Finance Operations Team Leader

Job summary

• Ready to lead a high-performing team and keep month-end and year-end close running like clockwork—accurate, timely, and audit-ready?
• Do you enjoy digging into master data and reconciliations—spotting risks early, tightening controls, and driving improvements that make the numbers (and the process) better every month?

If so, we have an excellent opportunity for a Finance Operations Team Leader to join our team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and we would welcome your application.

The role is based in the Finance Shared Services Division (FSSD) which provides transactional finance services to MHCLG, the Planning Inspectorate (PINS), the Valuation Tribunal Service (VTS) and the Regulator for Social Housing (RSH) with a customer base of 3500 users.

You will be working in a friendly team with a focus on development and process improvement. We are constantly seeking to improve how we work and welcome new ideas to shape this.

We are looking for a Finance Operations team leader who will have oversight of month and year end General Ledger and Budgeting process on SAP including: 1) Managing the enterprise structure including the creation and maintenance of cost centres, internal orders and general ledger codes 2) Managing vendor and customer data on SAP. 3) Monthly balance sheet reconciliations. 4) Debt management. 5) Bank account, suspense account and payroll reconciliations.

Job description

Being an effective task manager, delivering against strategic objectives.

• Technical expert across all team responsibilities
• Delivering and maintaining positive relationships with customers and stakeholders.
• Ensuring services and expectations are managed against clearly defined deliverables and KPI’s.
• Ensuring effective controls are in place to maintain accuracy of data and integrity to provide insight, including risk management and mitigation actions.
• Collecting and analysing performance information.
• Continually reviewing and adapting processes

Person specification

• Finance qualifications at AAT Level or equivalent
• Significant finance experience
• Experience of leading and developing a team
• Excellent communication skills
• Positively responds to change and able to lead it
• Ability to meet targets and make effective decisions
• Highly organised with good attention to detail
• A sound working knowledge of Microsoft office including Outlook, Teams, Excel and Power Point.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,169, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £10,478 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Staff Benefits Scheme, Childcare Vouchers, and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.

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

Stage 1: Sift (CV & Cover Letter)

Experience: Your covering letter should be no more than 1 page referencing how you meet the criteria set out in the job description.

If you run into any technical problems when applying through Be Applied (for example, trouble logging in or submitting your application), their support team can help. Please contact them at hello@beapplied.com.

Stage 2: Interview

• Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.

• Ability: Maths questions will be asked as part of the interview.

• Technical: Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.

Sift and Interview Dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 04/05.

Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 18/05 and are currently being held face to face in either Hemel Hempstead or Manchester.

How We Recruit

Find out more about our recruitment processes here.

• Applying

• Sifting

• Interview

• Interview Results & Feedback

• Reserve List

• Near Miss

• Civil Service Grades

• We are a DCS, RIS & GPTWV employer

• Reasonable Adjustments

How to Apply

Find out everything you need to know before applying here.

You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly.

• Security Clearance Requirements

• Civil Service Nationality Requirements

• Right to Work

• Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles

• CV Declaration

• Sponsorships

• Salary and Grade

• Existing Civil Servants

• Conflict of Interest

• Location and Flexible Working

• Fixed Term Contracts

• Internal Fraud Database

• Appeals and Complaints

Security Clearance Requirements

National Office: + SC

London Office: + SC

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 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

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 : Stephanie Lockhart
• Email : stephanie.lockhart@communities.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@communities.gov.uk

Further information

If you are unsure about any part of the process or require additional information about the post to enable you to progress your application, you should speak to the Resourcing team - recruitment@communities.gov.uk. Candidates can appeal at any stage of the recruitment process if they believe there has been:

a procedural irregularity

an infringement of the Civil Service equal opportunities policy

exceptional circumstances which were not notified to the interview panel which might have affected performance on the day.

It is important to note that these are appeals about the process not the decision. In the first instance, an appeal should be directed to the MHCLG Resourcing Hub at recruitment@communities.gov.uk.

If the MHCLG Resourcing Hub is unable to satisfactorily resolve your complaint, you may contact put your complaint in writing to the Civil Service Commission, Room G8,1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ or by email to: info@csc.gov.uk.