Ensuring the departmental strategic financial plan aligns with the departmental strategy and that there is effective finance input into the development of the strategy and underpinning policy thinking.
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 HMT 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 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 organisations strategy. They are responsible for the relationship with HMT and others in the centre of Government and often oversee various different aspects of strategic finance.
Only suitable for staff with the required skills and/or experience from within finance, policy or private office/strategic roles.
There is no requirement for Strategic Finance SCS1s to be qualified with CCAB or CIMA, as long as there is sufficient qualified expertise at G6 and SCS2.
Ensuring the departmental strategic financial plan aligns with the departmental strategy and that there is effective finance input into the development of the strategy and underpinning policy thinking.
Leading all aspects of Spending Reviews and fiscal events ensuring plans are in place and successfully delivered to enable the Department to secure investment and resource funding from HMT to cover key departmental activity, including major change programmes and operational services, including any material savings to be made, through single year or multi-year Spending Reviews and Fiscal Events.
It is expected that the SCS1 will be in the room at key negotiation meetings and will frequently lead Ministerial briefings.
Taking responsibility for ensuring they and their team maintain effective relationships with HMT and also the centre more widely.
May be responsible for leading the team that produces the Main and Supplementary Estimates, ensuring they are produced in accordance with the Department's needs alongside high quality related products.
Ensuring the Departmental allocations process aligns with the spending review outcome and allocates resources in accordance with the strategy and priority outcomes.
Working at extreme pace on numerous and varied complex work activity with competing deadlines.
For details of Behaviours read the Success Profiles guidance on GOV.UK.
Leadership
Communicating and Influencing
Seeing the Big Picture
Working Together
Delivering at Pace
Making Effective Decisions
Developing Self and Others
Strong leadership skills, and the ability to motivate and develop a diverse finance team. Promoting consistent excellence in the team's output, whilst balancing working at pace to manage a full workload with conflicting short and long-term priorities.
Ability to confidently, clearly and credibly influence strategic planning and at pace, making an impact at senior levels through excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including building and maintaining broad diverse networks and relationships, especially across Government with HMT and Cabinet Office.
Excellent personal presentation and written communication skills, including the ability to explain complex financials to a broad base of recipients, including ministerial briefings; and as a leader building this capability within the finance function and across the Department.
Leading and influencing a collaborative and empathetic approach to problem solving across the Department. Objectively considering a number of options and scenarios through multiple lenses, in order to achieve effective outcomes with clearly outlined associated risks.
Fostering and leading a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration between policy, programmes, the business, finance and other corporate services.
| Subheadings | Professional Skills | Level | Learning Resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | Strategic analysis and insight | E | |
| Oral and written presentation skills | E | ||
| Data and analytics interpretation | 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 | E | ||
| Government Financial Reporting and governance requirements | E | ||
| Useful | Budgeting, Forecasting and Costing | W | |
| Risk management and fraud | P | ||
| Taxation | W | ||
| Performance and risk management | W | ||
| Commercial acumen | P | ||
| Investment appraisal and evaluation | P |
Overall across strategic finance teams, it is recommended there is a balance of qualified with CCAB, CIMA and experience in relevant strategic/policy roles with clear evidence of strong numeric ability.
There is no requirement for this specific grade and role to be qualified as long as there is sufficient qualified expertise at G6 and SCS2.
This role may be suitable for individuals at G6 with strong relationship building skills, reporting/analytical skills, negotiating skills, strategic thinking, and ability to work at extreme pace.
This role is suitable for non-finance professionals with policy and programme experience, where there has been a strong financial element and understanding required in their previous roles. They may come from HMT spending teams.
Staff in this role typically move into a wide range of roles at SCS1 or SCS2 in finance, policy, delivery and commercial.