JOB DESCRIPTION

Director of Finance
Location: The role can be based in either our London or Newcastle office, with a minimum of 2 days per week in the office and, if based in Newcastle, regular travel (circa twice a month) to the London Office.
Salary: The starting salary for the NAO Director grade is £93,468, although this can be subject to negotiation for exceptional candidates.
About the role
The NAO is pleased to announce a vacancy for the post of Director of Finance. The role will oversee the functions of Finance, Procurement, and Facilities management, ensuring that the NAO is equipped with the resources to deliver its strategy and demonstrate value for money in its operations. The NAO comprises around 1,100 people who carry out their work from its London and Newcastle Offices; the annual expenditure of the NAO is around £130 million. This role is not only about managing finances but also about championing innovation, promoting best practices, and leading a high-performing team to achieve its strategic objectives.
This is an exciting time to join us as we begin our new five-year strategy. The NAO plays an essential role in our democracy. We provide independent assurance to Parliament on government accounts and trusted insights on how well public money is spent. Our 2025-2030 strategy sets out our ambition to increase our impact on the productivity and resilience of services and the quality of financial management and reporting in government. Maintaining and continuing to improve our own high quality financial management and resilient operations supports us to be an even more credible and authoritative voice with Parliament and our other stakeholders.
How to apply
Please submit an up to date CV and covering letter of no more than two pages on how you meet the key person criteria listed above. Send your application before the application deadline of Midday Monday 23 June.
We expect to hold interviews on 7 and 8 July. Shortlisted candidates will be offered a pre-interview discussion with Rebecca Sheeran, Chief Operating Officer.
Equal opportunities and diversity
Disability and Reasonable Adjustments
Applicants with a disability who wish their application to be considered under the Disability Confident scheme should confirm this when submitting their application. Under this scheme we guarantee an interview to an applicant with a disability who meets the minimum requirements for the role. You should also let our HR team know if you wish us to consider any Reasonable Adjustments at any stage of the process (HR Service Desk (HRServiceDesk@nao.org.uk).
Applicants will not be discriminated against on the grounds of any protected characteristic or any other extraneous factor.

SKILLS REQUIRED

Key Person Criteria

• Qualified Accountant- e.g. ACA, CIPFA, ACCA;
• An experienced leader capable of building and maintaining highly motivated inclusive teams;
• Proven ability to develop strategy and build influential relationships with internal and external stakeholders;
• Strategic commercial thinker with strong negotiation and influencing skills;
• Creative and solutions focused, with a strong focus on continuous improvement;
• An ability to identify to potential risks in the external and internal environment and propose solutions to mitigate them;
• An ability to strategically focus on productivity and efficiency in the running of the NAO’s operations;
• Experience with working with multidisciplinary teams- e.g. facilities, procurement;
• Ability to identify and promote the behaviours that support good financial management across organisations.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Qualified Accountant- e.g. ACA, CIPFA, ACC

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership and Governance

• Develop and implement a comprehensive financial plan that supports the NAO’s Strategy 2025-2029, ensuring the NAO has the right resources to respond to any new demands from Parliament.
• Work with the Chief Operating Officer (COO) to identify opportunities to demonstrate value for money in the NAO’s operations, drawing on benchmarking and cost-efficiency reviews and helping to increase productivity as our audit responsibilities evolve.
• Champion innovation in our financial systems, reporting and data management, encouraging people to feel empowered to try new things, speak up when they have ideas and share their learnings.
• Ensure financial resilience by supporting business continuity planning and scenario modelling for impact of major changes in the external environment.
• Inspire, develop, and lead a high-performing, forward-thinking finance team, promoting a culture of inclusivity, collaboration and continuous improvement. This includes providing coaching and honest feedback as required, a robust approach to tackling poor performance, and ensuring compliance with the NAO’s stated office working policies.

Financial Management

• Provide accurate and timely financial reporting to the Executive Team, NAO Board and other stakeholders. A fundamental aspect will be to gain their confidence in the information provided to allow effective decision making.
• Oversee the NAO’s budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning covering both operating expenses and capital purchases. This includes supporting the C&AG and COO in their preparations for budget negotiations with Parliamentary Committees and making sure our financial plans remain in alignment with the NAOs operational planning cycle.
• Promote best use of developments in technology and artificial intelligence to drive innovation in our financial practices. Support the development of systems and procedures for financial management and reporting, making sure of the integrity of the underlying data and that they are tailored to the business needs of the NAO.
• Work closely with Finance and Reporting Business Partners and FA Operations towards better streamlining our management information so as to effectively liaise with audit and project teams.

Financial Reporting

• Performance coach (line manage) the Financial Controller and provide support to the ongoing operations of the Finance Team.
• Oversee the close of our financial year end and production of financial statements on a timely basis, including presenting to the audit committee and leading them through the accounts finalisation process. Ensure the NAO receives a clean audit opinion, and that any management recommendations arising from the audit are followed up effectively.
• The financial statements should serve as an exemplar of good practice of public sector reporting requirements. This includes the adoption of new sustainability reporting, as well as other HMG initiatives which may arise.
• Ensure there is an internal control framework to allow accurate and timely processing of financial transactions and manage associated risks. Liaise with internal audit to follow up on recommendations and maintain financial integrity.
• Oversight of our payroll function, ensuring the Finance Team and HR Teams work effectively together alongside third party providers (currently partly outsourced) to ensure a fully integrated process.

Procurement and Contract Management

• Support the development of a procurement strategy and ethical procurement process which balances the need for the NAO to follow best practice but also which makes sure we reach the optimal commercial solutions.
• Support the effective implementation of changes introduced through the new Procurement Act 2023, which includes more flexible approaches but much greater transparency. Both ensuring compliance with the new regulations and actively leverage the greater freedoms they provide to best effect at the NAO.
• Take an active role in overseeing key supplier relationships and effective contract management across the NAO, helping to maximise the value we get from these relationships. Specifically provide expertise and support in the event of any commercial disputes, or difficult contractual negotiations.

Facilities Management

• Performance coach the Head of Facilities and provide support with respect to financial oversight of capital projects, supplier contracts, and management of operational budgets.
• Engage with our Property agents and the Facilities team to maximise the occupancy of our lettable office space, achieve competitive rental returns to maximise our property income.
• Support long term capital budgeting and asset replacement in a way which aligns with our aim to use energy in a sustainable way and make tangible progress towards our net zero ambitions for our London offices. Oversee the sustainability of the NAO’s estate and operations and ensure that we meet all our reporting and legislative requirements with regard to our environmental impact.

People and Stakeholder Management

• Maintain and develop internal networks and connections in the NAO. This includes the Audit Committee, the NAO Board and the Executive Team, but also includes Project Boards and the wider Directorate. The candidate should be able to leverage their position to influence behaviours and to improve our internal financial management and resource decisions.
• Build effective relationships with key external stakeholders including the HM Treasury, Scrutiny Unit of the House of Commons, External Auditors, HMRC, other audit offices and overseas bodies. It is important to use these relationships to demonstrate the value of the NAO and to promote our core strategic objectives.

Accountability
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
Direct and Team Reports: Three direct reports and a wider team of circa 20.
Budget and resources: Overseeing a cash budget of circa £6.5 million and reporting on the total NAO budget (circa £130m of spend)