Head of In Year Management

About the job

Job summary

About the team

The In-year Management (IYM) Team ensures that Defence spends to the budget that it has been allocated. The team manages the Defence Budget (c.£50bn), including monthly forecasting and reporting, providing departmental expertise on budgeting, and coordinating requests for funding through the Main and Supplementary Estimates. The team covers the full spectrum of the UK’s Defence activity from procuring nuclear submarines and combat aircraft to infrastructure and workforce spending.

About the role

This is a key finance role within the Ministry of Defence, offering a broad and stretching remit and a lot of opportunity to grow and develop.

This role is responsible for overseeing the annual Defence budget of over £50bn, including leading discussions with HM Treasury on the Department’s financial position and Estimates process. You will lead a top team, providing financial and budgeting advice to Senior Officials and Ministers.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

• Lead a team that will include 2 SEOs, 3 HEOs and 1 EO; providing direction, prioritisation and supporting individual development.
• Oversee the in-year management reporting for the Department across all Top Level Budgets, Enabling Organisations and ALBs. Review the consolidated financial position including the preparation of the monthly MI pack, highlighting risks and opportunities and working closely with the SFAs to drive improvements in management reporting.
• Oversee external reporting to HM Treasury and other stakeholders such as the Cabinet Office including Supply Estimates, OSCAR Reporting, etc. Overseeing the monthly submission for the HMT OSCAR reporting system, ensuring the reconciliation to the MOD finance system is complete and accurate and relevant adjustments are agreed with DG Finance for the P6 1% accuracy return.
• Manage the Main and Supplementary Estimate process including capturing all Estimate changes (including Operational spending), agreeing budget transfers with other government departments, ministerial submissions, preparation of the HMT submissions and Estimate Memorandums for external publication.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders including HM Treasury, FMPA, DBS, TLBs, supporting cross finance functional working in Head Office and across TLBs.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the HM Treasury Consolidated Budgeting Guidance and ESA requirements, providing clear guidance and advice to TLBs and stakeholders on the budgeting implications of policies, business cases, transactions etc. including leading the engagement with HMT SMEs as required.
• Proactively identifying opportunities to help improve and the successful running of the Department’s finance function.

Person specification

The successful candidate will be:

• A good team leader, fostering a strong team culture that is open and collaborative;
• Able to work independently and proactively on high-profile areas across the Department and lead others to achieve quality and on time delivery of outputs;
• Able to scrutinise and analyse financial data provided by stakeholders on monthly basis, using the Planning Budgeting & Forecasting (PB&F) model to ensure the correct financial position is reported;
• Have a strong understanding of accounting standards and able to lead on the budgetary consequences for MOD.
• Good at building positive relationships with partners in other teams and Departments, and to use those relationships to influence others; and,
• Comfortable and confident in working at pace to manage a full workload with conflicting short and long-term priorities.

Qualifications

L7 Accountancy qualification (CCAB, CIMA or equivalent)

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £59,690, Ministry of Defence contributes £17,292 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%

For further information, and to apply, please visit our website via the “Apply” button below.