Chief of Staff Full Time

• Grade: SCS Pay Band 2
• Salary: £98,000 to £120,000. Existing Civil Servants will be appointed in line with Civil Service Pay Rules
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Working Pattern: Full time or job share. Flexible working patterns can be accommodated.
• Approach: This role is open to suitably qualified people in the external market and to existing Civil Servants and those in accredited non-departmental public bodies.
• Security Clearance: Candidates should either hold or be willing to undergo CTC clearance.
• Location: London, 14T 102 Petty France, SW1H 9AJ. The OBR operates an office based working approach and along with the rest of the Civil Service has an expectation of a minimum of 60% attendance in the office.

About the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) 

The OBR was established by the Chancellor in May 2010 to provide independent assessments of the economy, public finances, and fiscal sustainability. We provide independent forecasts of the economy and public finances to inform the Government’s fiscal policy decisions, examine the impact of the Government’s policy decisions on the public finances, and assess the prospects for achieving the Government’s fiscal targets. We publish reports on long-term fiscal sustainability, fiscal risks, and trends in welfare spending, and run a wider work programme of research and analysis into economic and fiscal issues.

About the Role 

As Chief of Staff, you will have the unique opportunity to work closely with the Budget Responsibility Committee and the OBR’s team of highly motivated experts on the full range of economy and fiscal issues that are relevant to the OBR’s annual publications and information provision

You will play a high-profile and central role in engaging with HM Treasury, HMRC, DWP, the Bank of England, and macroeconomic and fiscal experts around the UK and globally, during the production of our Economic and Fiscal Outlooks, Fiscal Risks and Sustainability reports, and other publications. Along with the Deputy Chief of Staff, you will take the lead in guiding, motivating, and managing OBR staff.

Key Responsibilities include:

1. Lead the OBR’s eight analytical teams and the strategy, operations and communications team in order to deliver on all the OBR’s statutory and wider objectives. This involves a comprehensive watching brief across the UK economy and public finances and the Government’s policies towards them.
2. Work with the BRC to maintain the OBR’s reputation as an institution that produces independent, high-quality and transparent forecasts and analysis, including by representing the OBR at external events.
3. Oversee the OBR’s corporate structures and financial management, acting as Secretary to the Oversight Board and the Audit & Risk Committee, and liaising with the NAO and internal audit and with Treasury Finance.
4. Lead and manage the OBR staff, ensuring a strong and motivated team that works efficiently and effectively, and has open and collaborative working relationships with stakeholders.
5. Lead the OBR staff’s analytical work programme and report writing to produce independent, robust and transparent forecasts and analysis of the economic and fiscal position and outlook.

For a full list of accountabilities, please follow the apply link.

About you

To succeed in this role, you will need strong leadership and management capabilities, a proven ability to work well with colleagues, and good negotiation and representational skills in positive working relationships with stakeholders. Strong economics skills and extensive knowledge of the UK economy and public finances are key to the role.

We encourage all candidates to discuss the role further before submitting an application. If you have any questions about the role or would like to discuss the post further, please contact Richard.Hughes@obr.uk

Benefits:

• 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 days after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King’s birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant). Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing you to take up to an additional 2 days off each month.
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, compressed hours).
• Generous parental leave and adoption leave packages.
• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 27%
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme and season ticket advances.
• A Rental Deposit Advance Scheme to help met the total costs of deposits for privately rented homes.
• A range of active staff networks, based around interests (e.g. analysts, music society, sports and social club) and diversity

If you need any reasonable adjustments to take part in the selection process, please tell us about this in your online application form. If you would like to speak to the recruitment team regarding this, you can contact them on hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk

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