Director of Operations

Wales

The Operations Director will be responsible to the Group Director General leading the provision of a full range of corporate services to the Group in order to enable the delivery of policies and programmes in accordance with Ministerial priorities.
This is a key position on the Group’s Senior Management Team (SMT), contributing to the leadership and strategic direction of the Group and the wider organisation and supporting the Director General in the context of their Additional Accounting Officer role.
As part of the Group’s SMT, the post holder will have collective responsibility for executive decision making, overseeing performance delivery, driving continuous improvement and developing and delivering change across the business.

The Operations Director is also the Finance Director for the Group. In this context the post holder is responsible for:
• Advising on the optimum use of resources including seeking opportunities for Welsh Ministers to make use of the additional financial flexibilities which will arise from further devolution of powers;
• Budget management, control, reporting, and accounting;
• Leading on all aspects of Governance and Risk Management for the Group;
• Driving the right performance across the Group;
• Improving Business Planning;
• Developing the Groups people skills and capabilities;
• Improving and streamlining the Groups systems and processes.
Key Responsibilities and Accountability:
• Management of the Group’s annual budget, which currently stands at around £10 billion, in line with government financial standards.
• Delivery of a full range of Corporate Services to the Group supporting the delivery of Ministerial Priorities and developing strategies to optimise the deployment of resource.
• To lead and manage circa 100 staff.
Corporate services include:
• Business planning, resource allocation, performance management and reporting; providing timely, relevant advice and information to the Director General and Senior Management Team and to Ministers to support the delivery of business priorities and inform decision making.
• Providing support for the delivery of Ministerial business including Cabinet business, Ministerial Advisory Groups and Policy Boards, ensuring that appropriate cross portfolio connections are identified and factored into the service and advice provided.
• Governance and Assurance – supporting the Director General as Additional Accounting Officer and the Group’s Audit and Risk Committee through effective risk management, lean business processes, Project Delivery disciplines and an effective control framework.
• Realising the potential within the Group through HR – delivering effective workforce planning allied to training and development programmes; ensuring that equity, diversity and the Welsh language are central to the Group’s policies and programmes.
• Co-ordinating, supporting and oversight of the delivery of the Group’s programme of legislation.
Cross Government Responsibilities:
The post holder will play a key role in representing the Group across the wider organisation. As the Group lead on a number of key professions, the role will also contribute to the wider development and continuous improvement of the organisational operating model. This will include taking an active role in the following groups and networks or their successors:
• The Finance and Corporate Services Committee – to support the Board on matters delegated for consideration.
• Finance Profession – to work collaboratively with the Director of Finance and other senior finance leaders within Welsh Government to ensure a corporate and joined up approach to financial management.
• The post holder is the senior responsible owner for the Welsh Government’s in-house Business Information and Reporting Tool (BIRT) and chairs the Governance Group which leads on further development of this performance management and risk management tool.
• Senior Leadership Group – contributing to WG wide leadership issues.

The Civil Service is open to talented people from anywhere in the world, and from any career background. We seek to identify transferable skills from the individual’s experience. To help you succeed in this role, you will likely have:
• The ability to reflect on, and learn from, your own lived experiences and use this experience of working effectively and of leading a team successfully during periods of sustained pressure, scrutiny and ambiguity.
• A professional qualification in accountancy with a substantial track record in a senior finance role in a large and complex organisation.
• An effective track record of interpreting financial information to help shape and influence directorate and organisational strategies.
• The ability to effectively flex and manage significant budgets, whilst driving forward efficiency savings across a large organisation and delivering the expectations of senior stakeholders such as Ministers.
• A successful track record of working as part of a senior management team of a comparable sized organisation, with direct and considerable experience of effective governance, business planning, project delivery, analysis, budget and financial management and performance appraisal.
• The ability to be sensitive to the political context and able to work effectively with, and command the confidence of senior stakeholders, such as Ministers and Special Advisers.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop effective working relationships with a wide range of people inside and outside of government.
• Proven ability to operate with integrity and reliability and act as a role model for our values.
• Examples of innovation in service delivery that have led to significant improvements and culture change within an organisation achieving significant service improvement and efficiency.
Welsh Language The Welsh Government is committed to becoming a truly bilingual organisation by 2050, and Welsh language skills would therefore be an asset for this post, although not essential. However, we expect the successful candidate to develop their Welsh language skills on appointment and we will fully support them to do this, with training available. As is the case in respect of other requirements, reasonable adjustments can be discussed on appointment.

Alongside your salary of £97,000, Welsh Government contributes
£26,190 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 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 average employer contribution of 27%

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 : SCSrecruitment@gov.wales
• Email : SCSrecruitment@gov.wales

Recruitment team

• Email : SCSrecruitment@gov.wales