Job title: Assistant Finance Business Partner

Directorate: Chief Financial Officer

About us

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. Our roles support our service users and colleagues, where people and businesses access potentially life-changing justice.  We’re looking for individuals who are committed to public service and want to make a difference in people’s lives in delivering justice. If you’re interested in developing a career with a real purpose, please apply.

About the role

As Assistant Finance Business Partner, you will be at the heart of the organisation. Our role is critical in making sure that HMCTS make the most of its funding and has finance at the heart of its decision-making at all levels. You will have a deep understanding of the finances of your portfolio to provide trusted advice to your stakeholders up to SCS-level on managing their budget - whether it be in Operations, Digital, Property or the wider National Services function.

You will be part of a wider Finance Business Partner team. We take pride in being a welcoming, friendly team with a supportive culture and can-do attitude. We take learning and development seriously both for individuals and in driving continuous improvement, both within our function as well as sharing upskilling HMCTS staff in financial understanding and capability. We are also a flexible team, with true hybrid working across a national base of over 330 courts and tribunals buildings.

We are looking for either qualified or part-qualified finance professionals with excellent interpersonal skills. You’ll use these to build strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders as the foundation of your work. You will provide a real mix of advice, support and challenge to your colleagues, providing strategic insight and practical solutions; often this will go beyond purely financial considerations.

The role of business partner is a varied and interesting one and this role gives you the opportunity to make a difference in HMCTS. As the face of finance in your area you will be an influential voice in decision making. You will be a source of expert and impartial advice as well as a key source of knowledge and guidance. You will become a business expert, understand cost drivers and demonstrate a passion for the business, fully understanding what really matters to key stakeholders. You will look for untapped opportunities and work closely with other corporate functions including governance, commercial, HR and others to ensure their expertise is fully maximised.

If you are interested in applying for this role, please see the attached Finance Business Partner candidate information pack.

Who are we looking for? (Person Specification)

The ideal candidate for this position should also demonstrate:

Essential Skills

• Part qualified accountant, or currently working towards a CCAB or CIMA professional accountancy qualification

• Experience in a finance, business support or analytical role, supporting decision-making.

• Experience of working directly on Business cases with stakeholders and providing constructive challenge.

• Good capability in budget management, forecasting and financial analysis, with strong problem-solving skills.

• Strong Excel and data analysis skills, with the ability to present financial information clearly to non-finance audiences.

• An understanding of financial controls, accounting and project principles.

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective working relationships.

How to apply

Application Stage

Please submit:

• An anonymised CV. Please ensure your CV is uploaded in a simple format to prevent any formatting issues when it's downloaded or reviewed. 

Your CV should: 

• Be succinct and clear.

• Be factually accurate - You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, is truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own. 

• Include your qualifications, highlighting any modules or accreditation relevant to the role.

• Include your relevant experience, providing dates. 

• Provide detail - we are interested in how your knowledge, skills, and experience demonstrate the capabilities we are looking for in this role.

• Behaviour examples illustrating the following Civil Service Behaviours (up to 250 words each);

• Seeing the Bigger Picture

• Communicating & Influencing

• Making Effective Decisions

Please ensure you cover both ‘what’ you do but also ‘how’ you do it. (i.e., the effective skills, knowledge & experience needed to undertake the role). We recommend following the STAR format.

We will aim to sift all criteria but, in the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift may be conducted on the Communicating and Influencing behaviour only. Candidates who pass the initial sift of Communicating and Influencing will either:

• ⁠progress to a full sift where all application assessment criteria is then assessed.

• or progress straight to interview.

Interview Stage

If successful at sift, you will be invited to attend a remote interview, via Microsoft teams. During your interview, you will be assessed against the following Civil Service Success Profiles which will include:

• Questions in relation to the following Civil Service behaviours;

  • Seeing the Bigger Picture

  • Communicating & Influencing

  • Making Effective Decisions

• Strengths will also be assessed however these are not shared in advance.

Allowance

The post is eligible for an accountancy allowance for fully qualified accountants (CCAB/CIMA); allowance varies by location and will be confirmed at onboarding stage.

Travel requirements

There will be a requirement to travel occasionally to any HMCTS site in line with business needs.

About our benefits

We reward our people for their hard work and commitment. We have a number of family

friendly and flexible working polices that will help you achieve a healthy work-life balance. In addition, we offer a range of employee benefits which include generous annual leave, a highly competitive contributory pension scheme, childcare benefits, season ticket and bicycle loans.

Proud to Serve. Proud to keep justice going.