Chief Financial Officer - Part Time

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UKGI is looking for a qualified accountant to join it's Executive Committee as the Chief Financial Officer. The role is offered on a part-time basis (c. 3 days per week) and would be suitable for someone with the right skills looking to return to the workforce after a period away.

About UKGI

At UK Government Investments (UKGI), we create value for society from government’s most complex commercial interests. What we do is unique, and so are we. Wholly owned by HM Treasury (HMT), our team comprises c.150 experts who work together to provide high quality corporate finance and corporate governance expertise to departments, advising in support of their policy objectives.

Working for UKGI provides a unique opportunity for talented individuals from the public and private sector to contribute to work of national importance. The work we do is challenging and fast-paced and is always significant in terms of social, economic, and political impact.

Our work is delivered in four areas:

Governance: Acting as the representative for, and leading the establishment of, UK government’s most complex and commercial arm’s length bodies on behalf of sponsor departments. We typically perform this via a dedicated shareholder team and provide a Shareholder Non-Executive Director as a member of the arm’s length body’s board. We work on behalf of 9 departments for 24 publicly owned businesses which together employ over 158,000 people, generate around £30bn of gross income and manage over £1trillion of assets.

Corporate finance: Advising departments on corporate finance matters, including all major government financial interventions into distressed corporate structures and corporate finance negotiations. We have undertaken a key advisory role in some of the most high-profile transactions and situations facing Government, including the sale of Chelsea Football Club, as well as supporting departments with matters arising from the ongoing war in Ukraine and supporting the launch of the Energy Markets Financing Scheme

Asset Realisation: Preparing and executing all significant corporate asset sales by the UK Government, including supporting the policy to return NatWest Group to the private sector

Contingent Liabilities: Improving management of fiscal risk by strengthening expertise within government. This involves undertaking a new, cross-government data collection and analysis project that will help map the current contingent liability landscape.


About the Role

The UKGI Chief Financial Officer is a core member of the UKGI leadership team, working alongside highly experienced and senior corporate finance professionals and corporate governance practitioners to develop a financial strategy and system of control which supports UKGI’s varied and unpredictable advisory mandates. Responsible for UKGI’s annual turnover of c£25m, the successful candidate will need to demonstrate agility and pragmatism, with a clear focus on outcomes and value for money, in order that UKGI can continue to be flexible to the evolving requirements of ministers, government departments and arm’s length bodies.

The post holder will:

- Lead the UKGI finance function, assuming overall responsibility for UKGI’s financial strategy, annual budgeting and reporting, monthly monitoring, and compliance with all relevant legislation, standards and guidance. The finance function comprises five team members (3.5 FTE), with most finance functions outsourced to HM Treasury shared services.
- Form part of the UKGI leadership team, as a member of UKGI’s Executive Committee and Operations Committee, contributing to development of the strategy and the annual business plan.
- Attend UKGI Board meetings and Audit & Risk Committee meetings, having overall responsibility for agreeing the agenda and forward plan for the ARC with the Committee Chair.
- Implement UKGI’s new funding model, as the business rebalances from grant-in-aid from HM Treasury towards increased reliance on income generated from other government departments for advice, and with it, managing associated income, cashflow and forecasting risks.
- Have responsibility for ensuring the overall effectiveness of UKGI’s system of internal financial controls, and advising the CEO in their role as Accounting Officer on all matters relating to the propriety, regularity and value for money of UKGI’s activities.
- Be responsible for UKGI’s corporate risk management including its corporate risk register.
- Manage the relationship with the National Audit Office and Government Internal Audit Agency.
- Along with the Chief Operating Officer, foster strong relations with UKGI’s sponsor department, HM Treasury, ensuring the work of UKGI, its mandate and strategy is well understood by HMT officials, and to lead negotiations on UKGI’s annual funding settlement.
- Quantify the impacts and benefits of UKGI’s work.

Person specification:

- Qualified accountant
- Proven leadership and people management experience, with an ability to support the development of team members
- Able to establish credibility with ExCo and the Board in both finance and strategic matters
- Clear ability to balance the need to adhere to process with a focus on outcomes, and a willingness to span both strategic and operational elements of the role
- Strong stakeholder management skills to engage and negotiate with government departments regarding funding
- Sensitivity to the wider policy environment in which UKGI operates, and to the need for UKGI to deliver its mandate for client departments
- Acts in accordance with UKGI’s values, and in particular promotes UKGI’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
- Familiarity with government financial reporting and budgeting and key guidance including Managing Public Money


Diversity Statement

UKGI has a strong commitment to equality and diversity. Our aim is to be an open and inclusive organisation, recruiting and retaining diverse, talented and high-performing people who support and develop one another.

UKGI is a Disability Confident Employer. This means we’ve been recognised as an employer which is confident and leading the way in recruiting and retaining staff with disabilities. We will offer an interview to any applicants with a disability who have indicated they wish to take part in the disability confident scheme, provided they meet the essential criteria for the post set out in the person specification. If you need any reasonable adjustments to take part in the selection process, please tell us about this in your application.

UKGI is also part of the ‘Great Place to Work for Veterans’ initiative. This means that as part of our commitment to diversity and equality in our recruitment and retention policy, we will offer an interview to any eligible applicants from His Majesty’s Armed Forces provided they meet the essential criteria for the post set out in the person specification. Please indicate on your application that you wish for your application to be considered as part of this initiative.

In line with company policy, we will be employing a hybrid working model based, with 40% of your time being home-based. At UKGI we place a high degree of value on work life balance and as such applications from individuals seeking flexible working, reduced hours contracts and job shares are also actively encouraged.

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