Deputy Director - Senior Finance Business Partners

Deputy Director, Senior Finance Business Partner – Future Farming Programme

Location: London, or with the willingness to travel to London regularly

Two-year contract with the potential for extension

With large and wide-ranging responsibilities, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) works collaboratively to protect the environment and to maintain and grow the rural economy. Our vital work is far-reaching and complex. Plus the UK’s impending exit from the EU continues to set us absorbing challenges. Join us and you will contribute to the development of new approaches and policies affecting millions of people across the country. This is a career-defining opportunity that offers networking and professional development.

At a fascinating point in the nation’s history, you will be instrumental in helping the Future Farming & Countryside Programme (FFCP) prepare for both ‘Deal’ and ‘No Deal’ EU Exit scenarios. Putting finance at the core of every decision, you will:

• Manage a team of policy and programme-focussed Finance Business Partners who will be working on FFCP-related challenges. This instrumental programme is establishing successor support arrangements for UK land managers and food producers post-EU Exit.
• Support the FFCP’s goal of replacing agricultural support payments with investment in environmental improvements. As such, you will guide a senior finance team in preparing bids for and securing HM Treasury funding, and you will help them address the potential impact of the EU implementation period in which existing legislation will roll over until 2020.
• Monitor FFCP programme finances, seeing to it that the project remains compliant with accounting standards and that year-end audit processes have been accounted for. This will include identifying and mitigating risks. 
• Take responsibility for the Rural Development Programme for England, providing advice to secure the future flow of funding, and ensuring the £0.5billion budget is being controlled and accurately reported.
• Maintain a constant awareness of achieving value for money, seeing to it that resources are being used appropriately. As such, you will use your considerable influencing skills to guide the senior leadership team, support the development of affordable business cases, and implement project budgeting.

As a CCAB qualified Accountant (or with an equivalent qualification) you will excel in this role if you are a motivated self-starter with the gravitas to help us create nationally-important results. You will have previous experience of networking with and influencing senior leaders, so we will expect you to have outstanding communication skills. Capable of building talent within your team, you will be a visionary leader with the capacity to make effective decisions and see the bigger picture. You will also have the ability to use insight to embed financial objectives in decision-making processes, supported by exceptional analytical skills. A team-player, you will encourage the team to work collaboratively at all times.

We aim to support the professional and personal wellbeing of everyone in Defra. Our benefits include generous annual leave, a contributory pension, staff bonuses and recognition, salary sacrifice benefit options, and an employee discount scheme. We also offer flexible working and a variety of learning and development opportunities.