Vacancy -- Director of Finance

Recruitment Principles

The Welsh Government's recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

Vacancy Details

Health and Social Services Group
Senior Civil Service 2
circa £150,000
Full time (not suitable for candidates who wish to work on a part time or job share basis)
Permanent
Pan Wales

Closing Date

21/10/2022, 12:00

Purpose of Post

The Health and Social Services annual budget is in excess of £9bn, covering both revenue and capital expenditure. The majority of spending occurs within the Welsh NHS although there are also significant funded national programmes supporting social services policy. The way in which the Welsh Government (WG) is funded will continue to change significantly over the coming years. The Welsh Government has moved from being almost wholly reliant on a block grant to a much more complex system in which its budget is derived from a combination of a block grant, borrowing powers and taxes levied on Welsh businesses or citizens. This has meant significant opportunities for Welsh Ministers to use the additional financial flexibilities, but there are also risks to the way the process of change is handled. The postholder will play a key role in optimising and advising on opportunities within the context of the Health and Social Services Group.


The Director of Finance will report to the Director General of HSSG/Chief Executive of NHS Wales and will be a key member of the Executive Director Team. They will provide strong leadership for financial management and planning across the Group with a relentless focus on maximising the efficiency of the Group’s financial delivery. The Director of Finance will be responsible for delivering a high quality service, combining robust information and analysis to provide insight and constructive challenge, to effectively support strategic innovation and sound business decisions across the Group. They will maintain and develop a respected and collaborative professional team which commands credibility at all levels and promotes a culture of value for money across the Group and in their dealings with the NHS in Wales.


The Director of Finance will also ensure that the Group adheres to the principles of Managing Welsh Public Money and that the Additional Accounting Officer’s position is considered in all relevant decisions.
The post holder will serve as Head of the Finance profession within NHS Wales and, as such, will be expected to provide professional leadership to the NHS in Wales, supporting the Finance Academy to deliver the development and modernisation of the finance function within Wales whilst also promoting the highest standards of probity and corporate governance at every level of the service to ensure best use of resources. The Director of Finance will work through the NHS Executive to set and ensure delivery of the standards of financial management, control and governance expected of NHS Wales.


The Director of Finance will play a key role in supporting the delivery of the Government’s ambitions for greater integration across the health and social services sectors and for building a more resilient social care sector as a key partner to the NHS.

Equality and Diversity

The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and increasing diversity in the Welsh Government by removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We are committed to recruiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in Welsh Government.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage and civil partnership (both same sex and opposite sex), impairment or health condition, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or gender expression.

We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Disability Confident Level 3 (Leader) organisation. Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Minority Ethnic Support Network (MESN); Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.

Disability Confident

Welsh Government accepts the social definition of disability, in which it is recognised that barriers in society act to disable people who have impairments or health conditions or who use British Sign Language. We are committed to removing barriers so that all (or potential new staff) can perform at their best. The Equality Act 2010 uses the medical definition of disability (“a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term impact on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities”).

We guarantee to interview anyone who is disabled whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post. By ‘minimum criteria’ we mean that you must provide us with evidence in your application which demonstrates that you generally meet the level of competence for the role and any qualifications, skills or experience defined as essential. We are committed to the employment and career development of disabled people.

If you have an impairment or health condition, or use British Sign Language and need to discuss reasonable adjustments for any part of this recruitment process, or wish to discuss how we will support you if you were to be successful, please email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales as soon as possible and a member of the team will contact you to discuss your requirements and any questions you may have.

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Welsh Language Requirements

The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. 

The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Desirable
Can read some basic words and phrases with understanding
Can hold a basic conversation in Welsh
Can understand parts of a basic conversation
Can write basic messages on everyday topics

Social Partnership

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
•         PCS
•         Prospect
•         FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
•         pay
•         terms and conditions
•         policies and procedures
•         organisational change.

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.

Assessment Process

The below activities will form part of the overall assessment required for this recruitment exercise:
• On Line Psychometric Tests - these will include numerical and verbal reasoning and a discussion with a psychologist. You will receive a link to these on-line tests within 10 working days from the shortlisting meeting.
If you have completed the online psychometric test in the last 2 years, for a post at the same grade, it will not be necessary for you to take these tests again for this particular recruitment exercise.
• Staff / Stakeholder Engagement Exercise – these will take place on 4 November 2022. Further details will follow.
• Fireside Chat - Shortlisted candidates will take part in a Ministerial ‘fireside chat’. Date to be confirmed. Further details will follow.
• Panel Interviews & Presentation – these are scheduled 15 November 2022. These will also take place virtually via Microsoft Teams. Interviews will last around 45 minutes. The Panel will receive feedback on your psychometric tests and staff/stakeholder engagement exercise before you are interviewed. Your interview will consider how your skills and experience as outlined in your CV and personal statement meet the requirements of the role. Candidates will be given at least one week’s notice of the presentation topic. Please note that presentations are to be delivered without the use of hand-outs or electronic devices unless as part of a reasonable adjustment, however, you are welcome to use prompt cards.

How to apply

Completed application form, an up to date CV, together with a personal statement of suitability for the post should be submitted by the closing date.  All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have an impairment which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SCSrecruitment@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format or if you need to request a reasonable adjustment related to an impairment in order to submit your application.

To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system.  Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account.  Registration takes just a few minutes to complete.  You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register.  Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.  

If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

For further information regarding the Senior Civil Service recruitment process within the Welsh Government, please see the SCS Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link). Further guidance on Preparing Your Personal Statement (link) is also available.

When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)

Other information about the vacancy

Working hours
This is a full-time post and is available on a full-time or job share basis. It is expected that if you apply as a job share partnership, this arrangement is in place when submitting your application and please make it clear on your application form that you are applying as part of a job share partnership.


This vacancy's deadline has been extended to 21/10/2022 @ 12pm

15/11/2022
SCSRecruitment@gov.wales

This vacancy is closed to applications.