JOB DESCRIPTION

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 our London office is c.£80,000 and for our Newcastle office it’s c.£70,000 per annum, 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 Head of Finance. The role is responsible for the day-to-day operation of Financial Reporting, Financial planning and Management Accounts, and oversee the management of outsourced payroll. The role is expected to provide high quality and added value financial and business services to the Office. It also includes production of an unqualified financial statement, minimising the risk of impropriety and internal fraud and maintenance of effective internal control financial management and reporting systems.
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 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
To be considered for this role, please submit your up-to-date CV along with a covering letter (maximum two pages) detailing how you meet the key person criteria before the application deadline of Wednesday 10 September.
Interviews are scheduled to take place during the week commencing 22 September.

Nationality Requirements:

• UK nationals
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with (or eligible for) status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

Please note, we are not able to sponsor work visas. Please contact us at hrservicedesk@nao.org.uk should you have any questions on your nationality eligibility.
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, CIMA.
• Demonstrable experience of leading a finance function in a central government or wider public sector organisation.
• Sound technical knowledge in accounting, financial reporting, and budgeting and proven experience of public sector finances, HM Treasury Guidance, Parliamentary reporting requirements and International Financial Reporting Standards and their application in central government.
• Proven track record of producing statutory accounts for audit.
• Evidence of influencing senior stakeholders and contributing to strategic decision-making.
• Demonstrates meticulous attention to detail and maintains a consistently high level of accuracy across a variety of tasks, actively contributing to an environment that minimises the risk of fraud and error.
• Ability to think strategically to link operational finance to strategic goals and improvement of the finance financial management practice across the Office.
• Demonstrated analytical thinking and knowledge of systems, supported by good financial modelling, appraisal, analysis and advanced spreadsheet skills.
• Demonstrated digital acumen and ability to drive changes to deliver the finance development roadmap, with demonstrable experience of leading or contributing to the implementation and continuous improvement of financial systems and reporting tools. Including automation, adoption of efficiency and productivity tools.
• Proven ability to plan and prioritise to manage competing demands, meet strict deadlines, and maintain a balanced and composed approach in high-pressure situations.
• Ability to communicate effectively and to project a confident professional style when delivering presentations and ability to draft documents to NAO standards, presenting complex financial information clearly and concisely.
• Ability to engage and influence key internal and external stakeholders including ET, Board, Directors, Internal Auditors, External Auditor, third-party suppliers and HMRC etc.
• Proven ability to lead and motivate a team; experience in managing difficult staffing issues; demonstrable evidence of coaching and developing staff and identifying opportunities for progression in accordance with skills and technical ability.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership of function

• Manage day-to-day finance operations and ensure efficient and effective systems with robust internal controls.
• Deputise for the Director of Finance when required, representing or producing and presenting Finance papers at Executive and Directorate meetings as needed.
• Promote finance continuous improvement and innovation across the function including greater use of technology and automation, and ongoing process improvement.
• Lead the finance team and promote a culture of inclusivity, collaboration and continuous improvement and provide performance coaching and regular feedback to direct line reports
• Responsible for the Finance and Travel Policies and ensuring compliance with HMRC policies on relevant finance matters.
• Ensure compliance with all the relevant transparency and reporting requirements.
• Provide professional and technical advice on finance matters to the Finance Director, Chief Operating Officer and the Executive Team as required.
• Contribute to the preparation of briefing for the C&AG and Chief Operating Officer ahead of the Parliamentary hearings where required by the Director of Strategy.

Financial Reporting

• Lead the production of the NAO’s financial statements in accordance with Audit Committee deadlines and associated briefing for the Comptroller and Auditor General prior to sign off.
• Oversee accounting and transaction processes and cash management and ensure that NAO does not exceed the financial year budgetary cash, resource and capital control totals set by Parliament
• Attend all Audit Committee meetings and advise on any matters relating to Finance as required.
• Manage relationship with both Internal and External Audit and to implement agreed recommendations which pertain to finance matters.

Financial Planning and Management Accounts

• Manage the production of the NAO annual resource estimate (budget) in the format required by HM Treasury based on the approved NAO strategy. In addition, to prepare the Vote on Account or Supplementary Estimate (if required)
• Oversight of the timely preparation of clear, reliable monthly management accounts for the Executive Team, providing insights into performance against budgetary control totals [revenue, capital and cash].
• Manage planning and analysis of financial information to produce insightful future forecasts, including scenario planning, to support Executive Team decision making.
• Contribute to the operational planning process, strategy development and preparation of briefing for the C&AG and Chief Operating Officer ahead of the Parliamentary hearings.

Payroll Services

• Oversee the payroll and pension service arrangements with the outsourced payroll provider ensuring that all required services are delivered accurately and on time.
• Oversee the contract management of the third-party payroll provider.

Systems and automation

• Work in conjunction with the corporate reporting team to develop and continuously improve the management information systems to ensure they provide complete and accurate information on project costs, progress and output.
• Promote innovative use of relevant tools to drive automation, streamline processes, modernise finance reports to deliver actionable analysis, insights and forward-looking decision making.
• Drive efficiency of financial management processes for frontline and corporate group colleagues.

Accountability
Reports to: Director of Finance
Direct and Team Reports: Three direct reports and a wider team of circa 7.
Budget and resources: Finance cash budget of about £400k and VAT recoveries of about £1m.