Chief Financial Officer (CFO), PackUK

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

On-Site

Expires: Expiring in less than 4 weeks

Finance

Flexible

£86,000 - £117,800 per year

Job summary

Thank you for your interest in the role of Chief Financial Officer for PackUK, the Scheme Administrator for the UK Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) scheme.

This is a rare opportunity to help shape and lead the financial stewardship of a new national organisation at the heart of one of the UK’s most significant environmental reforms. As a senior leader in PackUK, you will play a pivotal role in building an organisation that supports the UK’s net zero ambitions while enabling sustainable economic growth.

pEPR is central to the UK’s transition to a circular economy. It places a legal obligation on packaging producers to pay the full net costs of collecting and disposing of the packaging they place on the market. In doing so, it will encourage the reduction of unnecessary packaging, support the use of more recyclable materials, and increase reuse and refill. It will also provide significant investment in the UK’s collection and recycling infrastructure, improving services for householders across the UK.

The pEPR scheme came into effect in January 2025, and PackUK is responsible for delivering the services and systems that underpin its operation. The Chief Financial Officer will play a critical role in ensuring the scheme is financially robust, well governed, and able to deliver effectively at scale.

PackUK brings together people with a strong commitment to recycling and environmental improvement. We are seeking an outstanding senior leader who can build and lead a high-performing, collaborative, and user-focused team, while providing visible, credible leadership across a complex and evolving stakeholder landscape. The successful candidate will bring a strong track record of strategic leadership, the ability to oversee effective financial operations and supporting systems, and a clear commitment to high-quality delivery and continuous improvement across the wider packaging reform programme.

You will need the strategic insight to shape and strengthen the operational arrangements that support the scheme, while bringing stakeholders across the packaging value chain with you.

Job description

Success in this role will depend as much on your personal qualities as on your professional background. As part of a newly established scheme, you will need strong networking and collaboration skills, alongside the ability to deliver operational excellence in a complex and evolving environment. You will need to:

Build relationships with people from all backgrounds.
Act as a key adviser and partner, using your skills to help shape a positive, inclusive, and authentic organisational culture.
Bring people with you, both within the organisation and across the wider stakeholder landscape.
Inspire and empower people at all levels.
Adapt and apply best-practice methods and techniques in EPR design and operation from around the world.

This is a permanent appointment to support the long-term operation of PackUK. The Chief Financial Officer will report to the Chief Executive of the pEPR Scheme Administrator and work closely with senior leaders across the four nations of the UK. They will lead on financial strategy, governance, and commercial oversight to support the effective delivery of the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility scheme across the four UK nations. The role provides assurance over financial stewardship, producer fee income, local authority payments, delivery partner arrangements, and the control environment, while also enabling high-quality decision-making, managing risk, and building a high-performing finance and commercial function related to:

Finance strategy, planning, budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting
Financial governance, assurance, audit, and internal controls
Producer fee invoicing, income collection, debt management, and local authority payments
Commercial oversight of key delivery partners and delegated arrangements, including the Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO)
Financial systems, data, management information, and performance insight
Risk management relating to affordability, scheme delivery, and financial control
Leadership of PackUK’s finance and commercial function, capability, and continuous improvement

Strategic financial leadership
Provide strategic financial leadership for PackUK, shaping financial strategy to support the effective operation of the UK packaging Extended Producer Responsibility scheme across the four UK nations.
Lead financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and control arrangements for a scheme that collects fees from obligated producers and distributes payments to local authorities, ensuring strong stewardship of public and industry funds.
Act as a trusted strategic adviser to the Chief Executive Officer, Ministers, the Board, and senior Defra stakeholders on affordability, scheme risk, value for money, and the long-term sustainability of PackUK’s operating model.

Financial governance and assurance
Ensure robust financial governance, assurance, audit, and internal control across PackUK, aligned with Defra and HM Treasury requirements and capable of supporting four nations oversight and confidence in scheme delivery.
Oversee statutory and non-statutory reporting on PackUK’s financial position, including transparent reporting on fee income, payments, liabilities, and overall scheme performance.
Maintain effective fraud, error, and debt management frameworks.

Commercial and contract management
Lead commercial oversight of PackUK’s delivery partners and delegated arrangements, including the Producer Responsibility Organisation, ensuring strong supplier performance, effective controls, and value for money.
Provide strategic advice on commercial strategy, procurement, contract performance, and delegation arrangements as scheme functions evolve.
Work with Defra Group Commercial to manage risk and support delivery outcomes.

Delivery and operational excellence
Ensure effective end-to-end financial operations, including producer invoicing, fee collection, debt management, local authority payments, and associated controls.
Drive continuous improvement across PackUK’s financial operations, strengthening efficiency, service quality, resilience, and readiness for future policy or delivery change.
Translate financial and operational data into insight to support performance and improvement.

