Qualified Accountant - Government Finance Function

Job summary

Use your accountancy qualification to influence decisions that affect millions of people and how billions of pounds of public money are spent.

If you are a talented and ambitious qualified accountant looking for an exciting opportunity to progress your career, the Government Finance Function is looking for people like you!

The Government Finance Function (GFF) is a far-reaching, diverse community that brings together finance professionals throughout government with a wide range of different roles and specialisms to get involved in and where everyone benefits from shared resources, development opportunities, expertise, and values.

We are recruiting on behalf of multiple government organisations who are looking for dynamic and ambitious qualified accountants to support their work. You will not only join a government organisation, but you will also join a professional community of over 10,000 finance professionals across the whole of government.

This is an opportunity to progress your financial career in a supportive and professional community, where the work you do has a clear impact on communities across the UK and delivers for the UK internationally.

Roles available include:

• Finance Business Partner: As a Finance Business Partner, you will provide strategic financial insight and analysis to support decision-making across your organisation.
• Financial Accounting and Reporting: Your focus in this role will be delivering core financial controls and providing technical accounting advice. You will play a critical part in maintaining the integrity of the organisation’s financial statements.

Job description

As a qualified accountant in the GFF, you will have the opportunity to work on exciting projects, to make sure that taxpayer money is always spent effectively and meaningfully. And we do that in lots of different ways: through strategy work, complex financial analysis, and budget-planning. Qualified accountants work at the heart of government, working to reduce public debt, building strategies for the UK’s future, dealing with complex accounts and unique transactions, and crunching numbers to achieve the most cost-efficient outcome.

You will be an excellent communicator who is confident explaining complex financial concepts clearly to key stakeholders, providing technical accounting advice, ensuring that finance is at the heart of government decision-making. Because that’s how we achieve better outcomes for communities right across the UK.

As a qualified accountant, you will analyse complex financial data, identify trends and provide strategic financial insight to support the organisation. Qualified accountants in the GFF with big budgets, in big ways. Everything’s rooted in real life. There are people behind our numbers. And we use our skills every day to achieve good and worthwhile outcomes, helping the public and bringing about positive change in society.

To find out more about the Government Finance Function check out our careers website: www.financecareers.civilservice.gov.uk

Person specification

We are looking for candidates who can demonstrate the following criteria:

EssentialCriteria

• Finance qualified with CCAB, CIMA or an equivalent professional accountancy qualification and to hold full membership of that body (CCAB bodies include ACCA, CIPFA, ICAEW, ICAS and Chartered Accountants Ireland).
• Ability to analyse, manage and present complex financial data with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail, identifying trends and providing evidence-based insights to support decision making.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, to effectively build relationships with key stakeholders, and explain complex financial concepts in a clear and concise manner.
• Able to plan and deliver work effectively, managing multiple priorities and deadlines, collaborating across teams, and driving improvements and efficiencies.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience applying professional accountancy standards and controls within a large or complex organisation.

Candidate Drop-in Sessions

We will be running two online candidate drop-in sessions.

These are opportunities for you to meet representatives of the GFF Resourcing team and the finance teams at the hiring departments and to ask any questions you may have.

Tuesday 10 March 2026 at 17:00 – 17:45 – Click here to join

Wednesday 18 March 2026 at 13:00 – 13:45 – Click here to join

Qualifications

CIMA or CCAB qualification (CCAB bodies include ACCA,CIPFA, ICAEW, ICAS and Chartered Accountants Ireland).

