Finance Business Partner (Ref: 21965)

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

Job Title/ Position: Finance Business Partner

Grade: SEO

Number of Vacancies: 1

Business Group: Chief Operating Officer Group

Directorate: Finance Strategy and Partnerships

Location: National

Hours: 37

Post Type: Permanent

Role Type/ Team: Finance

Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice sits at the heart of public service delivery and the government’s wider social reform agenda, working to protect and advance the principles of justice. The department has been at the forefront of the government’s efficiency agenda, making finance roles an exciting and challenging opportunity.

The Ministry’s functional leadership model for finance brings together specialists into a single unified team across the department with the vision of putting finance at the heart of decision making. The Finance Business Partner (FBP) teams support budget holders across the department, assisting them in delivering their financial management responsibilities, ensuring corporate controls and processes are followed and supporting the business areas to have confidence in their financial position and to drive efficiency. FBPs work alongside the businesses they support and have a close understanding of their work to enable them to help drive better outcomes. We protect value, drive value and add value.

Overview

As a Finance Business Partner in Government, your role is to protect, drive and add value. We aim to be a leading-edge finance function, continuously learning and developing, with a strong focus on adding value and insight, developing our people, and robust financial management. You will be part of a committed and positive leadership team who work together to make our vision a reality.

You will partner and collaborate with colleagues across the organisation, acting as the face of finance and helping to ensure that finance is at the heart of decision making. You will act as a critical friend to areas that you are partnering, ensuring the stewardship of public funds, efficient and effective use of budgets and provide insightful financial analysis to support decision making.

Digital and Technology

The MOJ’s Digital and Technology function aims to put the user first and deliver digital solutions to improve user experience and improve efficiency. The environment is one of change, as different delivery options are explored and commercial arrangements reviewed. The Finance Business Partner should have a good appreciation of the MoJ Justice Digital and support the business to deliver best value for money.

Ministry of Justice Digital Services designs, builds and supports user-centred digital and technology services for the justice system: services that make a real difference to our staff, members of the public and their families who use them. Technology Services are improving the way workplace technology is delivered and managed across the MoJ. Millions of people every year interact with our services, and Digital & Technology play an important role in improving access to justice and making that experience much easier and less distressing.

Director of Technology Team deliver and support services enabling the Justice system to evolve through technical innovation.

Their remit includes:

• End User Compute devices, management, and support.
• Network Connectivity
• Telephony, Voice and Video Services, including video solutions for Courts and Prisons
• Provision and support of a suite of Collaboration and Productivity Applications and Services, such as Microsoft 365
• Print Services

This role will be part of the Finance Business Partner Team supporting Ministry of Justice Digital. The immediate team supports the Director of Technology and their Senior Management Team and supports them in managing a budget of approximately £300m and the postholder will be part of a team of 1 x G7 and 3 x SEO Finance Business Partners.

In addition to salary, a pensionable, non-contractual specialist allowance will be applied to this role. Specialist allowances apply to certain roles only, are non-transferable to other roles and are subject to annual review.

Travel Requirements

• Occasional travel to other MOJ offices is required for meetings/away days.

Main Activities / Responsibilities

The job holder will be required to undertake the following duties and responsibilities:

• Develop an understanding of the financial drivers, risks and opportunities associated with your business area’s objectives and spending plans within delegated expenditure limits.
• Act as the financial adviser to your business area, maintaining standards for financial management and ensuring that the Financial Control Framework is understood and adhered to across the business.
• Ensure that business activities and strategic objectives take full account of financial impact, risk and opportunities.
• Ensure that financial planning assumptions are transparent and adequately tested.
• Support management decision making and problem solving by ensuring that complex information and analysis is translated into meaningful insight and trusted advice.
• Work with the business to analyse financial performance based on management accounts and other evidence; identify adverse trends and challenge forecasts; prompt mitigating action and propose effective solutions.
• Work with commercial colleagues to ensure that commercial decisions and contract performance management are aligned with financial controls and processes.
• Provide financial support for “change” activity; provide an integral support role for projects and programmes
• Providing ad-hoc analysis and presentations to drive and support business decisions, such as efficiency and cost reduction options, using all available data and analytics tools

Essential Criteria

• Possesses emotional intelligence and has the ability to think empathetically, considering the strategic goals of others (Assessed via statement of suitability/CV)
• Fosters a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration between the business, finance and other corporate services (Assessed via statement of suitability/CV)

• Can tailor their communication style to a range of audiences, including internal and external stakeholders. Uses facts and evidence to aid negotiation and influencing (Assessed via statement of suitability/CV)

• Helps others to understand the interdependencies between business and finance. Proactive and passionate, inspiring others to continuously improve (Assessed via statement of suitability/CV)

• Ability to "speak the language" of finance to business, and vice versa, acting as the critical translator between the two. (Assessed via presentation during interview)
• Part qualified with CCAB, CIMA or equivalent/working towards or willing to work towards a qualification or fully qualified with CCAB, CIMA or equivalent (Assessed via eligibility question in application)

Professional Skills

Key for Levels of Professional Skills

• A = Awareness
• W = Working
• P = Practitioner
• E = Expert

Core / Level

Budgeting, forecasting, and costing -

The Budgeting Framework - W

Commercial acumen - W

Investment appraisal and evaluation - W

Strategic analysis and insight - A

Oral and written presentation skills - E

Performance and risks - W

Data and analytics interpretation -

Useful / Level

Taxation - A

Interpretation of accounts - A

Government financial reporting - A

Supporting the PAC agenda - A

Understanding the role of the NAO - A

Risk management and fraud - A

Application Process

You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework.

Sift Stage

Experience

Please submit the following:

• An anonymous copy of your CV
• A statement of suitability of no more than 750 words. In your answer, please provide examples of how you have met each of the 4 specific essential criteria detailed above.

Qualification

Part qualified with CCAB, CIMA or equivalent/working towards or willing to work towards a qualification or fully qualified with CCAB, CIMA or equivalent.

Applications from non-qualified candidates will be considered, who are willing to develop and work towards a recognised qualification to meet the full requirements of the role, or the role may be adapted accordingly for a non-qualified candidate.

The sift will take place on both the Statement of Suitability and CV.

Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview.

Interview Stage

Please note that interviews will be held virtually via MS Teams.

At interview you will be assessed using the below behaviours and strengths -

• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing

Presentation

You will also be asked to deliver a presentation to demonstrate the professional skills of presenting, budgeting, forecasting, and costing and data and analytics interpretation and the ability to "speak the language" of finance to business, and vice versa, acting as the critical translator between the two.

Presentation information will be sent to all candidates invited to interview.

If you have any questions regarding the role please contact – carole.spencer@justice.gov.uk

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Qualifications

Part qualified with CCAB, CIMA or equivalent/working towards or willing to work towards a qualification or fully qualified with CCAB, CIMA or equivalent.

Please answer 'yes' to meeting the above if you are:

1) Part qualified with CCAB, CIMA or equivalent/working towards or

2) Willing to work towards a qualification or

3) Fully qualified with CCAB, CIMA or equivalent

If you are answering yes to option 2, please upload a note indicating your willingness to work towards the qualification.

Behaviours

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

• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,914, Ministry of Justice contributes £12,432 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).

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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 : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
• Telephone : 0345 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

https://jobs.justice.gov.uk/careers/JobDetail/21965?entityId=21965