Principal Financial Supervisor

Job summary

Ofgem is at the forefront of the fight to strengthen the financial resilience of the energy sector, combating market instability and helping protect consumers from the impacts of supplier failure and global price volatility. We’re looking for a Principal Financial Supervisor to join us and play a leading role in shaping a more resilient, sustainable and secure retail energy market.

Ofgem is Great Britain’s independent energy regulator. We’re at the delivering positive changes across the energy sector, driving toward Net Zero whilst protecting energy consumers, especially vulnerable people.

We’re offering a permanent opportunity with the chance to influence some of the most significant financial resilience challenges facing the energy sector today. This is a highly visible and strategically important role operating at the centre of regulatory supervision, where your expertise will help shape how Ofgem responds to evolving market risks and strengthens confidence across the industry. You’ll contribute to work that supports a resilient, investable and competitive market capable of delivering long-term benefits for consumers.

This role offers exposure to complex and high-profile issues across the energy landscape, with the opportunity to engage directly with senior industry stakeholders and influence critical decisions. Working within a collaborative and forward-looking environment, you’ll help drive proactive approaches to resilience, risk management and regulatory oversight during a period of significant sector transformation.

You’ll be part of a dynamic and supportive directorate that values strategic thinking, sound judgement and constructive challenge. The role combines leadership, analysis and stakeholder engagement, giving you the opportunity to lead our delivery of both firm-level supervision and wider market resilience priorities.

We’re looking for someone with a strong background in finance, insolvency, risk management, corporate finance or financial supervision, alongside the ability to analyse complex issues, operate with autonomy and influence senior stakeholders effectively. You’ll bring excellent judgement, strategic thinking and the confidence to navigate ambiguity within a fast-paced regulatory environment.

In return, you’ll join an inclusive and purpose-driven organisation that offers hybrid working and the opportunity to work alongside highly experienced colleagues across regulation, policy and analysis.

We have a critical purpose to strengthen financial resilience across the retail energy market. Join us to help combat instability, reduce the risks and costs of supplier failure, and support a more secure, sustainable and consumer-focused energy system.

Read on and find out more.

Job description

Key Responsibilities and Outputs

• Identifying risks to financial resilience and proactively drive regulatory response.
• Using data for strategic planning – the process of developing and managing a range of options and decisions that aligns with Ofgem’s priorities.
• Acting as lead supervisor or deputy lead for a portfolio of Ofgem‑regulated suppliers, developing and delivering the supervisory strategy for your assigned supply licensees throughout the year. You will lead and attend meetings with the firm, including with key Executives, Board members and Regulatory Managers.
• Supporting oversight of the portfolio of FRC supply licensees in aggregate, along with other senior leaders in the FRC Directorate.
• Identifying emerging financial resilience risks and systemic themes across firms, applying expert judgement to determine materiality of risks and appropriate supervisory responses.
• Supporting or leading decisions on intensification of supervision where firms deteriorate including SoLR and SAR.
• Leading senior‑level engagement with firms, deliver robust technical and financial challenge, especially on capital adequacy, liquidity and governance, influencing firm behaviour to remediate weaknesses before defaulting to formal enforcement.
• Leading the preparation of high quality documentation of all analysis and decisions and presenting confidently to Ofgem senior stakeholders and external HMG stakeholders, communicating complex information to a wide range of stakeholders along with an ability to articulate key findings.
• Scoping projects to ensure timely delivery of clear aims, coordinating closely with colleagues across the directorate to understand the impact of your work in terms of resource and output.
• Operating with significant autonomy, demonstrating critical thinking and a strategic approach. Assessing and managing risks.
• Bringing experience in governance and leadership, with an ability to proactively prioritise, plan and schedule complex tasks, solve problems, and deliver high quality outputs under time pressure.
• Developing professional competence in others. Building capability in the team by driving continuous improvement of our processes and practices, identifying, and embracing opportunities for change, and championing these across the team. Managing a team.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• A proven background in finance, insolvency, risk management, corporate finance or financial supervision, demonstrated by a record of high performance and substantial achievements in past positions. (Lead criteria)
• Leading firm-level supervision and/or major risk workstreams. Ability to operate in ambiguity and using judgement rather than rules. (Lead criteria)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills that effectively communicate complex issues to non-expert audiences.
• Analytical, with the ability to interrogate and analyse qualitative and quantitative data and evidence to arrive at conclusions and recommendations to mitigate risks.
• Experience of interpreting and applying complex legislation, regulation, rules and processes to deliver effective compliance.
• Ability to build effective relationships and successfully influence challenging external stakeholders.

Desirable Criteria

• An understanding of market dynamics and credit risk, ideally within the setting of a regulated and/or commodities market.

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• You will be asked to complete a presentation at interview. Full details of the presentation will be included in your invitation to interview.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £63,443, OFGEM contributes £18,379 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; 30 days annual leave after 2 years; Excellent training and development opportunities; The opportunity to join the generous Civil Service pension which also includes a valuable range of benefits; hybrid working (currently 1 day a week in the office but this is kept under review), flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Plus lots of other benefits including clean and bright offices based centrally, engaged networks and teams and an opportunity to contribute to our ambitious and important targets of establishing a Net Zero energy system by 2050. This exciting blend of professional challenge and personal reward identifies career opportunities at Ofgem as something to get excited about.

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.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel) and attach a copy of your CV anonymising all personal details where possible such as name/age/contact details. Please do not remove names of previous employers.

You will then be asked to provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable criteria listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the criteria listed in the role profile. In the event of receiving a large number of applications an initial sift may take place on just the identified lead criteria indicated in the essential criteria.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview where they will be assessed using behaviours-based questions and a selection of experience-based questions specific to the role. A second-stage interview may also be required when two or more candidates are closely matched.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by [https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn].

At Ofgem, we expect our staff to carry out their roles with honesty, fairness and openness. They should follow the Civil Service code and be free from any influence or bias. We are committed to making sure interests are recognised, declared and managed appropriately so that we can fulfil our duties as an energy regulator. Our Conflicts of Interest policy outlines the types of interests Ofgem staff must declare before onboarding, and the rules they must follow throughout employment so that we can clearly demonstrate that our decisions are not influenced by private interests.

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 : Lewis Buckley
• Email : recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of these Recruitment Principles.

In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk. If 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 website.

Attachments

Principal Financial Supervisor, Role Profile Opens in new window (pdf, 134kB)Principal Financial Supervisor, Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 720kB)Terms and Conditions April 2025 Opens in new window (pdf, 366kB)