Finance Manager

Job summary

The Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) is a new shared corporate service, launched in July 2023. It provides corporate services (HR, Finance, Digital, Commercial, Security and Estates) across the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT).

Our team of just over 300 professionals will be leading the way in how these functions will be delivered in the future. Our ambition is to be the leading provider of integrated corporate services for government and set the standard for quality, efficiency, and innovation in our field.

We offer great working benefits including a world-class pension, flexible working options and a career where your learning and development is taken seriously. We are enormously proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We support candidates with adjustments throughout our recruitment process. Information about disability confidence and just some examples of the adjustments that you can request can be found in the reasonable adjustment section below.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Find Out More

You can also follow our LinkedIn Careers Page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/desnz-careers/

Job description

The role and our team

The Matrix Programme is a transformation initiative involving 7 Government Departments (listed at the end). It is a unique cross-government collaboration that will unlock simpler, better, and more joined up working by bringing together the systems, processes, and ways of working for key government functions.

Over the coming months we’ll be preparing to roll out Neo, our powerful new HR and Finance technology and service for the Matrix cluster - driving a more modern, digital government. The first Departments will go live in June 2026. Neo is a cloud-based system, powered by Workday that will replace legacy HR and finance technology and offline processes across multiple Government Departments and associated Arm’s-Length Bodies. Designed to streamline administrative activities and promote intuitive self-service, Neo is enabling time back to focus on what we value the most – serving the public. Moreover, Neo’s adoption means we are harnessing the power of shared technology at scale. This unified way of working delivers better, more accurate data - eliminating errors, creating one trusted source of truth and accurate reporting. Neo is more than just a new system; it’s enabling us to be data-led, to work smarter, respond faster and deliver services that truly meet the needs of the public.

The Neo Centre Office (NCO) is the strategic service management function for the Neo Service. Hosted within Integrated Corporate Services (ICS), its purpose is to monitor, direct, and advise on the delivery of the Neo service, ensuring it operates efficiently and meets performance expectations. It provides central oversight, enabling consistent service quality, timely issue resolution, and continuous improvement. By acting as a governance and coordination hub, the function ensures alignment with strategic objectives, fosters stakeholder confidence, and supports the seamless delivery of Neo across all relevant departments.

Whilst the NCO will be hosted within ICS, some roles are temporarily aligned to the programme (hosted within Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT)) until all departments are fully onboarded. Whilst the NCO will have employees hosted across both ICS and DSIT, it operates as one unified team and plays a vital role within the ICS organisation.

We envisage further job opportunities being available in the near future and we reserve the right to draw applicants from available merit lists. We would also encourage applicants to set up job alerts to ensure they are alerted to other opportunities when they are advertised.

Key responsibilities

• To support all financial management activities associated with the delivery of Neo services including financial analysis, vendor invoice oversight and verification, financial reporting vs. budget, financial compliance reviews, business case tracking, and service cost allocation verification and reporting.
• Oversee the creation and monitoring of budgets for the NCO and service providers, prepare and present financial reports to aid decision making using an ERP.
• Prioritise and seek approval for investment in the Neo services (for UK Shared Business Services (UKSBS) or other internal/external providers) and contribute to the development of long-term financial strategies and goals of the cluster.
• Lead the financial onboarding of new clients, including Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs), cloud users, and those affected by Machinery of Government (MoG) changes, ensuring accurate integration into the charging model and ERP system, and supporting financial planning and reporting across the shared services ecosystem.
• Analyse the financial performance of service providers, provide insights and recommendations, and contribute to sustainability reporting which covers the shared services ecosystem.
• Maintain the charging model, determining the costs of the Neo services to departments/ALBs based on direct and indirect costs, and understanding the financial impact of changes to services.
• Verify service provider and other vendor invoice charges and ensure recharging and reconciliation with the contracts/schedules, notifying providers and vendors of issues or discrepancies and acting as the main interface to departments/ALBs for any disputes regarding charging.
• Oversee business case benefits tracking, comparing actual costs against forecast.
• Ensure adherence to financial policies, standards, and regulations – such as accountability of public funds, monitoring activities to prevent fraud and misappropriation.
• As a line manager, you will be responsible for working with your members of staff to define their objectives, as well as managing their development and performance.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Qualifications. Full qualification in a recognised professional finance body (e.g. CCAB, CIMA or equivalent), evidencing a high level of technical competence, strategic financial insight, and the ability to apply robust financial governance across complex programmes or portfolios.
• Experience in public sector financial management or transferable skills from other sectors.
• Proven track record in managing financial controls and risk frameworks in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Background in strategic finance, including benefits realisation and value for money assessment.
• Stakeholder engagement and communication skills, being able to explain financial topics in simple terms.
• Strong analytical and financial modelling skills.
• Strategic thinking and the ability to synthesise financial and risk data to influence decision-making.
• Proficiency in using financial software and reporting tools.
• Ability to manage ambiguity and leading through change.

Desirable criteria

• Experience with shared services and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and financial integration projects.
• Exposure to commercial supplier oversight.

Qualifications

Full qualification in a recognised professional finance body (e.g. CCAB, CIMA or equivalent). If you have any queries on eligibility, please contact the email address for candidate queries on the job advert.

Behaviours

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

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

Technical skills

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

• Financial Analysis and Strategy - please see framework here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f2153518fa8f57acac336d8…

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £55,105, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero contributes £15,963 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.

Office attendance

The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a personal statement, CV and any technical skills.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please use your personal statement (in no more than 750 words) to explain how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed however these will not be considered in the assessment of your application except in circumstances where there are a high number and calibre of candidates.

Applications will be sifted on personal statement, CV and any technical skills.

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the personal statement only.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The interview will consist of behaviour, technical and strength-based questions.

Sift and interview dates

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information

Reasonable Adjustment

We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.

Information about the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and some examples of adjustments that we offer to disabled candidates and candidates with long-term health conditions during our recruitment process can be found in our DESNZ Candidate Guidance. A DESNZ Plain Text Version of the guidance is also available.

We encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants section.

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

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

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

A location based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.

Candidates who meet the minimum benchmark may be placed on a Reserve List for consideration for similar roles, including those at a lower grade. Candidates who narrowly miss the benchmark and are not placed on the Reserve List may still be considered for an offer in a similar role at a lower grade.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero 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.

DESNZ does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).

DESNZ cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign.

DESNZ holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

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

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.

Feedback

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a 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.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 : Matrix Resourcing Team
• Email : matrixresourcing@dsit.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : desnzresourcing.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 you should contact in the first instance DESNZrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints

Attachments

DESNZ TCs v1.2 Opens in new window (doc, 174kB)