26.134 - Finance Business Partner

Job summary

We are looking for an exceptional Finance Business Partner to join DBS to support the delivery of the financial strategy and make a difference.

As a Finance Business Partner, you are part of the Financial Partnering, Planning & Analysis team who provide expert financial guidance, control and best practice to support key decisions at all levels to deliver the DBS Strategy, Business Plan and Budget.

You will be one of three Finance Business Partners supporting DBS with expert financial guidance and insight to support key decisions at all levels, delivering outstanding outcomes for our service users.

Leading a small team, you'll drive forecasting, budgeting, and business planning activities, ensuring informed decision-making and effective management of financial risks and opportunities. You'll also play a key role in business case development, procurement activity, and shaping strategic initiatives.

This is a high-profile opportunity for a commercially minded finance professional who enjoys influencing decisions, building strong stakeholder relationships, and making a meaningful impact on customer outcomes.

Job description

• Proactively build effective and influential relationships with senior stakeholders including Directors and DMTs, providing clear and considered advice on financial management, planning and strategy.
• Providing robust financial advice, support and analysis to support strategic decision-making. Influencing the development of strategies and adding value by ensuring that financial advice is integrated into their decision making.
• Work collaboratively with the Financial Partnering and Analysis Lead to ensure directorate level management accounts, budget and forecast submissions are delivered in line with the agreed timetable for consolidation.
• Lead and take ownership of the preparation, review and delivery of directorate Management Accounts, ensuring the provision of accurate, timely and insightful financial information to support decision-making, budget management and financial performance monitoring.
• Constructively challenge the use of resources in meeting demand, performance measures and business plan priorities. Proactively support budget managers and holders to find solutions, ensuring maximum benefit is achieved and the right balance between economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
• Support the directorate with their in-year budget and forecasts, ensuring the plans are credible, expenditure is with approved delegated limits, and in line with HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money and Consolidated Budgeting Guidance.
• Identifying and reporting on financial risks, opportunities, and proactively identifying mitigating actions.
• Support the directorate in the development of future mid-term financial plans, ensuring plans support delivery of the organisational strategy.
• Support the directorate to understand, and effectively manage their financial resources, providing training where necessary and ensuring the appropriate governance and controls are adhered to.
• Support the directorate with the procurement of commercial contracts, delivering maximum value for money for the organisation.
• Drive continuous process efficiencies and improvements across both the Directorate you are partnering and the Finance function, whilst ensuring effective controls are maintained.
• Support and challenge the development of project mandates and business cases for change, continuous improvement and transformation. Ensuring all costs and benefits are identified and captured, controlled and monitored, including the tracking of any benefit realisation.
• Develop and lead the implementation of financial performance measurement processes to monitor the performance of the directorate.
• Ensure there is accurate and timely forecast financial information developed and reported within the organisation, including to Board and it’s committees, the Executive Team, Directorate Management teams, and other governance forums as appropriate.
• Provide line management, leadership and professional development support for a small management accounting team with one direct report, to ensure high-quality financial reporting, robust financial control, and the effective integration of insight and analysis to support senior leaders in delivering organisational priorities
• Provide cover for other Finance Business Partners, where necessary.
• Deputise for the AD – Financial Partnering, Planning & Analysis when required
• Undertake additional duties appropriate to the role and/or grade.

Person specification

Ability

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to communicate complex matters to a non-financial audience and to build effective relationships with senior stakeholders
• Strong relationship management, influencing and presentation skills.
• Strategic thinking, planning and analysis skills, with the ability to develop creative solutions to support key business decisions and mitigate associated risks
• Ability to manage and develop a cohesive and high performing team.
• Highly organised with an ability to plan, manage and prioritise a broad portfolio of activities
• Resilient in challenging circumstances and able to remain calm, yet decisive, when working under pressure
• Ability to work autonomously and take responsibility for key business tasks/decisions, deputising for the Associate Director as needed.

Experience

• Experience supporting and challenging budget holders / managers in a similar finance business partnering role
• Experience supporting the development of strategic future financial plans, the financial assessment of proposals to aid decision making and business cases for change and transformation
• Experience of driving improvements in processes to increase efficiency
• Proven ability to communicate complex matters to a non-financial audience and to build effective relationships with senior stakeholders
• Experience coaching and developing finance colleagues

Qualifications

The successful candidate must be a fully qualified member of a CCAB accounting body or CIMA

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £60,380, Disclosure & Barring Service contributes £17,492 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

The DBS offers a number of excellent benefits for its employees. These can include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Excellent maternity, paternity and adoption schemes (after a qualifying period)
• Commitment to the health and wellbeing of our employees
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Flexible working opportunities
• Eyecare voucher scheme
• Occupational Health Service including referrals for counselling and physiotherapy
• 24/7 Counselling and Wellbeing Service
• A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

The DBS vision and purpose is to make people safer by being a visible, trusted and influential organisation, providing an outstanding quality of service to all our customers and partners, where our people understand the important safeguarding contributions they make and feel proud to work here. To do this, the DBS is committed to being an employer that is able to attract, develop, retain and engage diverse talent that is representative of the communities we serve, and to be an organisation providing outstanding service to all our existing and new customers, who are diverse and have a range of different needs. We want all our staff to be able to bring their ‘whole self’ to work.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

To apply for this role, please provide a CV along with a Personal Statement of no more than 750 words outlining how your skills, experience and qualifications meet the requirements of the role, including all essential and desirable criteria.

Please be advised that the CV is for information purposes only and will not be scored.

Candidates successful at the sift stage will be invited to attend an interview assessing the following behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing & Improving
• Delivering at Pace

The interview will also include a presentation which will be assessing the following behaviour:

• Seeing the Bigger Picture

Further details on the presentation topic will be provided to shortlisted candidates invited to interview.

Interviews will be held virtually via MS Teams.

The following timetable outlines indicative dates. Please note, these dates may be subject to change without prior notice.

Advert closing date: Monday 28th September at 10am.

The initial candidate sift is due to take place week commencing 28th September 2026.

Interviews are due to take place on 8th/9th October and/or week commencing 12th October 2026

Whilst we will endeavour to provide some flexibility with regards to dates wherever possible, it is unlikely that we will be able to offer an alternative date once an appointment has been scheduled.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

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 : dbspeoplesupportteam@dbs.gov.uk
• Email : dbspeoplesupportteam@dbs.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSPeopleSupportTeam@dbs.gov.uk

Attachments

JD - Finance Business Partner Opens in new window (docx, 452kB)