Legal Operations Finance Manager UK Covid19 Inquiry Team

at  Cabinet Office

JOB SUMMARY

In December 2021 Baroness Heather Hallett, a retired Appeal Court judge, was appointed by the Prime Minister as Chair of the independent public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic.
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry was formally established with full powers under the Inquiries Act 2005 in June 2022. The Inquiry sits independently of the Government with the Cabinet Office acting as the sponsoring department.
Following an initial set up phase the Inquiry began hearing evidence in May 2023. We are now looking for an energetic and collaborative Legal Operations Finance Manager to join the excellent team that is delivering the Inquiry.
This is an exciting role, offering the opportunity to lead an innovative team, in fast moving circumstances, to ensure lessons are learned from the UK response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Further information about the Inquiry can be found on the UK Covid-19 Inquiry website.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• The successful candidate will be flexible and adaptable, with the ability and willingness to work at pace.
• They will be comfortable working with staff at senior levels and from a range of different professional backgrounds.
• You will have excellent prioritisation skills, with the ability to balance immediate day-to-day challenges alongside ongoing deadlines.
• Proven ability to exercise judgement and discretion to resolve issues in a timely manner.
• Experience of tracking large budgets and creating processes for tracking financial spend against budget, with keen attention to detail.

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) (opens in a new window)
• 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 (opens in a new window)

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

As a Legal Operations Finance Manager, you will be responsible for the day to day running of all the Legal Operations Budget Lines (c. £65 million). You will lead on all forecasting, monthly reporting and work with the Inquiry finance team on all financial audits. There will be line management responsibility for up to 2 HEOs and countersigning line management for up to 3 EOs. Working to the Deputy Head of Legal Operations, the jobholder’s responsibilities will include (but are not limited to):

• Management of the day to day responsibilities of those working on the Legal Budget Lines including working with clerks to ensure counsel billing guidance is followed and processing and paying invoices.
• Working with Legal Operations SMT and the Inquiry finance team to develop forecasts and budgets for the current and future financial years.
• Leading on monthly financial reporting and end of year processes.
• Supporting recruitment of the team.
• Line management.

To apply for this role please provide the following:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential and desirable criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Statement of Suitability (500 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed.
• A 250 word behaviour statement for Managing a Quality Service