Finance Operations Manager

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

1. joining up public sector services
2. harnessing the power of AI for the public good
3. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
4. elevating leadership and investing in talent
5. funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
6. committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need.

Please note

Former DSIT recruitment campaigns are continuing as usual, but candidates should be aware that following the Government’s announcement on the changes to some civil service departments, roles will be subject to the machinery of government moves and will ultimately be in one of the new departments. We will provide more information if you are selected for a role. This work remains of high importance to the civil service, and we thank you for your continued interest.

Job description

This role is within the Programme Team for Gov.UK One Login for Government (About - GOV.UK One Login). The Programme is delivered by a large, multidisciplinary team and is in the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

Our team helps our senior leaders and teams deliver the programme and realise benefits. For example, by leading business cases, PMO services, governance, assurance, reporting, finance, resource management and operations.

Person specification

We are looking for a proactive, organised and analytical Finance Operations Manager to support financial management across the GOV.UK One Login Programme.

This is a hands-on role at the heart of a major government programme. You will help keep financial processes running smoothly, provide accurate management information, and work with colleagues across finance, delivery, commercial and operations.

The role is rooted in finance operations and financial reporting.

In this role, you will:

• Work with internal teams, senior leaders, external suppliers and other government departments to support effective financial management.
  
• Support spending requests and governance and assurance activity for projects.
  
• Manage key purchase-to-pay activity, including spend approvals, purchase orders, supplier payments, cost recovery and invoice resolution.
  
• Help keep financial processes efficient, well-controlled and easy for colleagues to use.
  
• Contribute to finance activity linked to contracts and memoranda of understanding with wider government (MoU’s), working with colleagues across finance, delivery and commercial.
  
• Produce forecasts, track spend against budget and support reporting on the programme’s financial position.
  
• Compile, check and analyse financial data, ensuring it is accurate, clear and suitable for reporting, audit and assurance.
  
• Use data and analysis to resolve queries, support decision-making and provide assurance to senior managers.

Essential Criteria

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate the following:

• Ability to work with data, including checking, analysing and using it to support reporting and/or decision-making.
  
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality work at pace.
  
• Ability to build effective working relationships and explain information clearly to different audiences.
  
• Ability to identify issues in data or processes and help improve the way work is done.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of working in finance; procurement, contract or supplier management; grant management; and/or project delivery.
  
• Holds a relevant Level 4 qualification with AAT, CCAB or CIMA, or equivalent, or is working towards qualification.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,735, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £10,642 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).

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.

Office attendance

The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.

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