Finance Systems Accountant

Job summary

The Financial Control Division (FCD) is a friendly, dynamic, and fast paced team working at the heart of UK Export Finance. We are responsible for ensuring that effective financial control processes are in place. We co-ordinate the Department’s estimates, budgets and forecasting processes. We produce accurate and reliable monthly management accounts, annual accounts, and other published financial information. We manage the UKEF bank accounts, purchase ledger, fixed asset registers and the general ledger (CODA). We advise on accounting treatments, own the UKEF accounting policies and are working with others across the organisation and beyond to implement large scale changes in our accounting policy, systems, and processes in order to operationalise IFRS 9 and IFRS 17.

Our friendly and collaborative team is growing to support a larger UK Export Finance. Not only has the demand for UK Export Finance products significantly increased since the pandemic, the business is operating in a more uncertain market than it has seen in a long-time meaning activity on claims and recoveries is also increasing. It’s therefore an exciting time to join us as we support a business that is at the heart of delivering government export and trade policy to build the UK economy back stronger. We are also in a unique period of transition as we prepare to implement a new general ledger and purchase to pay system. This will offer the successful applicant a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience, and indeed, help shape and contribute to this transformational change.

Job description

The primary purpose of the Finance Systems Accountant is to manage and maintain Aptitude i.e. AICE (Aptitude Insurance Calculation Engine), AAH (Aptitude Accounting Hub) or AC (Aptitude Calculate) but with the opportunity to cross-train with other Finance and Reporting applications.

The roles will work shadow the implementation team and will sit between the Project and BAU teams with the aim to support both the developers and the SMEs, during the configuration and development and till the go-live, at which point they will take charge of the new BAU systems.

The roles will act as the interface between end users, with their queries following testing or requirement gathering/delivery, and the project team.

Responsibilities:

• Work shadows the development team with the aim to document any changes to the configurations.
• Liaise with SMEs and end users to make sure all requirements have been passed to the project team and acted upon.
• Making sure requirements have been delivered and thoroughly tested.
• Document the daily, weekly, and monthly to-be finance systems tasks as they are developed.
• Managing and maintaining:

• Learn how to monitor and manage any interfaces, batches and resolve errors.
• Reconcile systems to ensure accurate and complete data integrations.
• Support the development and maintain the new financial controls, policies and procedures.
• Support the development and maintain the new reporting environment.

Main Activities:

• Manage the controls and user support processes.
• Become an expert in specific E2E processes
• Ensure that Aptitude procedures and processes are fully documented.
• Support the development of Aptitude
• Review Aptitude for data-specific non-compliance and monitor data quality.
• Engage with stakeholders to identify opportunities for improvement.

This list is not exhaustive, and you may be required to carry out additional duties according to business needs.

Person specification

Essential

Qualifications

• Working towards or achieved the following qualifications:
• Level 4 AAT(A)
• Level 4 equivalent part qualified with CCAB, CIMAor equivalent. (A)

Knowledge

• Extensive financial / accounting expertise. (A, I)

Skills/Ability

• High attention to detail, numerate, analytical and have proficient organisational skills. (A, I,)
• Good IT skills including MS Office and medium to advance Excel. (A, I)

Experience

• Previous experience as an Aptitude administrator or similar role. (A, I)

Qualifications

• Working towards or achieved the following qualifications:
- Level 4 AAT
- Level 4 equivalent part qualified with CCAB, CIMA or equivalent.

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Technical skills

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

• Technical Questions in relation to the role.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £41,500, UK Export Finance contributes £12,022 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).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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.

Please ensure that you read through the Candidate Information Pack attached to this advert, before applying.

All applications will be sifted against our essential criteria outlined in the personal specification.

• Qualification
• Behaviour statement - 250-word statement on each (Working Together and Delivering at Pace)
• Statement of suitability - you should fully articulate in 500 words how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification within the Information Pack.

For the initial sift your application will be evaluated against:

1. Experience - Application and Statement of Suitability
2. Behaviours - 250-word statement on each (Working Together and Delivering at Pace)

In the event of a large number of applications there will be a pre-sift on the following essential criteria:

1. Extensive financial / accounting expertise.
2. Previous experience as an Aptitude administrator or similar role.

If you are successful following the sift stage, you will be invited to an initial interview, to be held onsite at 1 Horse Guards Road or via MS Teams; this will include the following assessment:

1. Behaviours/Experience - a formal panel interview where you will be interviewed across all two behaviours highlighted in Appendix 1.
2. Technical Questions in relation to the role.

Details of interview panel members will be e-mailed to all successful candidates who are invited for interview.

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

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 : UKEF Recruitment Team
• Email : recruitment2@ukexportfinance.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Recruitment2@ukexportfinance.gov.uk

Further information

Should you have a complaint or wish to raise any concerns regarding the recruitment process, please e-mail your complaint to the Head of Pay and Resourcing (UKEF) at Recruitment2@ukexportfinance.gov.uk and include “Complaint” in the subject heading. Should you remain dissatisfied following UKEF’s investigation then you can refer your complaint to the Commission - http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/making-complaint.

Attachments

UKEF Information Pack - Finance Systems Accountant (HEO) - Jun 26 (2) Opens in new window (pdf, 4327kB)