Finance Business Partner

In their search for two new Finance Business Partners on a permanent basis The National Archives are partnering with Roberson Bell. The National Archives are a non-ministerial department, and the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales. We are the guardians of over 1,000 years of iconic national documents.

Operating within the management accounting team, as a Finance Business Partner, you will act as the link between finance and the business, using your expertise to support, advise and challenge stakeholders on issues such as affordability, risk and compliance with government standards

The organisation:

We are expert advisers in information and records management and we work with partner across the cultural, academic and heritage sectors. We fulfil a leadership role for the archive sector and work to secure the future of physical and digital records. We collect and secure the future of the government record, from Shakespeare’s will to tweets from Downing Street, to preserve it for generations to come.

The role:

• Providing sound financial advice and management to the Directorates. Including reviewing business cases, papers to Governance Committees and policy proposals, to ensure that the financial implications have been properly considered, are affordable and recommendations reflect good Value for Money.
• Presenting financial information to Senior Management Teams on a regular basis. Communicating complex financial issues to internal and external stakeholders, enabling individuals with little financial knowledge to understand key messages.
• Understanding the business - Developing a full understanding of the policies and cost drivers of the Directorates’ spend ensuring they are managed and monitored effectively to meet business plans and objectives.
• Leading on month-end and year-end activities, working autonomously to ensure that the management information for your area of responsibility is accurate and correct.
• Challenging and supporting Directors and Budget Managers in managing spend on a portfolio basis. Recognising potential risk and opportunities and identifying solutions to manage them.
• Leading on financial planning and forecasting exercises, supporting and providing constructive challenge to business areas when identifying their funding requirements in-year and going forward. This will include working on significant fiscal events such as Spending Reviews.
• Building relationships with stakeholders across the business and in other support functions e.g. HR, commercial, to understand their needs and priorities.
• You will work with your Directorates and the wider finance team to promote and realise the benefits of our new ERP system.
• Managing two Management Accountants, with responsibility for leading, motivating and developing them.

The successful candidate will:

• Be a fully qualified Accountant.
• You'll be highly motivated and an effective organiser, which will allow you to work fluidly in a fast paced environment, remaining flexible at all times.
• Significant experience in communicating complex financial issues to enable individuals with little financial knowledge to understand the key messages.
• Significant experience of leading on financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting.
• Extensive experience of maintaining effective relationships to understand senior stakeholder/colleagues’ needs and priorities
• Demonstrable experience of reviewing business cases and/or investment appraisal.
• Be a team player, with exceptional interpersonal skills, able to work with a diverse and broad range of stakeholders across the organisation. Demonstrable ability to influence.
• Have good written and oral communication skills, able to communicate clearly, concisely, accurately and in ways that promote understanding but stands ground when needed

Desirable criteria:

• An understanding of accounting policy and an appreciation of the implications for an organisation of Government legislation and accounting standards

This position will be based officially at the head office in Kew and will require the postholder to work from the office three days a week.

Applications will be under constant review before the closing date, so please apply via the link or contact  Katie Moore at our retained search agent, Robertson Bell. Please note the closing date for applications is 27^th October 2024.

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.

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact The National Archives via email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitment/complaints/