Assistant Finance Lead

Overview

Do you have excellent attention to detail and the confidence to advise and influence colleagues and stakeholders at all levels?

We are recruiting for Assistant Finance Lead to work within our Business Cases and Management Accounts & Monthly reporting teams. You will be working with wider Programme colleagues to support development and track progress of business cases and supporting month-end activity including journaling and analysing spend, reviewing forecasts, and discussing performance with Finance Leads and Budget Holders. There will also be wider team activity they can support, including developing our guidance for all staff and improving our processes and controls.

This is a key role and will require you to provide budget holders with sound financial guidance and advice. The role will require partnership working with senior budget holders to ensure compliance with all statutory requirements and best practice to assist business areas in achieving their objectives.

The Scotland Act 2016 devolves responsibility for a number of social security benefits to Scottish Ministers, as well as the power to top up benefits and create new benefits. The benefits to be devolved amount to some £2.9bn expenditure per year in Scotland and required the creation of a new Agency, Social Security Scotland, to deliver these benefits to citizens.

The Social Security Programme Directorate has been established to take forward the Scotland Act powers on devolved benefits. This vacancy is in the Social Security Programme Management & Delivery Division of the Directorate. Programme Finance sits within the Programme Management & Delivery division within the Social Security Programme, working alongside Policy, Analysis, technology, and change management experts to ensure that the Social Security Programme achieves value for money, continues to be affordable, and achieves its planned outcomes. This is a large and growing business area: there are over 800 people in the Programme currently and this will continue to grow over the next year.

Programme Finance covers four key areas:

• Financial planning – supporting future years planning and the overarching business case for Social Security
• Financial planning – supporting the key business cases underpinning the programme
• Management accounts and monthly reporting
• Financial accounting, controls, and governance

Responsibilities:

• Journaling and analysing spend each month, to understand where key spend is recorded in Social Security and changes month-on-month
• Reviewing forecasts and actual spend against budget, and supporting monthly meetings with Finance Leads and Budget Holders
• Supporting the Business Case team working with wider Social Security colleagues to develop business cases, including financial analysis and reporting
• Working flexibly across the team taking on a range of other work as required to ensure that priorities are met
• Maintain & develop forecasting models as required
• Work with key Senior Budget Holders to support their financial requirements
• Direct, coach and develop staff
• Prepare and review financial information as well as undertaking financial and staffing reconciliations

Minimum time in post:

You will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of three years unless successful at gaining promotion to a higher Band or Grade.

In the event that further posts are required, a reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for up to 12 months.