying on promotion will usually be appointed to the salary minimum or within 10% of existing salary. External recruits will start on the band minimum. £43,308 - £48,809 (National) £49,512 - £53,837 (Inner London)

Job grade

Senior Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

DWP - Finance Group - Financial Management & Partnering

Type of role

Accountancy
Corporate Finance
Finance

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

10

Contents

Location

About the job

Benefits

Things you need to know

Apply and further information

Location

Birmingham, Blackpool, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sheffield

About the job

Job summary

The Department for Work and Pensions is one of the largest Departments in Whitehall, managing the delivering of benefit payments to citizens totalling over £200bn annually. As a Finance Professional in Government, your role is to protect public funds and add value through finance assurance activities.

This is a fantastic opportunity for fully qualified accountants to join the Financial Management and Partnering Directorate. This Directorate brings together, Finance Business Partners, Strategic Finance Advisors and Resource Modellers/Analysts into teams which are aligned to DWP Director Generals.

Financial Management and Partnering is a very dynamic area to work in. It has a strong track record of success, helping anyone looking for strategic insight and career progression. It is a great platform for developing and enhancing skill sets for a career in DWP Finance and provides an opportunity to work closely with Senior staff across the organisation.

Successful candidates will be posted to an Engagement Lead role on the Departmental Consolidation and Partnering Team or in a Finance Business Partner role supporting a specific area within the department.

Places for Growth

Please note we are restricted to the number of roles that are available in London. Our positions will be offered in strict merit order based on location selections. Once all London roles have been filled, we will no longer be able to offer any further roles in this location. We will also apply this rationale to any reserve lists held in the event of future postings.

Please note that membership of AAT or other technician level qualification does not satisfy the qualification criterion for these roles.

Job description

Financial Management & Partnering Directorate is responsible for financial consolidation, reporting and planning, together with supporting commercial and procurement exercises across our organisation.

In addition to the Financial Management & Partnering directorate, Finance Group comprises the following directorates, Financial Control & Policy, Systems Development & Design, Strategic Finance and Payments, Banking & Shared Services, Business Strategy, Contract Management & Partner Delivery, Commercial, Risk and Security and Data Protection.

We have a complex and engaging stakeholder network in our organisation. Our Finance Business Partners develop a strategic understanding of our financial position, using their interpersonal skills to develop great working relationships with budget holders from across the organisation. We support with the mitigation of risk, providing advice, guidance and highlight opportunities which consider the political and economic landscape.

We prepare reports for presentation to HM Treasury and develop business cases for new initiatives. You’ll produce monthly management information packs to showcase forecast movements, and their impact on in year and future year plans. We produce analysis (for example actual vs. forecast) to support strategic decision making for services and entities with a total expenditure of over £9bn annually.

You’ll be responsible for providing financial assurance to commercial and procurement exercises, analysing both affordability and value for money. Our role is to ensure that the Department’s funding and performance position is managed and communicated effectively to support senior decision making.

DWP are part of the wider Government Finance Function and information on the types of roles and skills needed in this role and to progress can be found in the Finance Career Framework.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

A strong candidate for this role should be able to demonstrate the following essential criteria in the answers to the questions on the application form.

• Hold a full chartered level professional qualification awarded by an IFAC recognised accounting body for example ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA or ICAEW, and to hold full membership of that body
• The ability to work effectively with and influence senior stakeholders, demonstrating excellent communication skills
• Evidence of improving and enhancing finance processes
• A track record of supporting good decision making through high quality analysis
• Application of professional accountancy standards within a complex public or private sector environment
• Evidence of ability to deal with competing priorities whilst maintaining day to day activities and working to tight deadlines

Qualifications

Full chartered level professional qualification awarded by an IFAC recognised accounting body for example ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA or ICAEW, and to hold full membership of that body. Please note that membership of AAT or other technician level qualification does not satisfy the qualification criterion for these roles.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

• Flexible working and family friendly policies
• A generous leave package of 26 Days, rising to 31 Days over time.
• Volunteering and charitable giving
• Discounts and savings on shopping, fun days out and more
• Interest-free loans to buy a bike or a season ticket, so it’s even easier for you to get to work and start making a difference
• Sports and social activities
• Learning and development, including coaching, mentoring, progression opportunities and guaranteed 5-days formal learning per year.
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27.1%

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.

