Chief Financial Officer

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Chief Financial Officer to lead the Cabinet Office Finance directorate during a period of significant change and transformation in the department and as we prepare for a new multi-year Spending Round next year.

This is a fantastic opportunity to get deep experience working at the centre of government, contributing to the leadership and delivery of the Prime Minister’s priorities, as well as the future strategy for the UK Civil Service and Government functions and services.

As Cabinet Office CFO you will work closely with Cat Little in her role as both Permanent Secretary for the Cabinet Office and Chief Operating Officer of the Civil Service. You will be a member of ExCo and the Departmental Board (also attending the Cabinet Office Audit and Risk Committee), as well as representing the Cabinet Office in the Government Finance Function.

As CFO, you will be responsible for supporting the Principal Accounting Officer in managing risk and compliance with Managing Public Money. You will have a pivotal role in the establishment of the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the creation of the OneGov Agency, which will take effect from 1 April 2027.

Working with the Cabinet Office Chief People Officer, you will play a leading role as part of the Matrix cluster of departments, overseeing Cabinet Office’s migration to a new ERP (shared services platform) and developing strategic opportunities for shared corporate services across the wider Cabinet Office Group.

You will report to Harriet Aldridge, Cabinet Office Chief Operating Officer and work alongside functional leaders in Strategy, HR, Commercial and Digital as a key part of the Cabinet Office Corporate Services Senior Leadership Team. You will lead a team of 4 Deputy Directors (SCS1s) and c120FTE based predominantly in London and Glasgow.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership:

• You will provide strong, visionary leadership for all aspects of the Cabinet Office Finance function, including strategic finance, financial controls and operation, compliance, debt and risk.
• You will play a key role in the creation of the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC), and in the establishment of the OneGov Delivery Agency, which will involve the carve out of a number of service delivery areas from the department of state.
• Working closely with the Chief People Officer (CPO), you will oversee the Cabinet Office’s migration to the new shared services platform as part of the Matrix cluster, and the strategic opportunities for future corporate services that come from this.

Financial Management and performance:

• You will provide the department’s Permanent Secretary, Board and Executive Committee with a clear understanding of our financial performance including budgets, forecasts, risk and opportunities, and choices / trade offs to optimise the use of resources and ensure that the resources authorised by Parliament for use by the Cabinet Office are used for the purposes intended.
• You will provide accurate and timely Estimates to Parliament and a robust cash management system.

Strategic financial advice:

• You will be responsible for providing the Permanent Secretary (as Principal Accounting Officer) with high-quality advice to ensure the financial and accounting consequences of decisions / options are well understood, and ensuring that the Accounting Officer is appropriately discharging her PAO duties with respect to Regularity, Propriety, Feasibility and Value for Money.

Financial Planning and controls:

• You will lead the department’s financial planning process, as part of Business Planning, ensuring the department has a coherent, affordable and effective financial plan that can be delivered within an acceptable risk tolerance. This includes having personal accountability to the Accounting Officer for the economic, efficient and effective use of resources and working closely with other key partners, in particular the Cabinet Office’s Strategy Director, Chief Digital & Information Officer and the Chief People Officer, to secure the resources the department needs to deliver its policies, programmes and operational delivery requirements.
• You will be responsible for leading and ensuring compliance with HMT spend controls and overseeing Cabinet Office corporate compliance and assurance, as well as debt management.

Skills and capability:

• You will be responsible for developing and continuing to improve the financial management capability of the department and its leaders, through education, control and influence.
• You will lead the Government Finance Function within the Cabinet Office to build strong, diverse, effective and high-quality inclusive functions that are respected and collaborative, command credibility at all levels and promote a culture of evidence based and expert decision making, as well as value for money across the organisation.

Governance and performance:

• You will be responsible for ensuring the department has clear and effective frameworks for budget management, planning, performance and investment management.

Business Partnering and Stakeholder management:

• You will be required to influence and build relationships with senior leaders and stakeholders, including at Board level, with HM Treasury and other government departments; with partners in the Matrix shared services cluster and challenging constructively to ensure alignment with financial and organisational strategy.
• You will be responsible for leading and developing a highly expert, respected and user focused business partnering function which operates in a wholly integrated and seamless way with HR, digital and commercial teams.

You must hold a professional finance qualification (CCAB,CIMA or equivalent.) and must be evidenced in the qualifications section of your application.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Application process

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process, outlined below. This should be completed no later than 23:55, Monday 28th September 2026.

1. A CV (max 2 pages or 1250 words) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.

2. A Statement of Suitability (no longer than 1250 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification.

Failure to complete both sections of the online application form (CV and Statement of Suitability) will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

As part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say’. See the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for more information.

Should you encounter any issues with your online application please get in touch with us via: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Selection process

Your application will be acknowledged when it is received.

A panel, will assess all applications to select those demonstrating the best fit with the role by considering the evidence provided against the criteria set out in the ‘Person Specification’ section. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

The sift and interview panel chair will be Tony Poulter – Civil Service Commissioner. The other sift and interview panel members will be:

• Harriet Aldridge – Chief Operating Officer, Cabinet Office
• Catherine Vaughan CB – Finance Director for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• TBC

The timeline later in this advert indicates the date by which decisions are expected to be made, and all shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter.

If there are a large number of applications, a long list stage may be introduced during the recruitment process. This is reflected in the timeline later in the pack.

If you are shortlisted, you may be asked to take part in a Staff Engagement Exercise assessment. This assessment will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, it is designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas to explore further at interview. For more information about the assessment process, please follow this link: https://scs-assessments.co.uk/

If you are shortlisted you will also be invited to attend a panel interview, in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification.

Shortlisted candidates may also be invited to attend an informal discussion with any of the following:

• Harriet Aldridge - Cabinet Office Chief Operating Officer,
• Cat Little - . Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary.
• Potentially a Cabinet Office Minister – TBC

Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates. If you are required to prepare a presentation for the final interview you will be given the subject in advance.

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies in the Civil Service requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without the need for a new competition.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

• Advert Closing Date - 23:55 Monday 28th September 2026
• Longlist Meeting - Monday 12th or Tuesday 13th October
• Longlist Interviews - Between 19th and 23rd October 2026
• -Shortlist Meeting - Thursday 29th or Friday 30th October 2026
• Assessments & Informal Discussions - w/c 9th November 2026
• Interviews - w/c 23rd November 2026

Interview location - London

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you feel that you may need a reasonable adjustment to be made, or you would like to discuss your requirements in more detail, please contact: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk in the first instance.

Further information

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'contact point for applicants' section.

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 UK residency in the past 10 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to Cabinet Office 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. Determine your eligibility at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

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