Assistant Finance Business Partner (Band 3 / SEO)

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity for two part-qualified business partners to join HSE as an Assistant Finance Business Partner. You will provide quality insight, challenge and rigour across specific divisions within the organisation to support the delivery of operational and corporate activity targets within accurate financial forecasts.

This role involves providing proactive expert advice to a Division in relation to its financial performance and contributing to HSE’s corporate financial strategy as a key member of the Finance Business Partnering team and wider finance function.

Part time working hours are available for this role. We can accept part time applicants who can commit to working a minimum of 30 hours per week.

Job description

We have two positions available.

Post 1 - Inspections and Investigations - This role will partner with HSE's Inspection and Investigation Divisions. Working closely with the Divisional Leadership Team for each division, the AFBP will support the FBP to provide a quality finance partnering service to the divisions.

Post 2 - BSD - This role will partner with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).Reporting into the FBP for the BSR the AFBP, you will help to provide a quality service to the division. The government announced on 30 June 2025 that the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is to become an Arm's Length Body (ALB) of Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) and will be moved out of HSE. This is the natural next step in the development of the regulator and was always a likely outcome once BSR was established.

It has been confirmed that the ALB will be a Non-crown, Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), and as such its employees will be Public Servants, rather than Civil Servants. Any successful candidates recruited to this vacancy will initially be onboarded to HSE, with a move to the new NDBP to be undertaken in due course.

Key responsibilities;

• Support the divisional financial forecasting processes, challenging the forecast assumptions, understanding the drivers of the forecasts together with the risks and opportunities, and ensuring financial processes are completed accurately and to deadlines.

• Work with stakeholders to ensure a common understanding of staffing / payroll assumptions, including providing analysis / advice on affordability, and input to the HSE payroll model.

• Contribute to team activity to develop new ways of working by reducing transactional activity and adding value through insight.

• Support the Band 2 FBP in their work with divisions to understand their requirements and using best practice to remove wasted effort and duplication in processes including business cases, prioritisation, budgeting and forecasting.

• Supporting activity-based costing, working with divisions to identify the key cost drivers to ensure Fees and Charges are laid in Parliament.

HSE will support you in completing your full Accountancy qualification.

TRAVEL

This role can be based at any of the HSE offices listed in this job advert. However, there is an expectation to attend our Bootle HQ 1-2 times per month, or as business requires, for team meetings, training and other work activities.

Person specification

Essential Skills and Criteria;

• Have experience of delivering a finance business partnering service and adding value by providing insight to inform operational decisions.
• Part-qualified accountant, with the ambition to complete their studies.
• Convert diverse data into coherent, insightful reports and briefings for a variety of audiences to inform decision making at Divisional leadership teams and stakeholders.
• Have sound analytical skills, and a working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and key financial and reporting systems.
• Build lasting business relationships with stakeholders, including those at a senior-level, demonstrating the communication skills to effectively collaborate, challenge assumptions and influence decisions.
• Be able to identify opportunities to improve, innovate and support the design, delivery and implementation of new ways of working.

Qualifications

CCAB part-qualified - having passed level 4 AAT.

Please be advised that if you are successful at sift, you will be required to provide proof of your qualifications prior to interview.

Behaviours

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

• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £47,686, Health and Safety Executive contributes £13,814 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

We invest in our people with;

• Competitive rates of pay
• Access to the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme to which HSE contribute 28.97%, far more than in the private sector.
• Family friendly policies and working hours to help balance your home life and career
• Carer friendly policies to help create a supportive working culture
• 25 days annual holiday increasing to 30 days after 5 years' service, plus bank holidays and 1-day Civil Service privilege leave
• Parental leave benefits
• As a member of HSE you will gain access to a wide range of fantastic benefits that you can take advantage of such as the Cycle to Work Scheme, E-Gift Cards and Vouchers via our partner EdenRed.

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, Strengths and Experience.