Sift

CV

Please provide a CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.

NOTE - you are not required to upload a CV document, so please input all relevant information into the content of application.

Personal Statement

As part of your application, we would like you to answer 3 key questions, which relate closely to the experience you will need to be successful in this role. A strong applicant will be able to demonstrate clearly within the answers, how their skills and experience meet the essential criteria that is outlined in the personal specification in the advert.

You will be given a 1250-word limited section on your application, in which you must answer all 3 of the questions.

You can decide how you layout the answers to your questions, and how you share out the word limit. We recommend that in any eventuality, you make full use of the word count to demonstrate as well as you can, how you meet the criteria for the advertised role. We are interested to hear about what and how you have achieved your deliverables in your application content.

Questions

• How have you analysed financial information to provide decision support to other staff, including non-finance professionals?
• How have you developed strong relationships to ensure you can effectively contribute to the delivery of your organisations objectives?
• What experience do you have of making improvements to financial processes?

WRITTEN APPLICATION SUPPORT

We are committed to supporting our applicants in the process, and we are running online engagement sessions.

These sessions will be designed for you to hear more from our Finance Group colleagues, find out a little bit more about the roles on offer, and hear from our senior leaders. We will also be providing you with some guidance on the application process to outline what we are looking for, and how you can get your application ready to submit.

There will also be some time for Q&A at the end but please be aware we will be unable to answer any specific application questions on these calls or discuss any personal applications or experiences.

Details including dates and times are outlined below.

Monday 27th March 12:00 – 13:00

Wednesday 29th March 13:00 – 14:00

Note – the content of both sessions will be the same and you do not need to join both.

HOW DO YOU BOOK A SPACE?

To book a space, please send an email to [email protected] titled “Finance Business Partner info session” and include in your email which session you would like to be invited to. The sessions will be held on TEAMS.

CAN'T MAKE THESE DATES?

Don't worry. If you are unable to make either of these dates, please send an email to [email protected] titled "Finance Business Partner - recording requested" and you will be sent a link after the dates have passed to dial in and listen in your own time.

Interview

INTERVIEW SUPPORT

As part of our commitment to supporting applicants in the process, if you are invited to interview, you will also be offered the opportunity to attend an interview workshop with current DWP colleagues, who will be able to offer you support on what to expect on the day, how you can prepare, and help you present, at your best, at interview. You do not need to request an invite to this. You will automatically be included if you are selected for Interview.

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an online interview via Teams.

At interview you will need to produce evidence of ID and proof of your qualification.

The interview will take a blended approach, and you will be assessed against the behaviours outlined in the job advert, as well as strength-based questions.

You will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of based on examples of your past experience. You will also be asked strength-based questions to explore what you enjoy and what your motivations are, relevant to the job role.

Application sift is planned to be carried out 12/04/23 onwards.

Interviews are planned to be carried out 15/05/23 onwards.

Please be advised that the above dates are indicative only and are subject to change.

Further information:

Find out more about Working for DWP

A reserve list may be held for a period of 3 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to DWP 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

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing [email protected] stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

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.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Before applying for this vacancy, current employees of DWP should check whether a successful application would result in changes to their terms & conditions of employment, e.g. mobility, pay, allowances. Civil Servants that would transfer into DWP from other government organisations, following successful application, will assume DWP's terms & conditions of employment current on the day they are posted, unless DWP has stated otherwise in writing.

The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences. If evidence of plagiarism is found your application will be withdrawn.

Reasonable Adjustment

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:Contact Government Recruitment Service via [email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

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 Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

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.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window). Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Name : Susan Witty Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team :

Email : [email protected]

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DWP by email: [email protected].
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission. Click here to visit the Civil Service Commission.