Head of Finance

Description

Ready for your next challenge?  Step into a leadership role that develops your team, drives improvements, and shapes financial planning at a senior level.

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced finance professional to take on a leadership role within our business support function.  In this role, you will support your business area's Deputy Director/Director in strategic and operational financial planning, manage the finance team, and provide high-quality advice and reporting to help achieve our objectives.

You will play a key role in driving improvements to financial systems, grant and contract management, and in-year and multi-year financial planning. This includes contributing to the Annual Accounts process with Audit Scotland, liaising with UK Government and local authorities, and advising on policy-driven expenditure approvals.

Responsibilities
Responsibilities

• Support your business areas Deputy Director / Director in strategic and operational financial planning and activities, influencing as part of the Annual Accounts process with Audit Scotland
• Lead and Manage the finance function, engaging and collaborating with both internal and external stakeholders to achieve outcomes.
• Strengthen provision of accurate, timeous, clear and concise reporting, engaging with colleagues in potential improvements to current systems and processes, with a focus on strengthening planning and leveraging improvements from system developments.
• Embed a learning culture throughout teams to ensure staff have the necessary skills and are developed and motivated, driving improvements in systems and controls.
• Provide effective leadership and support to the team, including direct line management of Senior Finance Managers.

Qualifications
Qualifications

The successful candidate should preferably be fully CCAB qualified with up to date CPD or have demonstrated their professional capability through effective delivery in previous roles in an accountancy environment.

Please confirm you hold these qualifications/demonstrated professional capability.  If you do not provide the necessary evidence on your application/CV, your application will not be considered.

Success profile   Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on.   Technical / Professional Skills:

• Understanding of Government Finance, Management and Reporting – Expert level

You can find out more about the skills required here: Finance Profession Capability

  Behaviours:

• Seeing the bigger picture – Level 4
• Leadership – Level 4
• Communicating and influencing – Level 4
• Delivering at pace – Level 4

You can find out more about Success Profiles here: Success profiles: candidate guide -
  How to apply   Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 1000 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the skills, experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profile above.   Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.   Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.   If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and presentation.    Assessments are scheduled for w/c 12 January 2026 however this may be subject to change.   Apply before 23:59 on 18 December This post is open to internal candidates and Common Citizenship Organisations only (external candidates and staff from UK Other Government Departments are not eligible to apply for this vacancy).   About us The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles. Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland. We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer. As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.   Working pattern Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role. You should aim to spend 40% of their contracted working time working in person at your contractual workplace, or (on an ad-hoc basis) at another agreed location, unless approval to depart from this target has been authorised due to an agreed adjustment or approved location exemption   Security checks Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions). You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide.    Equality statement We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.  Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.   Further information Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website. Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.

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