19462 - Senior Accountant Financial Planning and Costing
Please note that applicants from outside 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. Regular travel to London will be expected for this role.
Band: Band B
Location: This position can be based in London or Nationally at any HMCTS regional hub, although regular travel to London is expected.
Salary: London (£35,895 - £46,424), National (£30,229 - £44,312)
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.
Overview
HMCTS is embarking on a period of significant change which will see the organisation transform. Strong leadership is a critical element in this being successful. As a manager within HMCTS the jobholder must provide clear direction and focus, visibly championing the changes which deliver greater efficiencies. The HMCTS Executive Team expects managers in the organisation to operate in a culture of openness and honesty, demonstrating a commitment to change through involvement and empowerment, and by delivering results.
The HMCTS Finance, Governance and Performance function will have a pivotal role in supporting senior stakeholders and their teams through the change, with the right strategy to build the necessary organisational capability and to realise the benefits needed.
Main purpose of the role:
As a Senior Accountant in HMCTS your role is to protect value, drive value and add value.
You will assume responsibility for producing the HMCTS forward-looking financial, cost and pricing plans ensuring that these align with the organisation’s objectives and support the overarching business strategy and business plan. You will build robust financial models and costing/pricing tools for producing the organisation’s financial plans, ensuring that these influence the development of MoJ financial planning models and processes. You will develop a comprehensive understanding of organisational cost drivers and build financial reports that provide senior management with a view of the true costs of delivering key services and work streams.
You will provide effective, active and dynamic leadership, communicating objectives, plans and priorities with clarity, conviction and enthusiasm. You will become involved in national initiatives that continue to develop the finance function with regard to delivering accounting services and improving management information and where appropriate you will ensure compliance with CPD requirements, and keep up to date with accounting developments.
Key Responsibilities
- You will produce high-level financial planning and costing information and reports for review by members of the HMCTS Board and other relevant stakeholders (such as members of MoJ Departmental executive forums).
- You will build active partnerships with senior members of MoJ finance teams to ensure the MoJ/HM Treasury delegation process is well informed by HMCTS financial objectives, strategies and issues.
- You will play an active role, alongside the Head of Financial, Cost and Pricing Planning, in influencing senior MoJ stakeholders including finance executives, policy development leads, senior economists and judicial representatives to ensure that wider MoJ financial plans reflect HMCTS business strategies.
- You will provide financial planning expertise on ad-hoc projects (such as cross-Departmental savings initiatives), to ensure forward-looking forecasts are valid and achievable.
- You will develop good working relations with senior operational delivery colleagues (such as Delivery Directors and Cluster Managers) and provide close support to regional delivery teams and other elements of the Finance Directorate to drive financial best-practice against appropriate benchmarks.
- You will identify opportunities for improvements to the financial, cost and pricing planning processes in line with Continuous Improvement principles and assist with their implementation organisation wide.
- You will assume responsibility for developing robust costing tools that are capable of modelling impacts of changes to key cost drivers.
- You will liaise closely with HQ Directorates and Regional Delivery units to build a solid financial understanding of business change proposals and ensure the financial impacts of these are accurately reflected in the financial, cost and pricing planning models.
- You will own responsibility for developing and improving the HMCTS Resource Allocation Model (RAM) ensuring that this aligns with up-to-date workforce forecasts and costing models.
- You will prepare detailed reports for review by senior finance colleagues that closely link financial information and performance data to better inform changes to resource allocations.
- You will provide expert oversight on key inputs to the financial and costing plans ensuring that the assumptions behind these are valid and align with Value for Money (VfM) principles.
- You will actively monitor and report progress against VfM delivery targets; and
- You will critically assess benefits and savings assumptions built in to the organisation’s financial plans and ensure these are supported by realistic plans and assumptions.
- You will coach, inspire, motivate and seek development opportunities for staff;
- You will build and develop new teams to work together and continually look to improve performance.
- You will manage attendance and actively tackle poor performance.
- You will 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.
Key Skills
- CCAB, or equivalent, qualified (or with considerable financial/ commercial experience and the ability to gain formal CCAB qualifications within a reasonable time).
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders.
- Exceptional written and verbal skills.
- Ability to work in a culture of change and work with risk.
- Adaptable and willing to review role and priorities with senior management team to meet the current and future needs of the organisation.
Key Civil Service Competencies (See Competency Framework)
You will be required to provide evidence of the following key competencies at Level 3.
