Deputy Director, Finance Business Partner for Digital and Transformation Group

Job summary

DWP is looking to fill a Deputy Director, Finance Business Partner role supporting the Digital and Transformation Group (DTG). You will be part of the Financial Management and Partnering Directorate (FM&P).

This is a high-profile leadership role within FM&P where you will act as the senior financial adviser on Digital Finance matters. You will lead engagement on complex financial challenges, supporting the development of robust, evidence-based investment plans and spending strategies that align with DWP’s wider strategic objectives.

The role requires you to work closely with the Deputy Director that supports DTG on the transformation part of their remit.

You will challenge and support the business to ensure affordability, value for money, and effective prioritisation across a complex delivery landscape. You will help shape financial strategy for Digital and Transformation, providing insight on risks, opportunities and resource allocation. You will also work closely with senior stakeholders across Finance Group and wider government, ensuring strong collaboration, consistent financial management, and high-quality forecasting and analysis to underpin decision-making.

This is an excellent opportunity to join as a Senior Civil Service leader in a dynamic and fast-paced environment, leading a high-performing team and playing a key role in supporting major digital and transformation activity across the Department.

Why Join DWP?

Virtual Engagement Session ​

Date: 07/07/2026 Time: 09:30-10:30

This virtual session is an opportunity for you to find out more about the role and what it's like working as an FBP in DWP. You'll get the opportunity to hear directly from the vacancy holder, Louise Skelton and Chris Kyte HR who will provide an overview of the role and hold a Q&A. Join here

Job description

This role is Deputy Director, Finance Business Partner for the Digital and Transformation Group (DTG). You will act as the senior Financial Business Partner to the Director General and her Executive Team, leading on Digital Finance matters and supporting delivery of complex, high-profile transformation activity.

You will play a critical role in shaping financial strategy, ensuring robust planning and delivery of investment programmes, and embedding financial discipline, value for money and strong governance across a complex delivery landscape and high-profile portfolio.

This role requires you to work closely with the Deputy Director that supports DTG on the transformation part of their remit.

The role requires high levels of energy and drive – and excellent stakeholder engagement as well as strategic thinking. We are looking for candidates who can bring diverse experiences and perspectives to help shape the agenda within Financial Management and Partnering Directorate and Finance Group more broadly.

For more information about the key responsibilities for this role please view the candidate pack attached in the advert.

Person specification

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate their knowledge, experience and skills against the following essential criteria:

Strategic financial leadership, translating complex financial information into clear insight to support investment and business decisions, while providing robust assurance on financial models, governance, and investment proposals.

Outstanding interpersonal communication and influencing skills, with the credibility to operate confidently as a senior financial leader and trusted adviser to Director Generals and senior stakeholders, generating trust and shaping strategic decision‑making through high‑quality financial insight.

Strong analytical capability, ability to interpret complex financial and business information, provide clear recommendations, and support decision-making on funding, investment, and financial risk. Experience of working within structured funding and spending frameworks, including engagement on major investment and funding decisions.

Ability to deliver at pace through others, balancing competing priorities while maintaining high professional standards in a complex and demanding environment.

Leadership of high-performing teams, with the ability to build capability, inspire confidence, and foster a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement and effective use of data and digital tools.

Professional financial qualification, with full membership of a CCAB-recognised accountancy body (e.g. ACCA, CIPFA, ICAEW, ICAS, CIMA or Chartered Accountants Ireland.)

Qualifications

Please provide details of your qualifications

Memberships

Please confirm which of the following full membership you hold (CCAB-recognised accountancy body (e.g. ACCA, CIPFA, ICAEW, ICAS, CIMA or Chartered Accountants Ireland.)

Behaviours

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

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

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £86,000, Department for Work and Pensions 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).

DWP have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
• Generous annual leave – at least 25 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.
• Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.
• Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
• Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 year’s continuous service.
• Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.
• An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.

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.

Application Process

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process outlined below no later than 23:55pm on Wednesday 15th July 2026.

1. 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;​
2. A personal statement (maximum 1250) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities, and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification. ​

Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

As part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say’. All monitoring data will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not be provided to the selection panel. The information you provide when submitting your application will help us monitor our progress towards the Civil Service becoming the most inclusive employer.

Timeline - If shortlisted you will need to be available for both dates.

• Assessments - 5th August 2026
• Interviews - 18th August 2026

A reserve list will be held for up to 12 months, which we may use to fill future similar vacancies for candidates who are considered appointable following interview.

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information regarding the role and recruitment process.

Reasonable Adjustments

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, especially 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 senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk 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 additional support or adjustments you might need during the recruitment process.

For further information regarding reasonable adjustments, please see following link: Reasonable Adjustments , Civil Service Careers

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 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.

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 : DWP SCS Resourcing Team
• Email : senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk

Further information

What do I do if I want to make a complaint?
The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact: senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response, you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

Candidate Pack DD Finance Business Partner Digital and Transformation Group Opens in new window (pdf, 587kB)