Application Information

As part of your application, you will be asked to complete:

• An anonymised CV which should include your skills, employment history and qualification details relevant to the job role. Please be advised that your CV is for information purposes only and will not be scored.
• An anonymised Personal Statement of no more than 750 words. This should outline how you meet the Essential Skills and Criteria listed within the person specification.
• A a statement of no more than 250 words, on the behaviour 'Working Together'.

Application Guidance

• Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply and how to complete a Personal Statement: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/how-to-apply/
• Please access the following link for guidance on Behaviours. Examples at this level are assessed against HEO / SEO and equivalent: Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK

Sift information

The sift will take place during the week commencing 16th February 2026 where you will be assessed on your Personal Statement and the lead behaviour Working Together.

IMPORTANT: Please note an initial sift will be conducted on your Personal Statement. If you meet the benchmark for the Personal Statement, you will be progressed to a full sift in which the Behaviour will also be scored. If you do not meet the standard for the Personal Statement, you will not receive a score for your Behaviour

Interview

Interviews will be held from week commencing 2nd March 2026 via MS Teams where you will be assessed on:

• A short five-minute Behavioural presentation. More information will be provided on your interview invitation.
• The three Behaviours outlined within the advert
• Strength-based questions

The lead Behaviour, Working Together, will be used in the event of a tie-break to determine outcomes.

Please note: These dates may be subject to change depending on the panel availability.

Sponsorship

This role is not open to application from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and require sponsorship your application will be rejected, and any provisional offers of employment will be withdrawn.

Further Information

Please note that a Reserve List will be held for the period of up to 12 months. There is no guarantee you will be offered a role from our reserve lists, so if you see a vacancy on Civil Service Jobs that you are interested in, we recommend you apply.

HSE reserve the right to conduct additional checks, including Google and social media checks, when recruiting candidates into a role within HSE. These checks will be carried out in line with the Civil Service Commission Principles and, if used all candidates will be subject to these additional checks.

From 23rd June 2025, if you are successful at interview, as part of your pre-employment checks, HSE’s Recruitment Team are required to check your details against the Internal Fraud Hub (IFH), using your personal details – name, NINO, and date of birth. If you are included on the database, you will be refused employment. If you believe that there has been an error in the inclusion of your data and wish to make an appeal, please contact the CO email box internal.fraud@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Details of the types of internal fraud/dishonesty covered by this process are defined by the Cabinet Office and can be found here Internal Fraud Register privacy notice - GOV.UK

It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful in their application. For a summary of HSE terms and conditions as part of Civil Service Reform, please see the attached HSE Terms and Conditions document.

Progression through pay ranges is subject to annual pay awards as permitted within annual Civil Service pay remit guidance and negotiations with Trade Unions.

HSE is proud to be a part of the Disability Confidence Scheme (DCS). As a Disability Confident employer, we positively welcome applications from disabled people. We are committed to making workplace adjustments to ensure anyone can participate in the recruitment and selection process.

If, during the application or interview process, you require any assistance due to a disability or a medical condition, please contact us at the email address below to discuss how we can support you. For example, if you have a disability, and you need an application form in an alternative format or you would like to know more about our recruitment process, please contact: HR.Resourcing-Team@hse.gov.uk.

If successful in securing your role, HSE can provide suitable workplace adjustments to support you throughout your career with HSE.

Any move to HSE 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 here.

Please note, if you are a current civil servant and you are currently undergoing any of the following formal actions your application will not be progressed any further; Formal discipline action, any formal action regarding attendance, poor performance or any restriction of duties as a result of disciplinary action.

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 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.

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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.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 : Andrew Wild
• Email : andrew.wild@hse.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : HR.Resourcing-Team@hse.gov.uk

Further information

If you believe that Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition have not been met, you can raise a complaint by emailing: HR.Resourcing-Team@hse.gov.uk or by writing to HSE at the following address:
HR Resourcing Team, 2.3 Redgrave Court, Merton Road, Bootle, Merseyside, L20 7HS. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact Civil Service commissioners:

https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/code/civilservicecode…

Attachments

HSE Terms and Conditions - CSJ Advert Annex Opens in new window (pdf, 116kB)