Memberships

CIMA or CCAB membership

Technical skills

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

• You will be required to provide a presentation at interview, details of which will be sent with the interview details if successful at sift selection stage.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £45,076, HM Treasury contributes £13,058 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Benefits

Life in the GFF is all about balance. It’s about having challenge in your remit and enjoying a culture of care. It’s about having flexibility in your hours, and ambition in your goals. It’s about feeling the value of your ideas, and the sense of purpose in what we can all achieve together. And it’s about being part of a big community, without ever feeling like just a number. Here are some of the top reasons why joining us is a great idea:

• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%
• Training and professional development opportunities, with dedicated time to focus on them
• Generous annual leave package of 25 days’ annual leave with the opportunity to progress to 30 days’ annual leave after a period of service (in line with the policy of the recruiting department). Plus, public holidays and the King’s birthday too
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, compressed hours)
• Generous parental and adoption leave package
• A range of active and engaged staff networks, based around interests and diversity
• As well as a competitive salary, you’ll have access to a range of financial and lifestyle benefits.

Flexible Working Opportunities

The GFF views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they can enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All members of our community have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including; part-time, compressed hours and job sharing. Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees the flexibility to adjust their working patterns throughout the week which is subject to operational needs and line management approval.

In the GFF, we have an incredibly broad remit; our work touches every citizen of the country. So, it’s important members of our GFF community come from the widest possible range of backgrounds, bringing us the widest possible range of perspectives and ways of thinking. We are committed to ensuring that all staff can realise their potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

There is an office based working approach across all sites and along with the rest of the Civil Service, there is an expectation of a minimum of 60% attendance in the office, along with working remotely. This blended working approach allows you to work collaboratively, meet stakeholders face to face, support others and promotes a healthy work life balance (please be aware that these roles can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for hybrid working. Similarly, hybrid working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

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 Experience and Technical skills.

To apply for a role, you will need to submit the following as part of the application stage:

• A CV section in the applicationformwhere you will set out your career history, key responsibilities, achievements and qualifications. This should not include any personal details so ask that you do not include your name, address, social media information or phone number. We recognise that people take breaks from work or education for many reasons, please briefly explain any gaps within the last two years. You’ll be asked to enter these details directly into the application form, rather than uploading your CV as an attachment.
• A statement of suitability (500-words) where you should explain how your experience, skills and qualities you have demonstrated previously provide evidence of your suitability for the role. Use clear, real examples from any sector (public, private or voluntary) that demonstrate how you meet the essential and desirable criteria.
• You will also be asked to attach proof of your CIMA or CCAB membership and qualification.

Interview

Panel interviews will test your experience and technical knowledge. They will be conducted virtually and will include a presentation at the beginning of the interview. If you are shortlisted, you will be informed of these details ahead of your interview.

Candidate Support

Details of the assessment process and tips on how to prepare are included in the Candidate Application and Interview Support pack attached to this advert.

We will also be running two online candidate support sessions with the GFF Resourcing team. These will focus on the application and selection process, sharing tips and insights:

Wednesday 04 March 2026 at 17:00 - 17:45 – Click here to join

Thursday 12 March 2026 at 13:00 - 13:45 – Click here to join

Recruitment Timeline

• Closing date: Tuesday 24 March 2026 at 23:55
• Shortlisting: Week commencing 06 and 13 April 2026
• Interviews: Week commencing 04 and 11 May 2026
• Matching process and outcomes: Week commencing 18 and 25 May 2026

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline.

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile.

Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.

We are unable to offer visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign.

Matching

If your application is successful, you will receive an offer of appointment. Once all offers have been made, we will then allocate successful candidates to specific posts with the aim of matching your stated location preferences as far as possible.

As more than one location has been advertised, allocation will be made in merit order, taking into account the first preferred location stated on your application form and the roles available at the time of allocation.

Please note that we will not be operating a reserve list for this campaign, and candidates will not be placed on a waiting list for future vacancies. We would also still encourage you to apply for other GFF opportunities that you are interested in.

Eligibility Statement

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Checks will be performed as part of pre-employment checks in line with this.

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, some individuals appointed will be subject to National Security Vetting. Some roles will require candidates to have clearance before starting in role Counter Terrorist Check (CTC).

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 counter-terrorist 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 : Government Finance Function Resourcing Team
• Email : people@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : s5menurecruitmentgrs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Attachments

Qualified Accountant Candidate Pack (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 1051kB)Candidate Application and Interview Support Opens in new window (pdf, 364kB)