Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Synergy Finance Manager
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Birmingham, Bristol, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Peterborough, York
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.
As part of the Synergy Programme, we are modernising how we manage our HR, Finance, and Commercial activities by replacing outdated systems such as SOP with a new digital solution called Synergy. This will provide efficient, end-to-end transactional and functional shared services across the cluster.
This isn’t just a system change; it’s about enabling faster, simpler, and more efficient ways of working across Defra, our arm’s length bodies (EA, NE, RPA, APHA, MMO, VMD), and cross-government partners the Home Office, DWP, and MoJ. In total, Synergy will support nearly 250,000 public and civil servants.
This role is a great opportunity to work in large and complex change programme, as the lead for Expenses related activity and engagement. This will be part of a step change in how we will deliver corporate functions in the Defra Group as part of the Government’s Shared Services strategy. Working across Expense will require the need to manage complex structures and relationships, working with colleagues and experts across Corporate Services, and Defra’s ALB’s.
Job Description
We are looking for a highly driven individual who is an excellent team player and comfortable operating in a complex programme environment. They will play a critical role in supporting system, process and policy design, ensuring compliance with the key outcomes of the synergy programme. The position focuses on delivery of the Expenses programme milestones for Defra Group including local design through to user acceptanence testing. This role provides an excellent opportunity for an experienced finance lead with strong organisational, analytical, communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
The Role
- To be the lead Subject Matter Expert (SME) for expenses for the Defra Group. This is a critical role in helping to understand how the Synergy Programme will impact the expenses process and in helping design the necessary process changes and improvements. The role holder will work closely with Synergy product leads and System Integration (SI) team, and all ALB stakeholders to deliver this.
- To be the lead Expenses SME for Defra across all aspects of both system and user testing in the run up implementation of the new system.
- Deliver a range of projects and process reviews, covering policy updates, system integrations, reporting, and service enablement. As part of this, the role holder will be expected to identify opportunities to converge policy and adopt best practice, while ensuring business needs and standards are met.
- Act as a key member of the cross-cluster Expenses design squad working with SMEs across DWP, Ministry of Justice and the Home Office.
- Work within the Defra Group Expenses Stakeholder forum to test recommendations, seek expert advice to inform policy decisions, and resolve novel and contentious queries. This will involve close working with a variety of stakeholders, including ALB leads, tax, HR, and contract owners.
- Work across a number of complex stakeholder groups (including the central Synergy program, the Defra Synergy workstream leads, Finance BAU teams, ALB business areas and the wider user community) to ensure a joined up view and common understanding, while also influencing delivery outcomes.
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Person specification
Experience And Skills
The successful candidate will have the following essential skills and experience:
- Analytical and problem-solving skills with ability to present information clearly to senior audiences in an understandble and impactful way.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build influence and maintain strong working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
- Strong project management and organisational skills.
- Well developed written and oral communication, with the ability to convey complex information and concepts in a concise and useable way.
- Experience of establishing the most efficient ways of working, harmonising and standardising processes and polices across entities.
- Flexible approach to work across teams with the ability to be able to deliver results through others.
Essential Qualifications
Formal qualifications are not essential for these roles, but candidates should be qualified by experience and ability to demonstrate key skills and experience. This should include experience and understanding of financial processing and policies, shared services delivery or project management.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Working Together
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Changing and Improving
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
Working Together
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).
25 days paid leave, in additional to public holidays and the King's Birthday. Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements 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, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.
Application Process
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, 1 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 1000 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 - Working Together
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Sift
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
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Interview
If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Behaviours, strengths and a pre-prepared presentation.
Your interview will be conducted by video.
Interviews are expected to last no longer than 60 Minutes.
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
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).
Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.
The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.
Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.
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.
Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.
Salary
New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.
Reserve List
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Childcare Vouchers
Any move to DEFRA 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.
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.
Merit Lists
Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.
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
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