Deputy Director Government Financial Reporting

Job summary

Working at HM Treasury puts you at the heart of government, making a difference to the UK economy and ultimately to people’s lives right across the UK.

Jobs at the Treasury are fast-paced, fun and can offer unparalleled perspective – not least the opportunity to advise Ministers on the decisions which directly determine the UK’s prosperity. Deep in our DNA is a commitment to empowering our people: maximising individual and collective impact, with interesting work no matter your role or seniority.

Day-to-day you could be supporting Ministers to decide the right level of a specific tax or line of government spending; helping maintain the stability of financial markets; analysing the long-term trends impacting the future of the economy; or enabling this work as part of our vital corporate functions.

We are a high-performing department and proud to have outstanding staff from a wide range of backgrounds. We are also a friendly, inclusive and sociable workplace that prides itself on fostering great team spirit. Our two largest offices are 1 Horse Guards Road in London, opposite St James’ Park, and the Darlington Economic Campus, which also contains eight other departments. We work seamlessly across all our sites, including Norwich, Birmingham and Leeds, as one Treasury.

We are both a 1,000-year-old institution and dynamic, forward-looking economics and finance ministry, with a strong direction set by our organisational strategy, the Future Treasury Vision. The 21st century offers huge opportunities and poses new challenges for the UK. Working at the Treasury is your chance to help the country chart the right course.

Job description

This is a varied and influential leadership role at the heart of government finance, responsible for ensuring the effective reporting, transparency and accountability of the UK's public sector finances. Leading work across financial reporting policy, Whole of Government Accounts, parliamentary reporting and public expenditure analysis, the postholder will work closely with senior leaders across government and beyond to provide high-quality financial insight, support decision-making and drive continuous improvement across the government finance system. The role would suit a leader with strong technical financial expertise, excellent judgement and the ability to influence across complex organisations, helping to strengthen financial management, transparency and trust in the stewardship of public money.

1. Build, develop and empower a high-quality team of specialist and generalist staff to provide authoritative advice and support to Treasury teams, Ministers and departments in a way that is simple, practical and cuts through complex issues.
2. Play an active role in the wider leadership of the Public Spending Group, the corporate leadership of Treasury, and the Government Finance Function. Help to craft and deliver the broader agenda for the Group’s and the Government Finance Function.
3. Oversee delivery of Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) and provide support to the Director General, Public Spending, to enable them to sign off the accounts as Accounting Officer. Support the WGA recovery strategy to return the publication to pre-COVID timescales, and continue to develop the product to meet the needs of users.
4. Set and maintain high standards for central government financial reporting and budgeting, through the Financial Reporting Manual and the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance.
5. Support departments in implementing recommended practice in financial reporting and sustainability reporting by working with the Financial Reporting Advisory Board (FRAB) and its sub committees to drive high quality, timely financial and non financial reporting.
6. As a member of FRAB, influence the international developments in accounting standards and contribute to maintaining the UK’s profile as an international leader in public financial management.
7. Work with stakeholders across government to help resolve current financial reporting policy challenges such as local government accounts and audit, and the reporting of Further Education Colleges and Academies.
8. Oversee the delivery of Mains and Supplementary Estimates, a focus on timeliness and quality and through collaboration with spending teams responsible for allocating and monitoring departmental budgets.
9. Oversee the delivery of key statistical publications, for example Public Expenditure Statistics Analyses and Country and Regional Analysis, to required standards of timeliness and quality, particularly ensuring that political sensitivities are recognised and handled appropriately, in collaboration with teams across Treasury.
10. Oversee the Treasury’s management of fiscal risk arising from national accounts classification changes, including leading the review of classification risk for material organisations and transactions.

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please contact Andrew Cartner ([email removed])

Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Person specification

While in post, the successful candidate will be expected to perform well across the full range of Senior Civil Service behaviours set out in the Success Profile framework and demonstrate commitment to Civil Service values.

The essential criteria for the purpose of selection are:

• Leadership: Strong leadership skills to support change across complex systems and a willingness to develop and deliver new ways of working
• Delivering at Pace:Experience of leading projects to deliver complex financial outputs in a timely fashion.
• Communicating and Influencing:Strong ability to advise and influence senior decision makers.
• Experience: Significant technical accounting experience of financial management and reporting in the public sector, including understanding of significant developments in financial reporting and able to demonstrate a strong technical understanding of accounts preparation.

Required Qualifications:

1. The role requires significant experience of financial reporting at a senior level. A professional financial qualification (CCAB, CIMA or equivalent) is required.

Qualifications

The role requires significant experience of financial reporting at a senior level. A professional financial qualification (CCAB, CIMA or equivalent) is required.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Leadership

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £86,000, HM Treasury contributes £24,914 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).

• Generous Annual Leave - 25 days (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus public holidays and the King’s birthday.
• Outstanding Pension Scheme - Defined Benefit pension with employer contributions of 28.97%
• Parental Leave Packages - Including 6 months’ occupational pay for maternity/adoption, shared parental leave options.
• Flexible & Hybrid Working - Options include part-time, job-share, compressed hours, flexitime, and hybrid working (where business needs allow).
• Advance Schemes & Discounts - Rental deposit, cycle-to-work, SmartTech, season ticket loans, and access to HM Treasury’s benefits portal for a wide range of discount codes.

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