JOB SUMMARY

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is a non-ministerial department of over 1600 people. We play a critical role in protecting public health and consumers’ wider interests in food across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our vision is an important one - to drive change, delivering “food you can trust” and working towards a healthier and more sustainable food system.
Everything we do supports public health and consumer confidence in the food we eat. As our new Financial Operations Manager, you’ll play a vital role in helping us deliver that mission by ensuring the smooth and controlled flow of money in and out of the agency.
This is a key management role within our Finance team, reporting to the Financial Operations Lead and providing direction to the Finance Operations Supervisor and wider team. You’ll be responsible for overseeing the invoicing and collection of FSA revenue across England and Wales—managing over 1,000 customer accounts, raising more than 6,000 invoices annually, and working with external providers to manage cash receipts and recover debts. You’ll also lead on ensuring our Order to Cash processes meet government finance and debt management standards, providing assurance that they are being operated effectively and efficiently.

JOB DESCRIPTION

This role is about more than just numbers. You’ll be joining a close-knit, collaborative team that values knowledge-sharing, continuous improvement, and mutual support. We’re proud of our culture—friendly, inclusive, and driven by a shared commitment to public service. Many of us work remotely from across the UK, but we stay connected and work together to deliver a best-in-class finance function.
You’ll be joining us at an exciting time. Following the implementation of our Workday Finance and HR system in 2023, we’re continuing to evolve and improve how we work. You’ll have the opportunity to shape and influence our financial processes, working with stakeholders across the agency to ensure they’re fit for purpose, resilient, and delivering value for money.
We’re looking for someone with experience in financial operations, a collaborative mindset, and a passion for challenging the status quo. If you’re someone who thrives in a dynamic environment and wants to make a real impact in a public service organisation, we’d love to hear from you.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Please read the attached Candidate Pack to discover further details about the role, our organisation, who we are looking for and the criteria we will assess against during the selection process.
We look forward to receiving your application and wish you every success.

QUALIFICATIONS

A qualified/part qualified accountant (CCAB / CIMA)
or
have significant experience of working in a finance environment, being willing to work towards a recognised professional finance or debt management qualification (AAT, CCAB, CIMA or CICM).

EXPERIENCE

• Lead criteria: Demonstrable ability to work flexibly, adapt and lead a team to meet changing financial operations priorities, whilst adhering to strict deadlines.
• Strong planning, data analysis, interpretation and visualisation skills to develop strategic insight.
• Motivated to improve processes and services with good problem-solving ability.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with a strong focus on customer service and stakeholder management with ability to communicate financial knowledge to non-finance professionals.
• Experience of interpreting financial policy, guidance and legislation.
• Debt recovery management awareness or willing to develop skills in this area.

EXPERIENCE

• Motivated to improve processes and services with good problem-solving ability.
• Strong planning, data analysis, interpretation and visualisation skills to develop strategic insight (assessed via assessment exercise)

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

Technical: You will be asked a question to confirm that you meet the Technical requirements of the role.

• A qualified/part qualified accountant (CCAB / CIMA