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Reference number
Salary
Job grade
Contract type
Business area
Type of role
Finance
Working pattern
Number of jobs available
Contents
Location
About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information
Location
About the job
Job summary
Our apprenticeship recruitment scheme is open to anyone who can meet the listed essential qualifications and apprenticeship entry requirements, including those with a genuine interest in Finance who are seeking a ‘career change’.
Based on your location preference, you will be matched to a role in a Finance team within an area of Defence. This is an exciting opportunity to gain invaluable experience working in an area that delivers critical Defence Finance, whilst studying towards a Level 7 professional accountancy qualification.
Want to find out more about working as a Finance Apprentice in MOD? We will be holding an online event to enable prospective applicants to learn more about the roles in the campaign and the application process. There’s no requirement to attend this event in order to apply.
Click on the links below to learn more and register.
21st February 2024 12:30-13:30 – register here
27th February 2024 17:30-18:30 – register here
Job description
Apprenticeship Programme
You will undertake a Level 7 Apprenticeship with the choice of ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants), CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) or ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) professional bodies. This is an approximately 3.5-year scheme and you will be expected to maintain the commitment required to complete your apprenticeship, which is part of your employment contract. Non-completion of the apprenticeship may affect the terms of your employment with MOD.
Most of your learning will be ‘on-the-job’, ensuring you gain real life experience within a professional environment. Up to 20% of your time will be dedicated to ‘off-the-job’ training; this will be delivered through on-line courses, webinars and self-study facilitated by our training provider.
The Level 7 accountancy qualification is an industry and globally recognised qualification that provides you with the academic preparation and underpinning skills necessary to prepare you for your future.
Completion of both the Level 7 Apprenticeship programme and the practical experience requirements on the scheme will enable candidates to gain a Professional Chartered Accountancy Qualification.
Successful candidates will join the September 2024 cohort. Due to course enrolment dates, we advise successful candidates to respond quickly to any job offers to ensure you do not miss out.
The Apprentice role will involve an element of home study, in your own time, to fulfil the requirements of the qualification. You may also be required to use your own IT equipment due to existing IT security restrictions.
Person specification
We are looking for talented and motivated people with potential and a genuine interest in developing a career in finance. You will be matched to a role within one of our departmental Finance teams and will have a range of responsibilities to develop your finance skills and embed the learning from your apprenticeship.
Typical responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Main Responsibilities
- Producing reports and dashboards for monthly financial and budget reviews.
- Reviewing, analysing, and interpreting financial data, escalating issues where appropriate.
- Working to resolve issues identified during audits and embed solutions by engaging with relevant stakeholders.
- Providing accurate financial information and advice to challenging deadlines.
- Ensuring integrity and accuracy of systems and data, engaging with others to resolve inaccuracies.
- Seeking feedback and continuously improving the service provided to customers.
- Being open to challenge and new ideas, building a supportive team environment and encouraging sharing of best practice, knowledge and experience.
- Making decisions on day-to-day issues within your area(s) of responsibility, involving senior staff or experts where required.
If you’re already working or considering a career change, we still want to hear from you – providing you meet the above essential criteria and the apprenticeship eligibility requirements below.
To be eligible to apply for the apprenticeship, all applicants need to meet the following criteria:
- Meet the minimum qualifications criteria.
- Not be undertaking another apprenticeship at the same time.
- Candidates need to make sure they do not have pre-existing qualifications at the same or higher level in a similar subject as the apprenticeship.
At the enrolment stage, a person’s eligibility will be checked by our training provider.
No application can be accepted after the closing date.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Qualifications
5 GCSE (level 2) qualifications, including Maths and English Language, at grade 4 (C) or above or equivalent.
AND EITHER,
Degree or equivalent (Level 6) qualification in a finance-related subject.
OR
Minimum of 96 UCAS points under the 2017 tariff point system (e.g. CCC at A Level or equivalent qualifications, not including General Studies) AND finance work experience relevant to the main responsibilities of the post (this should be demonstrated in your personal statement).
Evidence of the above qualifications will be required as part of your pre-employment checks before a formal offer can be made.
If you’re in your final year of university and are predicted to achieve these qualifications by August 2024, you can still apply.
Click here for the UCAS Tariff calculator. https://www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator
Click here for details of accepted equivalent qualifications. https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
and (https://scqf.org.uk/media/e5pjypw4/qccb-web-oct-2019.pdf) for Scotland.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Delivering at Pace
Benefits
- Gain an internationally recognised and respected qualification.
- Up to 20% ‘off the job’ training; this is protected apprenticeship time.
- Skills coach to support you with your studies.
- Coaching and mentoring opportunities with experienced personnel.
- Hybrid-working (the ability to work in the office and from home, with an expected minimum of 60% of your working time in an office or on official business).
- Flexible working hours upon completion of 6 months’ service.
- 25 days (rising to 30 days after 5 years) annual leave plus 8 public holidays per year and leave for HM The King’s Birthday.
- Learning and development tailored to your role.
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
- A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%.
Allowances
- This post does not offer any assistance with relocation allowances.
- Posts located in High Wycombe and London attract location specific allowances.
- On completion of the professional accountancy qualification and practical experience requirements, a recruitment and retention allowance may be payable for those who are qualified Level 7 accountants.
Employment Hours
The post advertised is for 37 hours net, however the Ministry of Defence offers a range of flexibilities to enable a better work-life balance for employees. Flexible working patterns will be considered.
Location preference
- Please select your location preference. Roles are available in Aldershot, Andover, Bristol, Corsham, High Wycombe, London, Northwood, Salisbury (Porton Down) and Portsmouth.
This post does not offer relocation expenses.
