House of Commons

The House of Commons is a unique and exciting place to work right at the heart of the UK's thriving democratic system.

Behind the scenes, the House of Commons Service is made up of more than 3,000 employees who support and facilitate the smooth day-to-day running of the House. They provide professional services to Members of Parliament, their staff, and the wider parliamentary community.

Staff Benefits

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including:

30 days' annual leave (increasing to 35 days after first full leave year).
Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%.
Access to training and development.
Flexible working.
Interest-free season ticket loan and bicycle loan.

Introduction

The Finance, Portfolio and Performance (FPP) Team plays a leading role in delivering the House of Commons' Strategy and corporate priorities through business and financial planning, analysing performance, and supporting the delivery of projects and programmes across Parliament. Equally important are the financial services, systems, accounting, reporting, and Members' services that we provide to keep the House of Commons Service working effectively and efficiently on a day-to-day basis.

The Role

The Financial Accounting Team is at the heart of the Finance team, providing technical accounting advice across a range of topics such as asset management, capital investment, revenue recognition, and taxation positions, including off-payroll working.

The Head of Financial Accounting is responsible for leading on financial accounting, statutory reporting, and compliance advice, leading the financial accounts team in the House of Commons. You will work within the wider Finance community and Parliament's business areas to ensure that accurate financial information and analysis is available to enable informed decisions and the application of sound financial management and control.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

Managing team members and others' work and developing leadership skills within and across teams.
Motivating and developing staff, embedding principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion, and ensuring that the team makes a significant, positive contribution to the achievement of vision and business goals.
Contributing to the professional leadership and the wider finance function, working collaboratively with finance business partners and seeking ways to continuously improve the function, ensuring that appropriate local controls are in place and those with financial responsibilities are appropriately trained and informed.
Building and maintaining key relationships, in particular developing trust and rapport. This includes managing the expectations of senior managers and stakeholders.
Preparing the interim and year-end financial statements for the suite of Parliamentary Annual Report and Accounts, including the narrative sections, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation, public sector accounting requirements, and International Financial Reporting Standards.
Supporting a robust financial control environment, including fraud and risk mitigation, taking proactive action to maintain effective controls and addressing Internal Audit findings.
Ensuring that control accounts are maintained and that the balance sheet is appropriately managed and accounted for.
Providing support and advice to programmes and projects, including being a member of relevant boards, providing advice on the development of and scrutiny of business cases.

Skills and Experience

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

It is essential that the applicant holds a professional finance qualification (CCAB or equivalent) with up-to-date CPD.
Experience of preparing financial statements and experience of analysing and interpreting an organisation's financial information (both for internal and external purposes) to support strategic decision making.
Ability to develop and maintain collaborative relationships with key stakeholders (e.g. Strategic Finance, Finance Business Partners, Network Bodies, External Audit) working in partnership to ensure organisational priorities are delivered.
Leadership, and the ability to motivate and develop a diverse finance team and promote excellence. Able to manage and coach staff ensuring all professional training and development requirements are met.
A confident planner and organiser, being able to deliver through others, setting realistic deadlines that consider the resource implications for yourself, the team, and other stakeholders to ensure delivery targets are met to achieve a high-quality service.

Next Steps and Additional Information

Application Form - If you would like to apply for this role, please submit an application, as well as your CV, providing evidence against criteria 1-5 in the Job Description.

More information on the role and the full criteria can be found in the Job Description.

Please note that most job offers will be made at the minimum of the salary range, other than in exceptional circumstances.

We may close the vacancy prior to the closing date stated due to a high volume of applications.

Please note you may be required to complete a test and/or presentation as part of the selection process. Further details will be provided if this is the case.

Contact Details

For more information about the role, please email Sophie Nicolaou.

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