Finance Business Partner

Job summary

Cabinet Office Finance is responsible for all aspects of the Cabinet Office’s finances, including business and financial planning, performance reporting, in-year financial management, financial accounting, management of Parliamentary Supply, and production of the Cabinet Office’s annual accounts.

Within Finance, the Business Partner teams lead engagement with business units across the department. We need to be resourceful, exercise good judgement and have quick reflexes to make sure that senior leaders have the right financial advice at the right time to deliver important and urgent parts of the Government’s agenda. The variety and breadth of the issues we deal with makes these fascinating and fast-paced roles.

We are looking for individuals who are enthusiastic, self-starters who will thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic work environment. The role will provide lots of opportunity for both personal and professional development in an innovative organisation at the heart of Government.

Job description

This role is central to the relationship between an individual business area and the finance function. You will use your strong technical and influencing skills and sound understanding of the business unit to provide advice, challenge and scrutiny to senior colleagues. You will ensure that budgets are well constructed, managed and monitored and support senior managers in the production of business cases and plans to deliver improved performance, reduced risk and better value for money.

Your technical knowledge and ability to work constructively with senior teams will make you a valued contributor to the decision-making process and a champion for change within your business, its external relationships and in wider government projects. This post holder will need to establish and develop effective working relationships with a number of stakeholders, including the Directors, Deputy Directors, Internal and External Audit.

• Developing a deep knowledge of diverse business areas, their needs and priorities, looking at the bigger picture to make sure that the business understands the financial implications of decisions and available choices.
• Showing effective leadership skills in the line management of a business partner team.
• Acting as a key liaison point between Finance and the business, building in depth understanding of different business areas and performance & delivery priorities.
• Providing analysis to support decision making and using benchmarking to highlight opportunities and add value.
• Identifying sustainable cost savings targets and initiatives as part of the business planning cycle.
• Supporting business areas with financial analysis to prepare for Spending Reviews, risk management and business planning processes.
• Leading on financial reporting, including analysing financial information and preparing summary reporting, ensuring that the leaders of the Cabinet Office are able to make decisions based on accurate financial information.
• Supporting the construction of business cases through financial challenge and the identification of commercial implications of options considered.
• Assessing accounting implications and providing accounting advice in accordance with international financial reporting standards and central government accounting rules.
• Building financial and commercial awareness of non-finance staff within the business.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills, including an ability to engage effectively with colleagues at all levels.
• Proven ability for leading high performing, diverse and inclusive teams where everyone can bring their best performance.
• Experience of gaining credibility with senior colleagues and stakeholders and the ability to influence decision-making.
• Proven competence in budget management, planning, forecasting and risk identification combined with excellent problem solving skills.

Specialist skills:

• A high level of competence in budget management, planning, forecasting and risk identification combined with excellent problem-solving skills.
• Excellent technical accounting skills across a wide range of financial disciplines and a proven ability to apply them effectively.
• Professional qualification ie CCAB, or equivalent - qualified or part qualified.

Desirable Criteria:

• Excellent technical accounting and analytical skills across a wide range of financial disciplines and a proven ability to apply them effectively.
• Knowledge of government finance and fiscal events such as spending reviews.

Additional information:

Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Qualifications

Professional qualification ie CCAB, or equivalent - qualified or part qualified.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Developing Self and Others

Technical skills

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

• At interview you will be asked technical questions to assess your accounting knowledge.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,204, Cabinet Office contributes £16,571 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.
• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Application process

As part of your application, you will be required to provide a CV setting out your career history/qualifications, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant to the essential criteria in the person specification section of the job advert.

You will also be required to provide a 1,000 word statement of suitability. This should outline how you consider your skills, experience and achievements and provide evidence of your suitability for the role and the criteria outlined above, with particular reference to the essential criteria.

Interview Process

Candidates who are successful at the application stage will progress to interview where they will be assessed against a mixture of behaviour, experience and technical based questions.

You may also be asked to deliver a short presentation at interview. Further details will be provided if you are invited to interview.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via menurecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service/Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

Please note that this role requires CTC clearance, which would normally need 3 years’ UK residency in the past 3 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Any move to Cabinet Office 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

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 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.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Matthew Laverick
• Email : matthew.laverick@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : menurecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service by email at : menurecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.gov.uk. For further information on the Recruitment Principles and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk.

Attachments

Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 Opens in new window (docx, 83kB)Cabinet Office Employee Offer Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)