NAD Group Chief Financial Officer

Ministry of Defence

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in less than 4 weeks

Finance

Full time

£225,000 - £250,000 per year

Job summary

The National Armaments Director Group sits at the heart of UK Defence at a moment of genuine consequence. As the UK faces a more contested and unpredictable security environment, the mission is clear: to ensure our armed forces are equipped, supported and sustained with the speed, resilience and credibility the moment demands. Bringing together procurement, science, digital, infrastructure and support under a single enterprise, the Group exists to maximise the nation’s war‑fighting capability, strengthen industrial partnerships and steward public money in a way that delivers both military advantage and long‑term national value.

This is a role with extraordinary scale and influence. As Chief Financial Officer, you will be the senior financial leader across an organisation of nearly 30,000 people, overseeing some £19bn of annual expenditure across thousands of complex, high‑risk programmes. Sitting on the Executive Committee, you will shape strategy as much as you enable it, combining rigorous stewardship with the judgement to support pace, innovation and intelligent risk‑taking. From sustaining confidence with Ministers, HM Treasury and Parliament, to unlocking new commercial models and private capital, the role is central to turning ambition into delivery at scale.

The context is one of reform and opportunity. Defence is being reshaped to move faster, operate more commercially and partner more deeply with industry and allies. The CFO will be a key architect of that change, driving a step‑change in financial, operational and programme management capability, while building a high‑performing finance function that is curious, outward‑looking and relentlessly focused on value for money. This is about more than control; it is about enabling better decisions, sharper prioritisation and sustained delivery confidence.

We are looking for an enterprise‑minded leader with the credibility to operate at the most senior levels and the resilience to lead through complexity and scrutiny. You will bring deep experience of strategic financial leadership in large organisations, strong commercial instincts and a track record of translating strategy into execution. You will be intellectually curious, calm under pressure and motivated by purpose. Above all, you will recognise the significance of this mission and be ready to play a defining role in shaping the future of UK Defence.

For a confidential discussion, contact Zoe.Bennett@gatenbysanderson.com

Job description

The NAD Group Chief Financial Officer is an enterprise Defence leader, exercising professional financial and commercial authority, stewarding public money, acting as a senior enterprise leader within UK Defence. They are shaping the financial strategy and delivery for the NAD Group and ensuring that through its financial operations and commercial leadership it delivers military capability, value for money and national resilience at pace and scale. The role is accountable for ensuring the organisation operates within its delegated financial authority, maintains robust control of public expenditure, and provides Ministers, the Accounting Officer and HM Treasury with confidence that resources are being used economically, efficiently and effectively.

The NAD Group Chief Financial Officer is the senior finance leader and the executive leader responsible for shaping and delivering the Group’s financial strategy and overall Group performance as a member of the NAD Group Executive Committee, acting as a key integrator across the enterprise, driving large‑scale transformation and operation of the Group. In terms of scale, the role leads a professional finance workforce of over 1,200 people and manages a costed INVEST plan (equipment and infrastructure) of £11bn per annum, and Operating Expenditure of £8bn per annum. The role also operates across an organisation of approximately 28,000 staff and around 2,500 live programmes. Its purpose is to ensure the NAD Group realises maximum value from the management of its finances and combines strategic financial leadership with active enterprise‑level leadership and accountability in driving the long‑term affordability, sustainability and credibility of the NAD Group.

The post holder will be accountable for working across the Group to define and ensure delivery of the NAD Group financial plans. In doing so they will realise efficiencies and improve productivity and delivery confidence by influencing the business model and organisational effectiveness to deliver against commitments in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS), sustaining long‑term value to the taxpayer and strengthening the NAD Group’s relationship with industry. This role will drive a culture of efficiency, productivity and capacity release across the Group and, in all aspects of business operations and through procurement, will ensure that the Group is driving value for money at pace and at scale.

The post holder will ensure the effective development of the Finance Function Operating Model in the NAD Group on behalf of the MOD’s Director General Finance and will ensure the development of a strategy and enabling plan which coheres and aligns functional activity within the Group to ensure Defence achieves the outcomes of the SDR and the DIS. This includes shaping how the finance function supports faster decision‑making, proportionate risk‑taking and more agile delivery, while maintaining robust control and assurance.

As Group CFO they must deliver a step‑change in the NAD Group’s financial, operational and programme management capability to ensure that investment and expenditure of the £19bn budget per annum are maximised through forging new partnerships with industry and strengthening existing ones. Through expert leadership the CFO must ensure that investment is directly linked to military capability, while championing dual‑use technology with industry and private finance to unlock private capital and specialist expertise, leverage the budget and fulfil the wider government agenda of promoting the UK Defence industrial base and delivering value for money in a complex, high‑scrutiny environment.

Person specification

Experience and Capabilities

Proven experience as a Group CFO, CFO/COO or equivalent enterprise‑level finance leader within a large, complex organisation, bringing strong commercial judgement and a deep understanding of procurement, operating models and delivery at scale.
A demonstrated track record of driving organisational effectiveness and productivity through periods of significant change, translating strategy into execution across multi‑year, high‑risk environments.
Strong grounding in corporate finance, governance and assurance, including financial strategy, planning and control, risk management, systems oversight, statutory reporting and accountability, combined with the pragmatism to apply these disciplines in a way that enables agility, efficiency, pace and delivery.
Experience operating as a trusted board‑level adviser and enterprise leader, able to integrate financial insight with commercial and operational decision‑making in complex environments; able to win the confidence of senior stakeholders internally and externally.
Evidence of using commercial and financial levers to unlock performance, challenge established assumptions and improve value for money and delivery confidence across a diverse range of complex portfolios.
Experience of engaging with private capital, financial institutions or investment communities to structure, assess or deliver innovative funding solutions and the judgement to apply this experience effectively within complex regulatory and public‑interest environments.

Personal Attributes

An enterprise‑minded, big‑picture leader with strong strategic judgement and the ability to connect finance, operations and purpose.
Commercially astute, intellectually curious and pragmatic, with the confidence to challenge convention, think differently about resources and act as a catalyst for intelligent change.
Resilient, determined and adaptable, comfortable leading senior teams through complexity, scrutiny and constraint while maintaining momentum, credibility and calm authority.

Please note, this post is only available to Sole UK Nationals

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £225,000, Ministry of Defence contributes £65,182 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 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

To apply, please submit the following information tohttps://www.gatenbysanderson.com/job/GSe132504

by no later than 23:55 on 14 June 2026;

Your CV, with educational and professional qualifications and full employment history, including an explanation of any gaps in your employment history, and details, where possible, of budgets and numbers of people for which you have been responsible;

A supporting statement (no more than 2 pages) outlining how you consider your personal skills, leadership attributes, qualities and experience match the essential criteria outlined in the Person Specification. Applications that exceed the page limit or that are submitted without a supporting statement will not be considered. For assistance with your supporting statement, please reach out to GatenbySanderson;

A diversity monitoring form (provided upon application);

A declaration of interest form (provided upon application).

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 4 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (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

Open to UK nationals only.

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

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Salary range

£225,000 - £250,000 per year