Band 1 Head of Finance
Job summary
ONR is not a Civil Service department, however, we are an arms length body of Department of Work and Pensions.
Job Purpose
The purpose of the role is to lead the Finance function within ONR, ensuring strong internal control, compliance with government finance standards, and confidence in our financial systems, reporting and processes.
You will be leading a team of approximately 15 colleagues who are primarily based in Bootle and London.
The scope of the role includes financial and management accounting, statutory reporting, budgetary control, business partnering, treasury management, performance reporting and charging for our regulatory services.
The successful candidate will work closely with the Finance Director and will be expected to present their team’s output at meetings including our Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) and Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
About The Role
The key responsibilities for the role are summarised below:
- Financial stewardship – You will ensure sound financial management of ONR including its compliance with Management Public Money (MPM), the Financial Reporting Manual (FreM) and other guidance such as government functional standards.
- Enabling operational delivery –You will be advising senior leaders and budget-holders on financial matters that enable operational delivery.
- People skills – You will be leading a team of approximately 15 colleagues and will be managing relationships with counterparts in government departments including the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). You will also be collaborating closely with the Finance Director and senior leaders, including non-executives, across ONR. There will also be instances where you will be representing ONR on financial matters in discussion with the entities that we regulate.
- External impact – You will be engaging with external stakeholders on financial matters including our external auditors, government departments and the entities that we regulate.
- Decision making – You will be empowered to make operational decisions on the management of the Finance function. You will also be a member of the wider Finance Directorate’s leadership team along with the Finance Director, Head of Risk & Assurance and Head of Estates, Procurement & Shared Services.
- Innovation – You will be expected to consider how we can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of both the Finance function and ONR as a whole. This may include the streamlining of existing processes and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI).
Job description
In delivering these key responsibilities, you will be expected to:
- Act as the strategic and operational lead for all matters relating to financial and management accounting, statutory reporting, budgetary control, business partnering, treasury management and charging processes.
- Enhance the quality of finance support by providing internal and external stakeholders with a single source of timely and accurate financial information supported by expert insight.
- Provide proactive and professional advice to the Finance Director and senior leaders on financial matters, including compliance with relevant guidance.
- Lead on the financial aspects of the business planning process.
- Support the professional development of all colleagues within the Finance function to ensure we have the appropriate capacity and capability in the function.
- Undertake ad hoc project-based work, including in response to changes in the nuclear sector and/or government policy.
- Contribute to improving the quality of management information available to senior decision makers.
- Identify and collaboratively deliver efficiency improvements, including cost saving measures.
- Support the empowerment of individuals and embed accountability through the delegation of financial authority to budget-holders.
- Maintain and strengthen the confidence of regulated entities and government departments in ONR’s approach to charging for its services.
- Support the Accountable Officer and Finance Director in ensuring that ONR is compliant with Managing Public Money, the Accountable Officer’s delegated authority and ONR’s legal vires.
- Contribute to the collective leadership of the organisation, embodying our values of Accountable, Open-minded, Fair, and Supportive.
- Act as a positive role model inspiring ONR staff to work towards ONR being a modern, agile and productive regulator with an inclusive culture.
Person specification
Line Management Responsibilities
As part of this role, there will be an expectation to manage staff.
The Head of Finance is expected to act as the line manager of our Head of Financial Accounting, Head of Finance Business Partnering and Head of Charging & Cost Recovery.
Location / Travel
This post may be undertaken from a base at Bootle, London or Cheltenham. If based in Bootle, you must be willing to travel to London or Cheltenham when there is a business need. If based in London, you must be willing to travel to Bootle or Cheltenham when there is a business need.
ONR operates hybrid working (working in the office and or at home) as part of our flexible working policy. There is an expectation that everyone will spend time in the office on a regular basis, recognising that some work is better done face to face. Managers will work with their teams on what works best to meet individual, team, business and organisational needs to enable collaboration, as well as balancing personal choice and wellbeing.
