Job description Background On 11th September 2024, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced that he would establish an independent statutory inquiry into the murder of Mr Patrick Finucane on 12th February 1989. The Inquiry is being established under the Inquiries Act 2005 to enable the Government to discharge its obligations under Article 2 of the ECHR in line with the 2019 Supreme Court judgment and the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal judgment in July 2024. The inquiry will build upon the previous reviews and investigations which have already been conducted into this case, take specific account of the materials and information provided to and generated by them, and avoid unnecessary duplication of investigation. The Chair of the Inquiry the Rt Hon Sir Gary Hickinbottom was appointed on 13th June 2025, along with two Assessors, Baroness OLoan and Francesca Del Mese. They are supported by a small secretariat, providing administrative and policy support to the office holders. The Inquiry is at the early stages and this role offers an opportunity to make a real impact on the future direction of the Inquiry. As a member of a small team, you will have a varied role on a high-profile topic, working with a diverse group of stakeholders. Its an exciting time to be part of a growing and energetic team with lots of potential for development and growth within this role. About the Role Duties and Responsibilities: The role-holder will need to work flexibly across the secretariat team, providing support to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary and Head of Operations and working as part of a wider team, often fulfilling tasks and roles outside his or her key responsibilities. The key responsibilities of the role are flexible, and expected to include: Leading on all finance workstreams, including support for procurement and day-to-day financial management and reporting. Supporting the Head of Operations to meet sponsorship requirements for financial management, planning, forecasting and budgetary oversight. Setting up and overseeing systems for daily operational running of administrative requirements and finance keeping, including raising POs, processing invoices and receipting for services. Advising on section 40 determinations, per the Inquiry Rules 2006, in collaboration with the legal team. Setting up and managing systems and policies to provide business support to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary and growing team. Acting as lead administrative support for key internal meetings. This will mean overseeing and leading on commissions, the collation of papers, and the setting up and minuting of these meetings, with some diary and travel management. Acting as business manager and administrative liaison between the Secretariat and other senior leaders and stakeholders. Preparing and organising meeting papers for the Secretariat, providing some diary management support and overall support. On occasion, helping the wider team with a range of duties, such as supporting hearings and assisting the independent Assessors. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of responsibilities; the precise roles and responsibilities will be flexible. Essential Criteria: The post holder will need to demonstrate the following in their application and at interview: Strong prioritisation, communication and influencing skills. Experience with finance and understanding of financial record keeping and management. Ability to build and maintain strong and credible relationships with senior stakeholders. Ability to assess and solve problems quickly and effectively. Strong attention to detail and excellent written communication. Willingness to obtain Security Check (SC) clearance if not already held. Desirable Criteria: Holding Security Check (SC) clearance would be beneficial. Holding an accountancy qualification and/or substantial workplace experience in a finance role would be beneficial. Behaviours: We will assess you against the following Success Profiles behaviours at the SEO level during the application sift and interview process: Leadership Communicating and Influencing Working Together Delivering at Pace Experience: Please provide a CV and statement of suitability no longer than 750 words outlining how you meet the essential and desirable criteria. Both will be used in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role. Your statement of suitability needs to set out evidence of how your experience meets the requirements set out above. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. One narrative example may cover the requirements needed. You dont have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. Share with us what makes you suited to this role and why. What you can do, the skills you have that are transferable and the life experience or passion you have that are linked to this role. If you dont have work-based examples then give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in. You will also be asked to complete a CV with details of your education, professional qualifications, previous skills and full employment history. Your CV will not be formally assessed so please put the main evidence of your skills into your personal statement. Your CV will be used to add context to your personal statement. More information on behaviours and success profiles can be found here. Please note that in the event of a large number of applications being received we may run the initial sift on the lead Behaviour Leadership. Interview: At the interview stage, you will be assessed against the same behaviours and will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated the behaviours. It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and use the WHO or STAR model to explain: WHO- What it was? How you approached the work/situation? What the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? or STAR- What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take? What were the Results of your actions? Offer Once all interviews have been completed, you will be notified of the outcome by email. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first. The successful candidate will be notified of a start date following successful security checks. Additional information received after the closing date will not be considered. Failure to provide sufficient information in support of an application prior to the closing date will not be considered as grounds for an appeal if an applicant is not shortlisted for interview. Security Clearance: This role requires National Security Vetting given the access to sensitive information afforded by the job role. You can find more information by reviewing the information held in the following links: United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK ( The vetting charter - GOV.UK ( In addition, there is a minimum UK residency requirement set by the Cabinet Office which is dependent on the security level required for the role. This role requires SC and to be eligible to apply for this role you should have been present in the UK continuously for the past 5 years Neither Detached Duty terms nor relocation costs will apply to this post. Further Information: Further information about the post may be obtained from Nadine Milne via email to. All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit. This job description should not be taken as constituting conditions of employment. Please note that due to the high interest in NIO opportunities, feedback cannot be given if you are unsuccessful at the sift stage. Feedback is available on request if unsuccessful following the interview. Complaints: The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commissions Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. Please contact SSCL () in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Reserve Lists: In the event that the advertised post following interview, identifies more appointable applicants than available posts, we may hold applicant details on a merit/reserve list for a period of 12 months from which further future appointments can be made. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact to be removed from the reserve list. 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 everyones circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review. For nationally advertised role: 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 locations respective pay scale (any legacy arrangements/locations will need to be amended). Some of MoJs 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 MoJs 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.