Details
Reference number
434817
Salary
£60,293 - £66,375
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
Job grade
Grade 7
Pay Band 2
Contract type
Permanent
Business area
FC - Forestry England - Finance
Type of role
Finance
Working pattern
Full-time
Number of jobs available
1
Contents
* Location
* About the job
* Benefits
* Things you need to know
* Apply and further information
Location
Bristol
About the job
Job summary
A senior finance leadership role responsible for overseeing financial accounting, tax compliance, and banking operations across Forestry England and the Forestry Commission. The postholder leads a team of nine, ensures timely and accurate production of statutory accounts, manages external audit relationships, and provides strategic guidance on financial reporting and tax matters.
Job description
Management, leadership and collaborative working:
* Managing a team of 9 people in delivering financial accounting, banking and tax services
* Maintaining strong professional relationships with colleagues across the organisation, including working closely with:
* The Transaction Processing, Finance Business Partnering, and Finance Systems teams, to ensure the delivery of robust financial information and reporting
* District and Business Unit Finance Managers, supporting their delivery of transactional accounting information
* Contributors to the Annual Report and Accounts, including senior management
* Ensuring that accounting, banking and tax services for the Forestry Commission are delivered to a good standard
* Model Forestry England's leadership behaviours
In addition, the postholder will deliver, or manage their team in the delivery of, the following services and outputs:
Financial accounting and reporting
* Preparing, to audit-ready standard, the interim and annual accounts for Forestry England and Forestry Commission, in accordance with HM Treasury's Financial Reporting Manual and other relevant guidance
* Leading production of the Annual Report section of the Annual Report and Accounts, including being responsible for identifying all information requirements, liaising with contributors, and managing the quality assurance process
* Liaising with external audit, including preparation or collation of all audit schedules
* Providing Whole of Government Accounts returns to HM Treasury
* Management of the Annual Report and Accounts production timetable, including issuing guidance to colleagues nationally
* Providing clear and comprehensive national guidance on financial accounting matters
* Ensuring Forestry England accounting practice remains compliant with HM Treasury's Financial Reporting Manual, including implementing new accounting standards and other disclosure changes as and when required
* Monthly reconciliation of all active asset and liability account codes
* Capital accounting, including accounting for the nation's forests
Tax:
* Completion of tax returns, including VAT and CIS returns, and their appropriate recording in the ledger
* Providing first line advice and guidance on tax matters, and liaising with external advisers where appropriate
* Monitoring and quality control of VAT recording across Forestry England and the Forestry Commission
* Provision of training and guidance to colleagues across the organisation
* Responding to HMRC queries and correspondence as necessary
Banking:
* Banking services as provided by the Government Banking Service, including ensuring payments can be processed in a timely manner and cash balances are appropriately safeguarded
* Efficient banking processing, ensuring Forestry England and the Forestry Commission have a clear view of their cash position and outstanding debt balances, and bank reconciliations are completed in a timely manner
* Management of the Government Procurement Card contract and administration of GPCs internally, including ensuring that our systems and processes adequately protect the organisation from fraud and error
* Management of the Payment Service Provider and Merchant Acquirer contracts, including administration of the issue and surrender of terminals as appropriate
Person specification
The postholder will be a CCAB, CIMA, or equivalent, qualified accountant with significant relevant experience, responsible for:
* Delivery of the Annual Report and Accounts for Forestry England and Forestry Commission
* Leading and managing a team of 9 people in delivering finance services, including: financial accounting, tax and banking
* Liaison with external audit, including ensuring that all audit schedules are provided and all queries answered in a timely manner
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £60,293, Forestry Commission contributes £17,466 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
* Learning and development tailored to your role
* An environment with flexible working options
* A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
* A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant qualifications, experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form.
You will be assessed on a technical skill during your interview.
The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –
* Seeing the Big Picture
* Making Effective Decisions
* Managing a Quality Service
* Leadership
* Delivering at Pace
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)
* 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
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
* Name :
* Email :
Recruitment team
* Email :
Further information
Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Principles.If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact FCE by email: If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.