About this role
This vacancy is only available to existing Civil Servant employees and employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). Please review the "Eligibility" section before you apply.
### Salary
The national salary range is £29,303 - £31,061, London salary range is £33,551 - £35,564. Your salary will be dependent on your base location
Job description
Job Title/ Position
Financial Governance Officer
Band/Grade
EO
Number of Vacancies
1
Business Group
Financial Management, Control and Governance
Directorate
Chief Operating Officer Group
Location
National
Hours
37
Working Pattern
Permanent
Role Type/ Team
Financial Governance CoE
Overview
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) serves the public by upholding the rule of law, and by delivering an efficient, fair, timely and effective justice system in which the public has confidence.
- We enforce the decisions of the court: we punish offenders and work to reduce reoffending. We prevent victims by changing lives.
- In partnership with an independent judiciary, we run the courts and tribunals service, helping individuals, businesses and families resolve their disputes.
- We protect vulnerable members of society and children and help to ensure victims of crime get justice.
- We provide legal aid and advice for those cases where it is justified.
- We develop policy on all aspects of law and justice, both domestically and internationally, helping to build a legal and rights framework that is clear and proportionate and that commands confidence around the world.
The Ministry of Justice is a major government department, at the heart of the justice system. Responsible for courts, prisons and probation services, we work to ensure sentences are served and offenders are given rehabilitation opportunities to become law-abiding citizens.
MoJ Financial Governance CoE
This role sits within the MoJ Financial Governance Centre of Expertise. The financial governance team has a broad role within the corporate finance function and requires the post holder to work on a unique range of governance, propriety and regularity issues. MoJ is a complex organisation with five Agencies, over 25 Arm’s Length Bodies plus a corporate centre. The central team has a pivotal role as a ‘centre of expertise’, and as the conduit between the MoJ and the National Audit Office and HM Treasury on governance issues.
The team leads on:
- Providing advice and assurance to the Principal Accounting Officer on all matters relating to regularity and propriety, including the interpretation and application of Managing Public Money to the work of the department;
- Clearance of and strategic advice and updates in respect of National Audit Office value for money reports and the Government’s response to Public Accounts Committee reports, including Treasury Minutes;
- Providing advice on a wide range of varied issues to the Principal Accounting Officer and other Accounting Officers across the Ministry of Justice;
- Operation of, and compliance with, the Ministry’s Spending Control Framework;
- Meeting the department’s transparency publication obligations in respect of third-party financial payments, including those made by government procurement cards;
- Government Procurement Card (GPC) administration, ensuring that the department enacts and administers the rules from Cabinet Office.
MoJ is a continually changing organisation, so resilience and strong leadership are critical elements in the team being successful. As a Higher Executive Officer (HEO) within MoJ, the jobholder must provide clear direction and focus to visibly champion the MoJ values and the principles of regularity, propriety and value for money.
The Financial Management and Control Senior Management Team expects all leaders/managers to operate in a culture of openness and honesty, demonstrating a commitment to the development of ourselves and our colleagues through involvement and empowerment, and by delivering results.
The Financial Governance CoE has a pivotal role in supporting all staff from senior stakeholders to front-line staff with the right balance of control to allow the department to function effectively while protecting the public purse from misuse. This is achieved via clear guidance, targeted education and the willingness to find sustainable solutions to real time challenges.
Role Purpose
The role supports the daily administration of the Government Procurement Card (GPC) service across the department, including the executive agencies and arm’s length bodies. The postholder will be pivotal in supporting the SEO and HEO GPC leads by providing compliance checks on the GPC function which support the SEO GPC Lead to assure the permanent secretary and chief operating officer over the effective operation of the controls.
A key aspect of the role is supporting the senior leadership team in providing accountability with GPC spending controls and assurance over compliance ensuring that guidance is clear, and readily available to all staff and non-compliance is challenged where appropriate.
The postholder will be responsible for the collection of data for the monthly transparency data release and, with the Government’s focus on AI and Automation, this role will work with the HEO automation lead to maintain automation systems as they are developed.
You will be part of a high performing, flexible financial governance COE with an exciting and high-profile programme of work planned for the coming years.
Responsibilities
- Contribute to analysing and producing GPC Transparency Data returns for publication in the public domain on behalf of the MoJ.
- Administration of the Government Procurement Card Program across the MoJ, including maintenance of digital tools that use automation.
- Management of the functional mailboxes and MS Teams Channels , including admin of GPC and other requests.
- Review existing and draft new guidance documents to reflect changes in the operational and non-operational environment for publication on the intranet.
- Deliver Online Induction Training.
