Summary

Are you an experienced Finance Professional looking for your next challenge?

Does the opportunity to work on several large-scale projects worth millions of pounds, within Rail Group in the Department of Transport (DfT) appeal to you?

If so, we would love to hear from you

We welcome applications from every part of the community. We’re particularly interested to hear from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic people, women, disabled people and those who identify as LGBT+. We believe everyone is involved in making Rail Group an inclusive and great place to work.

Location London

Salary: G6: £64,727

Job description

Rail Group is responsible for taking Britain’s railway into the future – delivering a sustainable and customer-focused railway which puts passengers at the heart of the journey. Rail Group was created in 2013, bringing together the Department’s interests in rail – strategy, commercial contractual arrangements with train operating companies (TOCs) and major projects – into one centralised team. In Rail Group we are working on a diverse range of exciting projects - from making Wi-Fi available on trains, to awarding and managing contractual agreements with TOCs worth billions of pounds, to overseeing large scale, rail infrastructure projects – not to mention working in partnership with Ministers and a range of private and public-sector stakeholders.

We are seeking an experienced and hardworking individual to provide authoritative day to day support on financial decisions impacting various areas of the Rail division within the DfT. Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, our larger franchises were valued at over £1 billion per annum in revenues, and some delivered premiums worth hundreds of millions annually to the government.

The crisis has completely altered the financial landscape of our industry. Revenues are now only a very small fraction of their pre-Covid levels, and the normal financial mechanics of franchise contracts having been temporarily suspended under Emergency Measures Agreements (EMAs) between DfT and train operators.
 

Responsibilities

include but are not limited to;
• Leading on the financial aspects of the commercial management of current franchises and projects including analysis, assessment and forecasting;
• Developing, modelling, and contributing to the long-term forecasting of rail franchises and related projects across the Rail portfolio;
• Responsible for full financial due diligence across a range of submissions and business cases;
• Developing and communicating financial findings and analysis at DfT board level meetings and approval committees. Briefing of governance boards, Centres of Excellence and ministers at critical landmarks;
• Development of the financial elements of the Request for Proposal / Invitation to Tender for new franchise contracts, and ensuring the commercial proposition is accurately reflected at the various stages of the Transport Business Case.

About You

To thrive in this role, you will have experience and knowledge of the finance sector, the ability to build and establish collaborative relationships with a wide range of senior partners, experience of gathering, analysing and interpreting commercial and technical information and experience of communicating complex financial information to a broad range of audiences. This is a leadership role that will challenge and engage you, as a successful Finance Manager you will have an understanding of market and commercial drivers and the ability to develop strategies to exploit these, considering financial, legal and commercial implications. A high degree of personal resilience, with the ability to deliver and maintain your performance levels under ambitious circumstances.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together

Benefits

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.

Find out more about what it's like working at the Department for Transport.

Things you need to know Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

We are closely monitoring the situation regarding the coronavirus, and will be following central Government advice as it is issued. There is therefore a risk that recruitment to this post may be subject to change at short notice. In addition, where appropriate, you may be invited to attend a video interview.

Please continue to follow the application process as normal and ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

The sift is due to take place week commencing 26th October

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held week commencing 9th November

How to Apply
When applying please demonstrate and evidence the essential criteria in your CV and Personal Statement
• Experience of gathering, analysing and interpreting commercial and technical information;
• Experience of building effective working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders;
• Experience of presenting complex financial information to a wide range of audiences.

This interview could be conducted via a video interview, details of which will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment could include:
• an interview
• an interview and an exercise
• a full day of activities including interactive, written and timed exercises

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within.

The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

For further information on Success Profiles visit our Careers website.

Further Information

To learn more about applying for a role within the Department for Transport, visit the Application Process page of our Careers website.

Before submitting your application, we encourage you to visit our Things You Need to Know page for further information about applying for a role within the Department for Transport and the Civil Service.

Throughout this job advert there are links to the DfT Careers website, which provides you further information to support your application. Should you be unable to access the information on our website, please email [email protected] for assistance.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK, Commonwealth and European Economic Area (EEA) and certain non EEA nationals. Further information on whether you are able to apply is available here.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.