Delivering Value for Money
- Recommend actions to achieve value for money and efficiency
- Cultivate and encourage an awareness of cost, using clear simple examples of benefits and how to measure outcomes
- Work confidently with performance management and financial data to prepare forecasts and manage and monitor budget against agreed plans
- Follow appropriate financial procedures to monitor contracts to ensure deliverables are achieved
- Monitor the use of resources in line with organisational procedures and plans and hold team to account
Changing and 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
- Be prepared to take managed risks, ensuring these are planned and their impact assessed
- Actively encourage ideas from a wide range of sources and stakeholders and use these to inform own thinking
- Be willing to meet the challenges of difficult or complex changes, encouraging and supporting others to do the same
- Prepare for and respond appropriately to the range of possible effects that change may have on own role/team
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 in a succinct, engaging manner and stand ground when needed
- Communicate using appropriate styles, methods and timing, including digital channels, to maximise understanding and impact
- Promote the work of the Department and play an active part in supporting the Civil Service values and culture
- Convey enthusiasm and energy about their work and encourage others to do the same
Collaborating and 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
- Actively seek input from a diverse range of people
- Readily share resources to support higher priority work, showing pragmatism and support for the shared goals of the organisation
- Deal with conflict in a prompt, calm and constructive manner
- Encourage collaborative team working within own team and across the Department
Achieving Commercial Outcomes
- Consider, in consultation with commercial experts, alternative ways of working with partners and contractors to identify more efficient outcomes, balancing cost, quality and turn around times
- Work with commercial experts in engaging effectively and intelligently with delivery partners in order to define and/or improve service delivery
- Gather and use evidence to assess the costs, benefits and risks of a wide range of delivery options when making commercial decisions
- Identify and understand relevant legal and commercial terms, concepts, policies and processes (including project approvals and assurance procedures) to deliver agreed outcomes
Managing a Quality Service
- Make effective use of project management skills and techniques to deliver outcomes, including identifying risks and mitigating actions
- Develop, implement, maintain and review systems and service standards to provide quality, efficiency and value for money
- Work with team to set priorities, goals, objectives and timescales
- Establish mechanisms to seek out and respond to feedback from customers about service provided
- Promote a culture that tackles fraud and deception, keeping others informed of outcomes
- Develop proposals to improve the quality of service with involvement from a diverse range of staff, stakeholders or delivery partners
If you are a Finance Professional, the following competency also applies:
Professional/Specialist Skill
- A recognised finance qualification or part-qualification of an IFAC (International Federation of Accountants) member body (e.g. ICAEW, ICAS, ICAI, CIMA, ACCA or CIPFA); or no formal finance qualification but considerable financial/ commercial experience and the ability to gain formal CCAB qualifications within a reasonable time
- Excellent practical understanding of Oracle financial systems and related reporting products
- Excellent financial analysis skills and an advanced knowledge of Excel (to include key financial modelling functions)
- Experience of being able to build complex financial models that integrate financial and non-financial information from varied sources
- Detailed understanding of cost and income issues affecting budget management within tribunals or courts
- Track record for producing reliable and accurate forecasts and other financial reports to tight and shifting deadlines
- Ability to communicate complex financial issues to non-finance staff in a way that is clear and concise
- Knowledge and understanding of up-to-date International Accounting Standards (IASs)
Working Arrangements & Further Information
Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.
Flexible working hours
The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices.
Benefits
The MoJ offers a range of benefits:
Annual Leave
Generous allowances for paid holiday starting at 25 days per year, and rising as your service increases. There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.
Pension
The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.
Training
The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.
Support
- A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
- Access to flexible benefits such as salary sacrifice arrangements for childcare vouchers, and voluntary benefits such as retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
- Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
- Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.
Networks
The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code 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.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity.
There is a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
18/07/2018, 23:55 hours.
Closing Date: 18th July 2018 at 23:55 hours
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.
To apply for roles in MOJ you will need to confirm your employment history for at least 3 years prior to the date of application so that pre-employment checks (BPSS) can be undertaken. If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3 years) you would be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why.
For some roles you will be required to successfully complete National Security Vetting at Counter Terrorism (CTC), Security Clearance (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV) level as a condition of appointment. To meet CTC/SC/DV requirements you will normally need to have been resident in the UK for at least 3/5/10 years prior to the date of application (The level of checks that are required are stated in the advert).
If you do not meet the above requirements, you may still be considered if, for example:
- You've been serving overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of HM Government
- You were studying abroad
- You were living overseas with parents
In such cases you will need to be able to provide referee cover for the period(s) of residence overseas. The duration of overseas residence and the country of abode will also be taken into account.
Candidate Information
You may be required to provide statements describing your skills and experience relevant to each of the selection criteria. We recommend that you structure any examples as Situation, Task, Action and Result. For more information about the recruitment process and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.
Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ
In the event of a large number of applications, we reserve the right to undertake the following processes:
- An automated online test where a benchmark must be passed to progress;
- A sift on the lead selection criteria. If this happens, the lead criteria will be the first one listed in the advert.
During the selection process, you may be asked to undertake an additional assessment (such as written test). If this is applicable you will be notified of this when you are invited to interview.
• Excellent practical understanding of Oracle financial systems and related reporting products
• Excellent financial analysis skills and an advanced knowledge of Excel (to include key financial modelling functions)
• Experience of being able to build complex financial models that integrate financial and non-financial information from varied sources
• Detailed understanding of cost and income issues affecting budget management within tribunals or courts
. Track record for producing reliable and accurate forecasts and other financial reports to tight deadlines
. Ability to communicate complex financial issues to non-finance staff in a way that is clear and concise
. Knowledge and understanding of up-to-date Accounting Standards (IASs)
We have provided detail of the assessment stages and areas being assessed to help you prepare for completing your application form, and to advise of what will be assessed following this, if you successfully pass the application stage.
Application form stage assessments
Interview stage assessments
A Great Place to Work for Veterans
The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans
Redeployment Interview Scheme
Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.
MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.
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) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families
· 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) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules
This Vacancy is closed to applications.