Deputy Director Strategic Finance

This role will be based from any one of DCMS’s hubs – London, Manchester and Darlington

The Strategic Finance team lead on all Departmental-wide Financial considerations, these include: 

• Liaising with HM Treasury on all financial issues and fiscal events; 
• Leading on all Financial Planning, ensuring any financial decisions take into account future trends and strategies; 
• Leading on Fiscal Events Financial Strategy, including all financial input into Spending Reviews and Budgets;
• Leading on Business Planning for the Department, ensuring our funding is allocated according to our priorities and provides greatest value for money;
• Advising our Executive Board on in-year Financial Management, in particular at each quarter to ensure we can re-prioritise any underspends towards our Ministerial priorities;
• Ensuring financial controls for example delegated authorities are adhered to and spend is governed appropriately.
• Providing all Financial Analysis relating to financial planning. 

As head of strategic finance in DCMS, you will:

• Lead and maintain a strong and diverse team who drive financial strategy, finance transformation and effectively support senior decision making through reporting and analysis.
• Work directly with the Permanent Secretary, the two Directors General, ministers and senior management to ensure effective and strategic financial management across the Department. 
• Take primary responsibility for financial management within the DCMS group, including taking a risk-based approach to group forecasts and reporting on the financial position to the Board and its sub-committees, Ministers and the Permanent Secretary.
• Develop, lead and implement cross-cutting financial projects as and when required, finance transformation activities and financial reviews
• Lead on all Financial Planning, ensuring any financial decisions take into account future trends and strategies. Lead on performance at both a corporate (core DCMS) and group level, including budgetary control, scrutiny and reporting, supporting finance business partnering to do the same at a team level.
• Take lead responsibility for the Department’s relationship with HM Treasury, including the provision of Estimates, and other financial reporting, close liaison and the building of good relations with the Spending Team to ensure that the best interests of DCMS are served at the Treasury and DCMS complies with all Treasury requirements. Liaise with HM Treasury on all financial issues and fiscal events.
• Take a lead in the profession as a senior member of the DCMS Finance Team, and in the corporate life of the Department as a member of DCMS’s senior leadership team during key fiscal events.
• Lead, together with the strategy team, the Department’s management of and response to fiscal events, including annual Budget and Spring Statements, as well as preparations and involvement in future Spending Reviews.

The Ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience:

Essential Requirements

• Full or part-qualified CCAB or CIMA accountancy qualification or equivalent (or willing to work towards full qualification)
• Experience of providing strategic advice to senior leaders and/or Ministers on complex issues; be able to challenge and advise when necessary
• Providing highly strategic financial advice to senior leaders in order to shape decision making and able to build a reputation as a trusted advisor
• Experience of working with HM Treasury (or similar organisations outside of Government)
• The successful candidate will need to demonstrate that they are able to provide highly strategic financial analysis and advice to senior leaders, while also offering an attention to detail and accuracy that will enhance the DCMS finance function’s reputation as a capable and reliable single source of the truth.
• You will have a confident understanding of how Government works, in particular Government Finance and the financial cycle. 
• Experience of Financial planning, Business Planning and leading large and complex financial projects in a complex organisation

Full or part-qualified CCAB or CIMA accountancy qualification or equivalent (or willing to work towards full qualification)

Alongside your salary of £73,000, Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes
£19,710 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

DCMS values its staff and offers a wide range of benefits to everyone who works here. We’re committed to developing talent, and supporting colleagues to have great careers in our department. To support with that, some of the benefits we offer include:

• Flexible working arrangements and hybrid working – DCMS staff work on a flexible basis with time spent in offices, and time spent working from home

• 26.5 days annual leave on entry, increasing to 31.5 days after 5 years’ service

• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

• Access to the Edenred employee benefits system which offers discounts to popular retailers and access to various useful resources such as financial and savings advice

• 3 days of paid volunteering leave

• Up to 9 months maternity leave on full pay + generous paternity and adoption leave

• Staff reward and recognition bonuses that operate throughout the year

• Occupational sick pay

• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme which offers staff 24/7 confidential support and resources such as counselling, debt guidance and management advice

• Active and engaged staff networks to join including the LGBT+, Ethnic Diversity, Mental Health and Wellbeing and Gender Equality Networks

• Exceptional learning and development opportunities that you can explore alongside your day to day work

• Season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme and much more!

Terms and conditions at SCS grades will vary. Those applying for SCS roles should refer to the candidate information pack for more information on terms and conditions.

This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration
is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them
to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through
building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above.
This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions.
Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and
conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your
personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any
absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you
to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

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Job contact :

• Name : SCS Recruitment
• Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scsrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk