Chief Financial Officer Full Time

This is a pivotal point to be joining Ofsted. As our Chief Financial Officer, you will report directly into Sir Martyn Oliver, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, supporting the implementation of his vision.

You will provide enhanced senior-level strategic financial guidance within Ofsted and in our interactions with the rest of government. You will be responsible for all aspects of finance and oversight of Ofsted’s c. £200 million budget, ensuring that Ofsted’s objectives are underpinned by the right balance of resources, rigour, ambition, and value for money. You will take a critical role in the Spending Review and budget preparation process, working in partnership with senior colleagues and stakeholders so that we can ensure the very best use of our financial resources.

In addition, you will provide strong leadership to Ofsted’s other core resource related professional services: Property and Commercial. You will be a full member of Ofsted’s Executive Committee, attend the Ofsted Board, report regularly to our Audit Committee and be HMCI’s foremost adviser on his statutory duties to account for public money and safeguard public assets.

You will be an excellent leader of people, able to role-model our values of courtesy, empathy, respect, and professionalism.

Job description

For full details, please refer to the Recruitment pack and Job specification.

Person specification

For full details, please refer to the Recruitment pack and Job specification.

Qualifications

Qualified accountant (e.g., ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA) with significant post-qualification experience in fiscal management and leadership roles.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £123,624, Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills contributes £33,378 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

This is a Senior Civil Service post subject to Senior Civil Service terms and conditions.

Candidates from outside the Civil Service may wish to be aware of key elements of the Senior Civil Service terms and conditions for those joining the Civil Service:

• 25 days annual leave, increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after five years’ service. This is in addition to eight public holidays. This will be complemented by one further day paid privilege entitlement to mark the King’s Birthday.
• A competitive contributory pension scheme that you can enter as soon as you join and where we will make a significant contribution to the cost of your pension. Your contribution comes out of your salary before any tax is taken and will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire.
• Alongside your salary of £123,624, Ofsted contributes up to 30.3% towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
• Generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum offered by many other employers.
• Occupational sick pay.

Existing Civil Servants’ annual leave entitlement will be subject to the normal rules of appointment on promotion or level move.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Ability and Experience.

All applications will be considered by the selection panel. The panel will consider how your application demonstrates that you can fulfil the criteria set out in the person specification. We will inform you whether or not you were successful at each stage.

Shortlist

The panel will assess your application, including statement of suitability against the essential and desirable criteria of the person specification. Those who best meet the criteria will be shortlisted.

Staff Engagement Exercises

Shortlisted candidates will be required to attend Staff Engagement Exercises with Ofsted colleagues. The exercises will be facilitated by an occupational psychologist and be based on a topic provided to you before the session. The exercises will be held via Microsoft Teams.

Psychometric assessment

Shortlisted candidates will be required to take part in online psychometric assessments, followed by a telephone conversation with an occupational psychologist.

These assessments will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, they are designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview. Full details and guidance on these assessments will be provided to all shortlisted candidates.

Panel interview and presentation

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion about your previous experience and how you meet the criteria of the person specification. As part of this process, you will also be asked to undertake a short presentation for the panel and will be given time on the day to prepare immediately prior to your interview. Interviews are expected to take place in London. Panel interview arrangements will be confirmed with shortlisted candidates as early as possible.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

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.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

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

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

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