Financial Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting (PBF) Change Delivery Lead

Job summary

This is a key role in Defra Group Finance, supporting one of our most significant transformation priorities – delivering a single, consistent approach to planning, budgeting and forecasting (PBF) across Defra and its Arm’s Length Bodies.

As the PBF Change Delivery Lead, you will help turn agreed policy and design into practical delivery. You will work closely with finance teams across the group to develop clear plans, support implementation, and resolve issues so that changes are delivered in a coordinated and proportionate way.

You will play a critical role in connecting strategy with delivery – bringing teams together, supporting shared learning, and ensuring progress is tracked and issues are escalated appropriately.

This role offers exposure to senior leaders across Defra and its Arm’s Length Bodies and would suit someone who is comfortable working in a complex environment, influencing without direct authority, and turning ambition into practical outcomes.

This role is central to ensuring that changes to planning, budgeting and forecasting are delivered in practice, not just designed. By supporting consistent and workable implementation across the Defra Group, you will help improve financial insight, governance and decision‑making at scale.

Job description

As the PBF Change Delivery Lead, you will play a key role in delivering changes to how Defra Group plans, budgets and forecasts. You will work with teams across Defra and its Arm’s Length Bodies to turn agreed policy and design into practical, deliverable activity.

You will act as the link between strategy and delivery – helping ensure that decisions made at senior level are implemented in a consistent and workable way across different organisations, while recognising their different starting points, capacity and governance arrangements.

In this role, you will:

• Develop and maintain clear delivery plans, milestones, action logs and risk and issue trackers for PBF change activity across Defra Group.
• Lead and coordinate a cross-group delivery forum, bringing together Defra and Arm’s Length Body colleagues to share progress, resolve common issues and agree next steps.
• Work with local finance teams to help them translate group-wide PBF requirements into practical implementation plans that fit their context.
• Identify delivery challenges, such as skills gaps, process issues, dependencies or sequencing risks, and work with colleagues to resolve or escalate them.
• Track progress across the group and provide a clear view of delivery confidence, risks, issues and decisions needed.
• Prepare concise advice, briefings and updates for the PBF Process Owner, senior finance leaders and relevant governance forums.

You will work closely with the PBF Process Owner, senior finance leaders, and stakeholders across finance, change and delivery teams.

Person specification

Candidates must be able to demonstrate:

• A strong finance background, with experience of planning, budgeting and forecasting, or closely related financial work.
• Experience of turning complex policy, design or change requirements into practical delivery plans.
• Experience of coordinating delivery across multiple teams or stakeholders, including working across organisational boundaries.
• The ability to influence and work effectively without direct line authority.
• The ability to identify delivery risks, issues and dependencies, and work with others to resolve or escalate them.
• Clear communication skills, including the ability to provide concise updates and advice to senior leaders.

Experience of delivering change involving systems, process improvements or new ways of working.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,375, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £16,331 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Alongside your salary of £56,375, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £16,331 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• 25 days paid leave, in addition to public holidays and the King's Birthday.
• 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

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, Ability and Experience.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, one behaviour, and a Personal Statement. The CV should cover your previous job history and will be assessed against the Essential Skills and Experience in the Person specification.

The Personal Statement should be no more than 750 words and demonstrate how you meet the Essential Skills and Experience criteria outlined in the Person specification.

You will also be required to provide a 250 word statement on the lead behaviour - Delivering at Pace

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Lead Behaviour and Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on the Behaviours outlined.

Your interview will be conducted by video and are expected to last no longer than 60 Minutes.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and pe