Investment Committee Secretariat

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 306126**Salary**:

- £30,317 - £36,606- Salary - National: £30,317 - £32,803, London: £33,827 - £36,606 For details of our pay on appointment policy, please see below under the heading ‘Salary’.- A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%**Job grade**:

- Higher Executive Officer**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- DEFRA - COO - Finance - Defra Group Finance**Type of role**:

- Accountancy
- Finance
- Project Delivery**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time, Compressed Hours**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- East Midlands (England), East of England, London (region), North East England, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands (England), Yorkshire and the HumberAbout the job

**Job summary**:
DEFRA is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.

Defra’s Investment Committee is a sub-committee of the department’s Executive Committee and meets each Wednesday to consider project proposals submitted by Senior Responsible Officers (SROs) against HMT Green Book appraisal and evaluation principles with a focus on assurance of affordability, capacity, capability, deliverability, strategic alignment, and interdependencies. The Investment Committee assures and approves high spend and high-risk business cases, specifically focusing on those which breach delegated authority limits. It ensures that investment decisions are assessed against the Accounting Officer tests and scrutinises post-investment appraisals from projects.

Defra has an interesting, wide ranging and complex portfolio of capital, service improvement and transformative projects and programmes which currently includes 15 Government Major Project Portfolio Programmes.

**Job description**:
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Defra Financial Governance Investment and Investigations Team. The team is supportive and high-performing, and delivers a strategic, timely and high-quality service, underpinning the effectiveness and accountability of Defra’s senior leadership team. You will focus on providing a secretariat service to the Defra Group Investment Committee who scrutinise and provide investment decisions for Defra’s high spend, high risk initiatives improving delivery confidence and ensuring value for money.

We are looking for someone kind, inclusive, and caring for colleagues and stakeholders - with an eye for quality, continuous improvement, and a strategic mindset to join this team. To work flexibly in a supportive team to provide quality information to the Director General led senior committees and customers seeking approvals. Including responding to ad hoc information requests, both internal and external often with very tight deadlines.

Some travel maybe required for team meetings and training sessions.

**Key responsibilities will include but not be limited to**:

- Creating agendas, accurate minutes and action logs within tight timelines, liaising with the Defra Executive Committee Secretariat and other key secretariats to ensure escalations, risks and key decisions are communicated
- Ensuring business cases and consultancy requests include the requisite information and supporting documents to provide for informed investment assurance and decision making
- Engaging with and providing advice to project teams on Investment Committee assurance, financial approval and consultancy spend processes, ensuring projects follow the appropriate approvals process in accordance with the HMT Green Book
- Supporting the Investment Approvals and Governance Manager and key contacts to maintain an Investment Committee project pipeline and tracker
- Oversee and manage the effective running of services, collecting and responding to customer feedback, and leading continuous improvement in the team’s ways of working to ensure the highest quality of service
- Monitoring and reporting on performance of the assurance and approval services
- Build strong and trusted relationships with key senior stakeholders
- Operating as part of a team member improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the assurance and approvals services
- Role model and exemplify the values of inclusion, kindness and excellence in your behaviours and in the delivery of your role

**Person specification**:

- Excellent communication skills both written and verbal

**Qualifications**
- Green Book - Better Business Cases TM (or willingness to complete)

**Behaviours**:
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

- Communicating and Influencing
- Man