- Provide advice and guidance to MoJ colleagues on all Financial Governance related queries/issues.
- Liaise with MoJ policy areas including Commercial and HMCTS colleagues
- Support other areas of Financial Governance as and when required.
Travel Requirements and Base Location
The postholder may be based at any MoJ office within England or Wales. Some travel to London or other locations across England and Wales may be required, however this will be ad-hoc and generally no more than 3 to 4 times per year.
Desirable Criteria
- Good drafting skills including the ability to organise and present data/figures.
- Excellent organisational skills, to ensure important deadlines are met.
- Good working knowledge of Microsoft Suites, especially Excel, and AI tools
- Good interpersonal skills and ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders.
- Adaptable and willing to review role and priorities to meet the current and future needs of the organisation.
Please note that whilst we don’t assess or score ‘desirable’ criteria, we may consider evidence provided that demonstrates meeting the desirable elements of the role, only after essential criteria is assessed and where there is a need to differentiate between closely scored candidates.
Application Stage
Experience
- Please provide a 500-word Statement of Suitability which should outline how your experience and skills match those of the job description, giving clear examples of work undertaken.
- An anonymised copy of your CV
If we receive a large number of applications, we will carry out an initial sift on the lead criteria of statement of suitability.
Candidates invited to Interview
Please note that interviews will be carried out in person, interviews will be held at 10 South Colonade, Canary Wharf, London. During the interview, we will be assessing you on Behaviours below and Strengths from the Success Profiles framework
Behaviours:
- Managing a Quality Service (lead behaviour)
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
Please refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details, including by grade:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles/success-profiles-civil-service-behaviours#why-we-assess-behaviours
Strengths questions are not shared in advance of interview.
For further information on this role, please contact: [email protected]
Additional Information
Working Arrangements & Further Information
The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity.
Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.
For nationally advertised roles: All successful candidates will be appointed to the nearest viable office nearest to their home postcode and on its respective pay scale. This will be at either a HQ building (subject to desk allocation, a Justice Collaboration Centre (JCC) or a Justice Satellite Office (JSO) – See Map . All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity).
For current MoJ employees, your base location will need to be changed to the nearest viable office (to your home postcode), either at a HQ building, JCC or JSO within the National Office Network and moved its location’s respective pay scale (any legacy arrangements/locations will need to be amended).
Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.
MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain their grade on lateral transfer.
All candidates who are currently in receipt of Mark Time / Pay Protection should ensure they are familiar with the new policy on permanent and temporary promotion which can be found on the employee intranet.
Flexible working hours
The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. MoJ welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the MoJ’s Flexible Working policy.
Benefits
The MoJ offers a range of benefits:
Annual Leave
Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.
There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.
Pension
The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.
Training
The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.
Networks
The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.
Eligibility
Staff on fixed term appointments must have been recruited through fair and open competition.
Vacancies advertised “cross-government” are only open to all Civil Service employees and employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) who were appointed on merit following a fair and open competition; or were appointed to a permanent post through an exception in the Civil Service Commissioners' rules.
Support
- A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
- Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
- For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on www. www.GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/tax-free-childcare) or Childcare Choices (https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/) . You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/ .
- Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
- Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code 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 . Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order
- To Transformative Business Services (0345 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) );
- To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team ( [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) );
- To the Civil Service Commission (details available here (https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-complaints/) )
As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.
You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team.
For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long-term condition, please watch our animated videos .
Diversity & 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 and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .
Redeployment Interview Scheme
Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ is committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.
MoJ is able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidates will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.
Civil Service Nationality Rules
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) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families (https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fsettled-status-eu-citizens-families&data=05%7C01%7Cchristopher.jeffery%40soprasteria.com%7C8a2293860362402c15da08dbf4cff146%7C8b87af7d86474dc78df45f69a2011bb5%7C0%7C0%7C638372946312587803%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=s%2BxUsev%2BGeeK%2FLgTUjpjfTJu%2FjpKQZ%2BQPJXNduvik3Q%3D&reserved=0)
- 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) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules
Reserve list
A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles.
Contact Information
MoJ:
If you require any assistance please call 0345 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail [email protected]
Please quote the job reference 22389
HMPPS
If you require any assistance please call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail [email protected]
Please quote the job reference
### Guidance for the Statement of Suitability
Please provide a 500-word Statement of Suitability which should outline how your experience and skills match those of the job description, giving clear examples of work undertaken.
Strengths will be assessed but these are not shared in advance. To learn more about Strengths and how they are assessed please click here (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles/success-profiles-strengths).
Use of Artificial Intelligence (Al)
Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.