24.41 Head of Financial Accounts

As the Head of Financial Accounts, your role will be lead the Financial Accounts team, providing guidance and support in establishing a controls-based environment, to provide advice, and develop policies, to ensure compliance with accounting standards, tax regulations, and other government financial reporting requirements
The Head of Financial Accounts is a senior member of the Finance team and is responsible for providing an efficient, effective and high-quality professional service meeting all reporting requirements., + Effectively and proactively lead, manage and motivate the Financial Accounts team ensuring that there is a culture of high performance, strong engagement and a commitment to continuous improvement
+ Lead and manage the Financial Accounts team, providing direction and influence that ensures the team has the required capacity, capability, processes and systems to deliver its objectives
+ Develop and monitor financial controls for all financial areas, ensuring the accuracy, integrity, consistency & quality of the DBS general ledger
+ Lead the development of DBS’ finance and accounting policies, ensuring compliance with latest standards, regulatory and stakeholder requirements
+ Support the Head of Operational Finance in the provision of technical guidance to all internal stakeholders and in the preparation of accounting papers
+ Lead the development and delivery of the annual finance timetable, encompassing but not limited to monthly management accounts, annual budgets, forecasts, regulatory and stakeholder returns as required
+ Lead and manage the timely preparation of all regulatory and stakeholder (including Home Office consolidation) reporting
+ Lead and manage the preparation of the annual audited financial statements, and supporting working papers, while maintaining good and open relationships with external auditors, ensuring no material issues arise within the external audit
+ Oversee the preparation of the monthly cash flow forecasting to ensure that the 3-month (working capital) cash requirement is not breached
+ Oversee and manage all Financial Accounts activities including any centralised requisitioning, journals and reconciliations, as well as the effective stewardship and compliance reviews.
+ Act as a key point of contact with external auditors and effectively manage the external audit process.
+ Ensure appropriate departmental KPIs are prepared and reported on a timely basis
+ To work closely with the Head of Management Accounts to ensure the timely completion of accurate management information and reporting
+ To work closely with the Head of Operational Finance and other Finance Heads of Service to improve the department’s systems and procedures, both IT and non-IT based.
+ Deputise for the Head of Operational Finance when required.
+ Undertake additional duties appropriate to the role and/or grade, + For all candidates who are successful at the initial sifting stage, you will be invited to interview and will be expected to deliver a 10 minute presentation to the panel with the topic to be given on the day assessing the following behaviour
- Communicating and Influencing
+ Following the presentation, there will be a panel based interview assessing the following behaviours:
Leadership
Developing self and others
Managing a Quality Service
Working Together
Communicating and Influencing
Making Effective Decisions
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

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)

+ Proven ability to communicate complex matters to a non-financial audience and to build effective relationships with senior stakeholders
+ Strategic thinking, planning and analysis skills, with the ability to develop creative solutions to support the management of change and mitigate associated risks
+ Excellent relationship management, influencing, facilitation and presentation skills
+ Presence and credibility to work with senior colleagues across the organisation
+ Highly organised and able to plan and manage a broad portfolio of activities
+ Resilience in challenging circumstances: ability to work under pressure, remaining calm but decisive.
+ Highly effective communicator in person, in writing and in electronic media.
Experience essential criteria -
+ Highly developed people leadership, management and communication skills
+ Successful relationship-building with own staff team members and wider Finance department
+ Leading the annual report and accounts production process
+ Managing the external audit process through to the delivery of annual audited financial statements
+ Excellent knowledge of latest accounting standards (IFRS experience and FReM knowledge preferred)
+ Communicating complex accounting and tax issues to non-finance stakeholders
+ Developing financial policies, frameworks and procedures
+ Best practice financial controls
+ Experience within a senior Financial Accountant role and ability to draw upon practicable experience of managing multiple deliverables to tight timescales whilst implementing financial controls
+ Experience of driving improvements in processes to increase efficiency
+ Experience coaching and developing finance colleagues
Technical essential criteria -
+ Must hold an accounting qualification from a recognised CCAB accountancy body or CIMA, Must hold an accounting qualification from a recognised CCAB accountancy body or CIMA, + Leadership
+ Developing Self and Others
+ Managing a Quality Service
+ Working Together
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Making Effective Decisions

Alongside your salary of £53,400, Disclosure & Barring Service contributes £14,418 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
The DBS offers a number of excellent benefits for its employees. These can include:
+ Generous annual leave entitlement
+ Excellent maternity, paternity and adoption schemes (after a qualifying period)
+ Commitment to the health and wellbeing of our employees
+ Employee Assistance Programme
+ Flexible working opportunities
+ Eyecare voucher scheme
+ Occupational Health Service including referrals for counselling and physiotherapy
+ 24/7 Counselling and Wellbeing Service
+ A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
The DBS vision and purpose is to make people safer by being a visible, trusted and influential organisation, providing an outstanding quality of service to all our customers and partners, where our people understand the important safeguarding contributions they make and feel proud to work here. To do this, the DBS is committed to being an employer that is able to attract, develop, retain and engage diverse talent that is representative of the communities we serve, and to be an organisation providing outstanding service to all our existing and new customers, who are diverse and have a range of different needs. We want all our staff to be able to bring their ‘whole self’ to work.