Work with Us
Our colleagues are from all walks of life with varied personal experiences and career journeys into ONR. We want the best people for our roles. As an inclusive employer we value individuals’ contributions, regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, social background, religion, or belief. Our values ‘supportive, open-minded, fair and accountable’ are central to this. We invest in our people to build capability, resilience, and promote wellbeing in our great teams, underpinned by our inherent focus on inclusion and excellence.
Security Clearance
The successful candidate will be required to undergo and obtain security clearance to Security Check (SC) level.
Applicants are not required to hold security clearance prior to applying.
Person Specification
Inclusion
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We will consider reasonable adjustments to ensure the recruitment process is inclusive and barrier‑free. If you require reasonable adjustments as part of your application, please contact ONR HR as soon as possible, preferably before the vacancy closes, by emailing ONR.Human-Resources@onr.gov.uk or Jessica.Normile-Curran@onr.gov.uk to discuss further.
We will also offer an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for applicants who opt into the guaranteed interview scheme.
We recognise we have a role to play in helping those leaving the Armed Forces and have a Veterans guaranteed interview scheme. We offer an interview to Veterans who meet the minimum criteria for applicants who opt into the scheme. Please see eligibility criteria below.
- served for at least one year in His Majesty's Armed Forces (as a Regular or Reserve).
- be in transition from, or ceased to be a member of, His Majesty’s Armed Forces.
- not already be employed by ONR.
Skills/Job Related Expertise
The essential skills and experience for this role are:
- Communication skills – The ability to communicate financial information to internal and external stakeholders in an understandable, insightful and credible manner.
- Relationship management skills – The ability to develop professional and mutually respectful relationships with internal and stakeholders, including at Board and senior leadership level.
- Decision-making skills – The ability to show sound judgement in making decisions and to provide robust recommendations and advice to internal stakeholders.
- Experience of leading and developing high performing Finance teams.
- Experience of preparing Annual Report and Accounts.
The desirable skills and experience for this role are:
- Experience of the external audit process – This experience could be through working as an external auditor or through managing your employer’s relationship with its external auditor.
- Experience of applying government finance guidance including Managing Public Money, Financial Reporting Manual, Green Book and the Government Functional Standard for finance.
Essential qualifications
Member of CCAB accountancy body: ICAEW, ACCA, CIPFA, ICAS or Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £77,372, Office for Nuclear Regulation contributes £22,414 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.An annual leave allowance of 25 plus 8 days public holiday. There is also an entitlement to 1 privilege day. Your annual leave allowance will increase by 1 day each year up to a maximum of 30 days.
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A civil service pension
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
Please submit your application through the recruitment portal on the ONR website directly by clicking onto the link above apply at advertisers site where you can also download full job description.
For Further Information
For more information about this vacancy please contact ONR’s Finance Director, David Wilson via email:
How To apply
Please submit your application through the recruitment portal.
The closing date for receipt of applications is 8th June 2026 at 23:45
Your application should include:
- CV to include a full record of your education and professional qualifications and a full employment history.
- A suitability statement (maximum of 800 words) highlighting how you meet the ‘essential skills and experience” required for the role, which will be used at shortlisting in conjunction with your CV.
- Where applicable highlight if you have any experience under ‘desirable skills and experience’ within the application form.
Throughout our shortlisting process, we will make decisions about your capability to do the job, based on evidence you provide against the essential criteria (and the desirable if applicable).
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.
Important guidance when providing CV’s – please upload text-based CVs with no graphics or pictures to ensure the anonymisation function works correctly.
Please note - if whilst completing your application, you use special characters such as (‘; “- _ *) within your examples, Hireserve will convert these characters into symbols. We are currently unable to change this.
Whilst these examples will appear on your application, this will not prevent it from being reviewed at the shortlisting stage.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Medical
Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.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
Working for the Civil Service
Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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
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 : David Wilson
- Email : david.wilson@onr.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : ONR.Human-Resources@onr.gov.uk
Further information
https://www.onr.org.uk/complaints-concerns-whistleblowing.htmSalary range
- £77,372 - £89,151 per year