Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Financial Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting (PBF) Change Delivery Lead
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Birmingham, Bristol, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, York
Job Summary
This is a key role in Defra Group Finance, supporting one of our most significant transformation priorities – delivering a single, consistent approach to planning, budgeting and forecasting (PBF) across Defra and its Arm’s Length Bodies.
As the PBF Change Delivery Lead, you will help turn agreed policy and design into practical delivery. You will work closely with finance teams across the group to develop clear plans, support implementation, and resolve issues so that changes are delivered in a coordinated and proportionate way.
You will play a critical role in connecting strategy with delivery – bringing teams together, supporting shared learning, and ensuring progress is tracked and issues are escalated appropriately.
This role offers exposure to senior leaders across Defra and its Arm’s Length Bodies and would suit someone who is comfortable working in a complex environment, influencing without direct authority, and turning ambition into practical outcomes.
This role is central to ensuring that changes to planning, budgeting and forecasting are delivered in practice, not just designed. By supporting consistent and workable implementation across the Defra Group, you will help improve financial insight, governance and decision‑making at scale.
Job Description
As the PBF Change Delivery Lead, you will play a key role in delivering changes to how Defra Group plans, budgets and forecasts. You will work with teams across Defra and its Arm’s Length Bodies to turn agreed policy and design into practical, deliverable activity.
You will act as the link between strategy and delivery – helping ensure that decisions made at senior level are implemented in a consistent and workable way across different organisations, while recognising their different starting points, capacity and governance arrangements.
In This Role, You Will:
- Develop and maintain clear delivery plans, milestones, action logs and risk and issue trackers for PBF change activity across Defra Group.
- Lead and coordinate a cross-group delivery forum, bringing together Defra and Arm’s Length Body colleagues to share progress, resolve common issues and agree next steps.
- Work with local finance teams to help them translate group-wide PBF requirements into practical implementation plans that fit their context.
- Identify delivery challenges, such as skills gaps, process issues, dependencies or sequencing risks, and work with colleagues to resolve or escalate them.
- Track progress across the group and provide a clear view of delivery confidence, risks, issues and decisions needed.
- Prepare concise advice, briefings and updates for the PBF Process Owner, senior finance leaders and relevant governance forums.
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You will work closely with the PBF Process Owner, senior finance leaders, and stakeholders across finance, change and delivery teams.
Person Specification
Candidates Must Be Able To Demonstrate:
- A strong finance background, with experience of planning, budgeting and forecasting, or closely related financial work.
- Experience of turning complex policy, design or change requirements into practical delivery plans.
- Experience of coordinating delivery across multiple teams or stakeholders, including working across organisational boundaries.
- The ability to influence and work effectively without direct line authority.
- The ability to identify delivery risks, issues and dependencies, and work with others to resolve or escalate them.
- Clear communication skills, including the ability to provide concise updates and advice to senior leaders.
Experience of delivering change involving systems, process improvements or new ways of working.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Working Together
- Communicating and Influencing
- Making Effective Decisions
Salary
Alongside your salary of £56,375, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £16,331 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
Selection Process Details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Ability and Experience.
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, one behaviour, and a Personal Statement. The CV should cover your previous job history and will be assessed against the Essential Skills and Experience in the Person specification.
The Personal Statement should be no more than 750 words and demonstrate how you meet the Essential Skills and Experience criteria outlined in the Person specification.
You will also be required to provide a 250 word statement on the lead behaviour - Delivering at Pace
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Location
As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).
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Visa Sponsorship Statement
Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.
Criminal Record Check
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.
However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Nationality Requirements
This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Feedback
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Contact Point for Applicants
Job Contact:
Name: Alison Cole, Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting Process Owner Email: alison.cole@defra.gov.uk Telephone: 07967636084
Recruitment Team
Email: defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further Information
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: here
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