Finance, Business Support and Governance Lead

Job summary

This role provides leadership to OSBC’s finance, business support and governance functions, ensuring strong financial management, effective corporate support and robust assurance across the organisation. The postholder will oversee budgets, grant-in-aid, financial reporting and the production of the Annual Report and Accounts, while leading engagement with internal and external audit and strengthening risk management and assurance controls.

The role helps ensure OSBC operates efficiently, meets its statutory and corporate responsibilities, and provides high-quality support to the Small Business Commissioner and senior leadership team. Working closely with the DBT sponsorship team, finance and corporate service partners, the postholder will build and manage strong relationships, drive continuous improvement and support resilient delivery across OSBC in line with wider business priorities.

Job description

Financial Management:

• Lead the OSBC finance team, ensuring effective financial management, timely transaction processing and delivery of audit actions.

• Manage OSBC programme budgets against forecasts and spend, prepare grant-in-aid claims for DBT approval, complete monthly drawdowns and produce annual accrual reports.

• Review and approve UKSBS monthly recharges, ensuring costs are accurate, correctly allocated and aligned with OSBC budgets and recorded spend.

• Prepare financial reports and management information to support decision-making across OSBC.

• Manage finance and resourcing commissions from DBT and the Cabinet Office.

• Provide financial data and information to support DBT, FOI and PQ responses.

Business Support:

• Lead the OSBC Business Support team, ensuring the office operates efficiently, compliantly and in line with organisational priorities and DBT sponsorship requirements.

• Oversee delivery of core business support services across OSBC, including governance, board planning, procurement support, reporting, correspondence handling and office and estates management.

• Act as the lead business support adviser to the Small Business Commissioner, Chief of Staff and senior leadership team, ensuring they are well supported to focus on strategic priorities, statutory responsibilities and business-critical delivery.

• Work closely with DBT sponsorship, corporate service partners and internal colleagues to manage shared responsibilities, maintain effective business continuity and support delivery across OSBC’s corporate and finance functions.

Internal and External Audit and Risk Management:

• Lead OSBC finance and business support teams to ensure audit readiness and effective management of financial and non-financial data and risks.

• Work with OSBC colleagues, external stakeholders at DBT, GIAA and NAO to produce and deliver against timely audit delivery plans.

• Coordinate GIAA and NAO audit responses and support the collation of supporting evidence and documentation.

• Lead the production and publication of the OSBC Annual Report and Accounts, working with OSBC, DBT finance and management accounts colleagues through to ministerial and parliamentary sign-off. Adhering to HM Treasury guidance and the Financial Reporting Manual (FReM)

• Manage and report on OSBC’s local and strategic risks, strengthening the organisation’s risk approach and threat assessment.

• Act promptly on audit recommendations to strengthen future delivery.

Person specification

Essential Skills:

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage.

• Experience of managing and monitoring budgets, forecasts and expenditure.

• Ability to understand public sector finance and assurance requirements.

• Ability to managing public sector procurement requirements and processes.

• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build credibility and influence senior colleagues and external partners.

• Experience of producing high-quality reports, briefings and submissions accurately and to deadline.

• Experience of working in a governance environment and applying statutory, departmental and corporate requirements proportionately.

Desirable skills:

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates.

• Experience of drafting annual reports and applying FReM guidance in practice.

• Advanced/ intermediate Excel skills and experience in using Oracle based finance systems.

• High attention to detail, with the ability to work accurately to deadlines while remaining calm and focused.

• Ability to work at pace and manage competing priorities under pressure.

• Strong presentation and communication skills.

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,511, Department for Business and Trade contributes £16,660 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).

• 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%

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fullycommitted to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attractapplications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

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 and Experience.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

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