Strategic Finance Advisor / Strategic Finance Project Officer

Job description

There are two roles available. Both roles are highly collaborative requiring strong analytical, influencing and stakeholder management skills. Neither role requires a financial qualification, but candidates are required to be confident with using and understanding number, working closely with qualified financial professionals as well as policy colleagues.

There is no set expectation or experience we require from candidates; the current team is comprised of a mix of policy, operational, comms and strategy backgrounds with a variety of diverse experience. We are keen to hear from candidates who are motivated and interested in continual professional development and looking for an exciting new opportunity.

Strategic Finance Advisor

This role involves strong strategic thinking and policy development skills. The successful candidate will:

• Take a leading role in SR planning and delivery, including working closely with HMT and DWP colleagues to support delivery of SR commissions and spending negotiations.
• Lead on developing high-profile strategic advice on cross-cutting areas with financial implications across DWP, including bringing colleagues across DG groups together to support decision-making and delivery of Government and DWP objectives.
• Provide concise, clear and purposeful communication, including briefing and submissions for Ministers and senior stakeholders.
• Lead on responses to HM Treasury commissions, coordinating contributions from across Strategic Finance and wider departmental stakeholders to influence and ensure DWP objectives are met.
• Build strong relationships across finance, policy, operations, digital and analytical teams to support collaborative problem-solving and effective financial management.

Strategic Finance Project Officer

• Lead planning and coordination for PFER including Spending Reviews, DEL exercises, fiscal events and HM Treasury commissions.
• Develop, maintain and track detailed delivery plans, ensuring key milestones, dependencies and deliverables are clearly defined.
• Identify emerging risks, issues, opportunities and dependencies, identifying mitigating actions, challenging assumptions and delivery timelines to ensure plans are realistic.
• Produce high-quality reporting and management information to support decision-making, governance, and performance monitoring.
• Drive continuous improvement in planning, reporting and forecasting processes, promoting best practice across Strategic Finance.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including HM Treasury.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• (Lead Criteria) Strategic Thinker: problem-solving, analytical and reasoning skills. Ability to quickly get up to speed with complex information to understand the key problems, barriers, and propose options and solutions for next steps.
• Track record of successfully delivering complex projects at pace, including planning, coordinating and monitoring.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, including relationship building, influencing, and ability to manage challenging conversations and negotiations.
• Excellent organisational skills, flexibly prioritise and manage multiple tasks and competing deadlines as plans adjust and evolve.

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