This post does not offer any assistance with relocation allowances, however, some applicants may be eligible to claim Apprentice Living Away from Home Allowance.
Discover My Benefits
Please follow the link to visit the Discover My Benefits site which showcases the benefits and discounts offered when working as a civilian for the MOD.
https://discovermybenefits.mod.gov.uk/civilian/
The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.
Hybrid Working
Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estates capacity. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another MOD workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). DBS cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements. These roles are working 37 hours per week full time. The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
When applying, you’ll complete an initial registration and be required to undertake the Civil Service online numerical and verbal tests.
If you pass the online tests, you will then be asked to provide a personal statement of no more than 1250 words, which should cover the following questions:
- Why do you want to be a Finance Apprentice in the MOD?
- What relevant skills can you bring to the role?
- How do you plan to balance working and studying to achieve the qualification?
- What have been your biggest challenges to date and how have you overcome them?
Please ensure your personal statement demonstrates how you meet the Essential qualifications required.
The top scoring candidates will be invited to an online interview which will include a short presentation of 5 – 10 minutes.
At interview you will be assessed against the following Civil Service behaviours:
- Leadership (short presentation).
- Communicating and Influencing.
- Working Together.
- Delivering at Pace.
In the rare case where individuals have exact matching scores, the order of merit will be determined based on the behaviour scores at interview in the following order:
- Communicating and Influencing.
- Working Together.
- Leadership.
- Delivering at Pace.
We want to offer opportunities to all who are successful at interview for our roles, but this isn’t always possible, so we do hold candidates on an active reserve list for 12 months.
Application sifting is scheduled to take place from week commencing: 4th March 2024 .
Interviews are planned from week commencing: 2nd April 2024.
A minimum of 2 full working days’ notice will be provided for interviews. We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs.
Please note offers of employment are subject to achieving satisfactory pre-employment and security checks. These include an Occupational Health Assessment and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). As part of this you will need to confirm your identity, employment/education history, nationality and any criminal record (unspent convictions only).
The level of security needed is Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting in some locations (see below). It is essential that ALL requests for information are completed fully and timely, as incomplete information may result in significant delays. Offers of employment are also subject to candidates achieving acceptable grades where predicted.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is SC for most locations, with all roles in London and some Bristol roles requiring DV clearance. Candidates for Bristol roles will be asked whether they want to be considered for DV and SC roles, or SC roles only. Those willing to be considered for DV roles will be offered roles dependent on their position in the merit list for both DV and SC roles in their preferred location(s).
Nationality Requirements - Further Information for Candidates
1. This post is classed as ‘Reserved’ as per Civil Service Nationality Rules Section 3. In accordance with these rules, ‘only UK nationals may be employed in reserved posts in the Civil Service’1 (Paragraph. 3.1).
UK National Definition
2. The definition of a ‘UK National’ can be found at Paragraphs. 1.4-1.8 of the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Dual Nationals
3. As per Paragraph. 1.41 of the Civil Service Nationality Rules:
4. ‘Candidates with dual nationality are in principle eligible for employment in the Civil Service provided that they meet the requirements in relation to one of their nationalities [i.e. UK National]. They may not be eligible, however, for employment in certain reserved posts where additional nationality requirements are imposed.’
Additional Restrictions for Reserved Posts
5. As per Paragraphs. 3.10-3.11 of the Civil Service Nationality Rules:
6. ‘…departments and agencies are entitled to impose additional requirements in reserved posts if this is considered necessary. This could include, for example, requirements as to the residency of the applicant or the nationality of one or both parents of the applicant.’
7. If you are a Dual National who possesses UK Nationality and wish to check your eligibility for the post, please contact our recruiting team at the details below. Please be advised that we will not be able to provide a justification for our decision for security reasons.
8. Irish nationals and Commonwealth citizens are also eligible for employment in reserved posts if they were in the Civil Service at 31 May 1996 or before, or were appointed from a recruitment scheme with a closing date for receipt of applications before 1 June 1996. (Paragraph. 3.1)
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
Further information
Applicants should monitor their Civil Service Jobs application centre regularly for updates.
Some of MoD’s Terms and Conditions of Service (TACOS) changed from 3 February 2014. Those TACOS changes applied to Broader Banded and Skill Zone staff who were new recruits to MoD or who were appointed to a post on substantive promotion, progression or advancement. On the same basis, the TACOS for Departmental Retained Grades changed with effect from 01 September 2014.
All employees joining MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a 6-month probation period (unless otherwise advised) effective from the employment start date.
Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
Complaints
Please be aware that the selection and interviewing of applicants is the responsibility of the Recruiting Line Manager (RLM) and not the Defence Business Services (DBS) Resourcing team. DBS do not play any part in the selection and interview process.
Therefore, if you wish to discuss your feedback, or you are dissatisfied with your markings, you should in the first instance raise this with the Recruiting Line Manager of the vacancy.
If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint. by writing to DBS at the following address:
Complaints Management Team, Defence Business Services, Oak Building Mail Point #6109, MOD Abbey Wood North, Bristol, BS34 8QW
If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address:
Civil Service commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ
Or by email: info@csc.gov.uk
Cabinet Office Fraud Checks
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant whose details are found to be held on the IFD will be refused employment
Civil Service Recruitment Principles
Please see the link below for the civil service recruitment principles.
https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-principles/
To find out a bit more about what it’s like working for MOD, visit the Civil Service Careers Website
https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/departments/working-for-the-ministry-of-defence/
Please see the MOD Privacy Notice link below which describes how we will use your personal data, explains your rights and gives you information you are entitled to under Data Protection legislation.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-privacy-notice/mod-privacy-notice
