SCS1 Strategic Finance leaders are expected to be an integral part of the organisation's senior leaders group, forging strong relationships with strategy, policy and operational teams across the organisation, ensuring the financial strategy and plans are fully aligned to the organisation's strategy.
They are responsible for the relationship with HM Treasury and others in the centre of Government and will often oversee various different aspects of strategic finance, including planning, allocations, finance support to policy and strategy and work across Government on strategic issues impacting their Department's strategic financial position.
SCS1s are expected to:
As a member of the Senior Civil Service (SCS), you have a strategic role to direct and lead large teams aligned to the GFF 2030 strategy. You are responsible for managing multiple teams, supporting larger and more complex areas of the business or multiple organisations.
You are an innovation sponsor and advocate for your organisation.
Champion and deliver expert strategic advice and analysis on financial impact, performance, efficiency, effectiveness, and risk to senior stakeholders, contributing to the strategic direction of the department.?
Own the financial planning process, ensuring alignment with departmental strategic priorities and fiscal rules.???
Finance lead on all fiscal events.
Own the departmental relationship with HM Treasury (HMT) and champions a culture of collaboration between policy, programmes, finance and functional stakeholders to support integrated decision-making.
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Suitable for candidates with the required skills and/or experience from within finance, policy or private office/strategic roles.
Essential:
Lead on Fiscal Events, including spending and efficiency reviews, in partnership with senior stakeholders across the Department. Ensuring plans are in place that reflect long-term strategic requirements and the fiscal context, and can deliver departmental activity and efficiencies.
Lead on financial planning and strategy, translating multi-year resource allocations set at the Spending Review into robust medium term financial plans and departmental allocations, integrating business planning and strategy outcomes as a basis for prioritising and allocating resources and driving efficiencies.
Lead on financial reporting to the Departmental Executive Committee and Board providing analysis and insight on key issues.
Deliver expert strategic financial advice to Ministers, ensuring that there is effective finance input into the development of the strategy and underpinning policy thinking.
Owns Departmental relationships with HM Treasury.
An advocate and role model for finance professionalism and credibility.
Working at pace on numerous and varied complex work activity with competing deadlines.
For details of Behaviours, please visit Behaviours | Civil Service Careers and Success Profiles guidance on GOV.UK.
Leadership
Seeing the Big Picture
Communicating and Influencing
Working Together
Making Effective Decisions
Delivering at Pace
Developing Self and Others
Ability to confidently, clearly, and credibly influence strategic planning and at pace. Making an impact at senior levels through building and maintaining broad diverse networks and relationships, especially across Government and with HM Treasury (HMT).
Demonstrates ability to lead and influence with a collaborative and empathetic approach to problem solving across the Department. Objectively considers options and scenarios through multiple lenses, with clearly outlined risks to achieve effective outcomes and puts finance at the heart of decision making.
Communicates confidently at Board and Ministerial level; uses strong analytical skills and the ability to add insight to communicate complex financial positions clearly and compellingly; and as a leader building this capability within the finance function and across the Department.
Challenges effectively and with confidence to ensure delivery of excellent outcomes and protect the organisation's position.
Strong influencing & emotional intelligence skills including the ability to understand and operate within complex, evolving and ambiguous environments, to manage risk and reach sound judgements on a range of strategic issues.
| Subheadings | Professional Skills | Level | Learning Resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | Strategic analysis and insight | E | |
| Budgeting, Forecasting and Costing | E | ||
| Data and analytics - interpretation and visualisation | E | ||
| Oral and written presentation skills | E | ||
| Influencing Senior Leaders and Ministers (including drafting skills) | E | ||
| The Budgeting Framework | E | ||
| Proactive problem resolution | E | ||
| Understanding the role of the NAO | E | ||
| Negotiating with Pragmatism | E | ||
| Support the PAC Agenda | P | ||
| Government Financial Reporting and governance requirements | E | ||
| Useful | Risk management and fraud | P | |
| Performance and risk management | W | ||
| Commercial acumen | P | ||
| Investment appraisal and evaluation | P | ||
| One Big Thing - Artificial Intelligence | P | ||
| Artificial Inteligence | P | ||
| Links to learning platforms | GFF Government Finance Academy | Variety of learning available | |
| Civil Service Learning | Variety of learning available | ||
| Government Skills Campus | Variety of learning available |
This role may be suitable for individuals at G6 and SCS1 with strong relationship building skills, numeracy and analytical skills, negotiating skills with strategic thinking.
This role is suitable for non-finance professionals with strategic policy and private office experience, where there has been a strong financial element and understanding required in their previous roles. They may come from HM Treasury (HMT) spending teams.
Staff in this role typically move into other SCS1 or SCS2 senior finance roles and SCS1 roles in policy, delivery and commercial.