19396 - Assistant Finance Business Partner (AFBP)

Please note that applicants from outside of the Civil Service, if successful, will start with a salary corresponding to the bottom of the band. Additionally, any relevant professional qualifications and/or memberships will be factored into salary discussions.

Background

Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunals Service is an agency of the MoJ and provides the supporting administration for the judiciary across England and Wales.  It delivers services to the public directly in court and tribunal buildings, remotely via business centres and some limited services via the internet.

There are high expectations of all staff regardless of the job they do and good performance is expected from everybody. The organisation is continuously adopting new or better ways of working to ensure that it focuses on just that which is essential.

HMCTS has a once in a generation opportunity to transform the entire Courts and Tribunals Service through the HMCTS Reform Programme, enhancing the provision of a world-class justice system, in a manner that provides an improved user experience at reduced cost to the taxpayer. This will contribute to consolidating the UK’s position at the forefront of an increasingly competitive international legal market as well as ensuring access to justice for all.

The programme includes modernising the court estate, updating and replacing its technology, speeding up and streamlining working practices, refurbishing buildings to reduce maintenance costs and provide much improved services for service users, especially vulnerable witnesses and victims. Effective staff engagement at this time of such significant change will be critical to success; maintaining a positive and lasting connection between HMCTS management and its staff.

An effective courts and tribunals service is fundamental to our democracy, underpinning the rule of law. This is an opportunity to work in a role that will support and enable a major transformation programme, designed not just to give our courts and tribunals a sustainable and affordable future, but improve how we deliver justice.

Overview

HMCTS is a continually changing organisation. Strong leadership is a critical element in this being successful. As a leader and manager within HMCTS the jobholder must provide clear direction and focus and visibly championing the changes which deliver greater efficiencies. HMCTS Senior Management Team expects all leaders to operate in a culture of openness and honesty, demonstrating a commitment to change through involvement and empowerment, and by delivering results.

The key purpose of the role:

This role is central to the relationship between an individual business area and the finance function. You will use your strong technical and influencing skills and sound understanding of the HMCTS business area to provide advice, challenge and scrutiny to senior colleagues. You will ensure that budgets are well constructed, managed and monitored and support senior managers in the production and assurance of business cases and plans to deliver improved performance, reduced risk and better value for money.

Your technical knowledge and ability to work constructively with senior teams will make you a valued contributor to the decision-making process and a champion for change within your business, its external relationships and in wider government projects. This post holder will need to establish and develop effective working relationships with many stakeholders, including Directors, Deputy Directors, Programme Leads and Senior Managers. You will also deputise, where required, for the Senior Finance Business Partner or Finance Business Partner.

Key Responsibilities

• Developing a deep knowledge of diverse business areas, their needs and priorities, looking at the bigger picture to make sure that the business understands the financial implications of decisions and available choices.  
• Acting in an intelligent customer role to actively work with the business to understand cost drivers and performance priorities and interpret financial implications of decisions
• Providing analysis to support decision making and using benchmarking to highlight opportunities and add value.
• Building, maintaining and influencing strong relationships with key stakeholders and budget holders, acting as the link with colleagues in the Centres of Expertise, ensuring that variances, forecasts and planning assumptions are reported and understood.
• Responsible for ensuring a strong partnership exists with key stakeholders to support organisational performance and delivery of plans.
• Identify and analyse areas of costs to the business on a regular basis, providing options to FBPs for review
• Identifying sustainable cost savings targets and initiatives as part of the business planning cycle, along with understanding and articulating the impact of reforms and their ultimate effect on the business.
• Supporting the financial analysis of business areas to prepare for Spending Reviews, risk management and business planning processes.
• Supporting on the construction of business cases through financial challenge and the identification of commercial implications of options considered. 
• Ensuring that the leaders of HMCTS can make decisions based on accurate financial information, by bringing business intelligence and operational knowledge to budget setting, forecasting and financial reporting.
• Assessing accounting implications and providing accounting advice in accordance with international financial reporting standards and central government accounting rules.
• Building financial and commercial awareness of non-finance staff within the business.
  

Other duties

The post holder is required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this post. This may also include working closely with other AFBPs to develop solutions/problem-solve, engaging in project work to drive finance reform improvements.

Qualifications

CCAB, or equivalent, qualified (or with considerable financial/commercial experience and/or the ability to gain formal CCAB qualifications within a reasonable time.)

Essential Skills & Experience 

• A minimum of four years’ experience in a finance or strategy role.
• Strong Excel and data analysis skills combined with a clear understanding of how this should be applied for the benefit of the organisation.
• Knowledge of government finance and the operation of fiscal events
• Well-developed communication, presentation and relationship management skills including an ability to engage effectively with multidisciplinary teams.
• A high level of competence in budget management, planning, forecasting and risk identification combined with excellent problem-solving skills.
• Excellent technical accounting skills across a wide range of financial disciplines and a proven ability to apply them effectively.
• High degree of credibility with senior colleagues and stakeholders and the ability to influence decision-making.
• The ability to analyse and communicate complex financial information in a clear and understandable way.

Key Civil Service Competencies (See Competency Framework)

You will be required to provide evidence of the following key competencies at Level 3.

Collaborating & Partnering

• Establish relationships with a range of stakeholders to support delivery of business outcomes;
• Invest time to generate a common focus and genuine team spirit;
• Deal with conflict in a prompt, calm and constructive manner;
• Encourage collaborative team working within own team and across the Department.

Changing & Improving

• Find ways to improve systems and structures to deliver with more streamlined resources;
• Regularly review procedures or systems with teams to identify improvements and simplify processes and decision making;
• Actively encourage ideas from a wide range of sources and stakeholders and use these to inform own thinking;

Leading and Communicating

• Take opportunities to regularly communicate and interact with staff, helping to clarify goals and activities and the links between these and Departmental strategy;
• Recognise, respect and reward the contribution and achievements of others;
• Communicate using appropriate styles, methods and timing, including digital channels, to maximise understanding and impact;
• Convey enthusiasm and energy about their work and encourage others to do the same

Seeing the Big Picture

• Ensure own area/team activities are aligned to Departmental priorities;
• Actively seek out and share experience to develop understanding and knowledge of own work and of team’s business area;
• Seek to understand how the services, activities and strategies in the area work together to create value for the customer/end user.

Making Effective Decisions

• Identify a range of relevant and credible information sources and recognise the need to collect new data when necessary from internal and external sources;
• Recognise patterns and trends in a wide range of evidence/data and draw key conclusions;
• Invite challenge and where appropriate involve others in decision making to help build engagement and present robust recommendations.

Managing a Quality Service

• Develop proposals to improve the quality of service with involvement from a diverse range of staff, stakeholders or delivery partners;
• Develop, implement, maintain and review systems and service standards to provide quality, efficiency and value for money;
• Establish mechanisms to seek out and respond to feedback from customers about service provided.

Closing Date: 18th July 2018 at 23:55

If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@sscl.gse.gov.uk Please quote the job reference 19396.