Stakeholder engagement and influence
Build influential relationships across Defra, HM Treasury, the four nation governments, regulators, local authorities, and industry stakeholders to sustain confidence in PackUK’s financial management and support delivery of pEPR.
Represent PackUK with senior stakeholders on financial and commercial matters across government, regulation, and industry.
Provide clear strategic advice to Ministers and senior officials on financial and commercial matters.

Risk and decision-making
Enable high-quality decision-making through clear financial insight, constructive challenge, and evidence-based advice on producer fees, local authority payments, delivery trade-offs, and scheme affordability.
Identify and manage financial risks across the scheme, including fee income, payment accuracy, debt recovery, delivery partner performance, and regulatory or reputational exposure, ensuring timely mitigation and escalation.
Support strategic decisions and policy development by advising on financial, commercial, and delivery implications.

Leadership and culture
Lead and develop a high-performing finance and commercial function.
Build capability, embed an inclusive high-performance culture, and drive continuous improvement across systems, processes, and ways of working.
Provide visible and credible leadership in a complex and evolving operating environment.

Person specification

The successful candidate will bring the professional credibility, strategic leadership, and public finance expertise required to lead PackUK’s finance and commercial function in a complex, high-profile, four nations delivery environment. They will be capable of operating with confidence across organisational boundaries, advising senior stakeholders on issues of financial stewardship and delivery, and leading through ambiguity in a fast-evolving system.

Candidates CV and Personal Statement should demonstrate the following essential criteria:

Strategic Financial Leadership & Operational Excellence: Proven track record of steering long-term financial strategy, planning, governance, and control within complex, high-profile, and strictly regulated environments. Skilled in managing large-scale budgets to deliver rigorous stewardship, value for money, and long-term affordability. Combines strategic vision with hands-on expertise in leading end-to-end financial systems, revenue collection, and high-volume transactional service leveraging financial data, management information, and modern digital tools to generate actionable insights, optimise operations, and drive evidence-based decision-making.

Financial Governance & Risk Management: Proven track record of establishing, overseeing, and maintaining robust financial governance, audit, and internal control frameworks. Adept at identifying and mitigating complex financial, operational, and reputational risks to ensure strict compliance and operational integrity across high-value environments.

Strategic Procurement & Partnering: Proven track record of managing high-value commercial relationships, complex procurements, and strategic delivery partners to maximise ongoing value. Skilled in analysing key cost drivers, negotiating delivery arrangements, and driving performance across external suppliers and delegated operational models at scale.

Inclusive Leadership: Proven track record of building, inspiring, and developing high-performing, multidisciplinary teams within an inclusive culture. Experience of empowering teams through strategic delegation, setting clear direction, and driving performance and capability without micro-managing.

Stakeholder Engagement: Exceptional communication and influencing skills, with a proven track record of advising Boards, Ministers, and senior leaders on complex financial and strategic matters. Adept at translating intricate financial data into clear, compelling insight for executive decision-makers and diverse external stakeholders to drive informed outcomes.

Essential Criteria - CCAB or CIMA qualified accountant (or equivalent), with current membership of a recognised professional body and substantial experience operating at a senior finance leadership level.

Qualifications

CAB or CIMA qualified accountant (or equivalent), with current membership of a recognised professional body and substantial experience operating at a senior finance leadership level.

Behaviours

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

Seeing the Big Picture
Leadership
Communicating and Influencing
Making Effective Decisions
Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £86,000, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £24,914 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).

Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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.

What you need to do to apply
Details of the assessment process and further information

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. You will be assessed on the following behaviours throughout the selection process:

Seeing the Big Picture
Leadership
Communicating and Influencing
Making Effective Decisions
Working Together

Application Process
As part of the application process, candidates are asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement (no more than 1250 words) on how your relevant skills and experience meet the essential criteria. Completed applications must be submitted no later than the closing date of 23:55, Monday 12th October 2026.

Sift
A sift will be conducted against the key criteria in the essential criteria and will assess your experience. Applications will be assessed by the selection panel and shortlisted.
(please note: feedback is not given at the shortlist stage)

Assessment - Staff Engagement Exercise
This assessment will not result in a pass or fail decision.
Rather, it is designed to support the panel’s decision-making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview. Full details of the assessment process will be provided to shortlisted candidates at the earliest opportunity. For further information regarding the assessments please visit - https://scs-assessments.co.uk/

Interviews
You will be asked to attend a panel interview, in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the essential criteria for the role. As part of the interview, we may ask you to prepare and present a short presentation or undertake a practical desktop exercise. This will be confirmed in the interview invitation. We will also ask some strengths-based questions.

Interviews will be held face to face in London.

Other Information
Please let us know what adjustments we can put in place to help you through the recruitment process if you are disabled.
Candidates who pass the interview criteria but are not offered a post may be kept on a reserve list for 12 months and may be offered similar roles across the department.

Defra Is committed to ‘name blind’ sifting. That means that identifying characteristics such as your name, gender, age, or address are removed from your application until after shortlisting for interview has taken place.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist 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.

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

Salary range

£86,000 - £117,800 per year