Chief Financial Officer (CFO), PackUK

Thank you for your interest in the role of Chief Financial Officer for PackUK, the Scheme Administrator for the UK Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) scheme.

This is a rare opportunity to help shape and lead the financial stewardship of a new national organisation at the heart of one of the UK’s most significant environmental reforms. As a senior leader in PackUK, you will play a pivotal role in building an organisation that supports the UK’s net zero ambitions while enabling sustainable economic growth.

pEPR is central to the UK’s transition to a circular economy. It places a legal obligation on packaging producers to pay the full net costs of collecting and disposing of the packaging they place on the market. In doing so, it will encourage the reduction of unnecessary packaging, support the use of more recyclable materials, and increase reuse and refill. It will also provide significant investment in the UK’s collection and recycling infrastructure, improving services for householders across the UK.

The pEPR scheme came into effect in January 2025, and PackUK is responsible for delivering the services and systems that underpin its operation. The Chief Financial Officer will play a critical role in ensuring the scheme is financially robust, well governed, and able to deliver effectively at scale.

PackUK brings together people with a strong commitment to recycling and environmental improvement. We are seeking an outstanding senior leader who can build and lead a high-performing, collaborative, and user-focused team, while providing visible, credible leadership across a complex and evolving stakeholder landscape. The successful candidate will bring a strong track record of strategic leadership, the ability to oversee effective financial operations and supporting systems, and a clear commitment to high-quality delivery and continuous improvement across the wider packaging reform programme.

You will need the strategic insight to shape and strengthen the operational arrangements that support the scheme, while bringing stakeholders across the packaging value chain with you.

Success in this role will depend as much on your personal qualities as on your professional background. As part of a newly established scheme, you will need strong networking and collaboration skills, alongside the ability to deliver operational excellence in a complex and evolving environment. You will need to:

• Build relationships with people from all backgrounds.
• Act as a key adviser and partner, using your skills to help shape a positive, inclusive, and authentic organisational culture.
• Bring people with you, both within the organisation and across the wider stakeholder landscape.
• Inspire and empower people at all levels.
• Adapt and apply best-practice methods and techniques in EPR design and operation from around the world.

This is a permanent appointment to support the long-term operation of PackUK. The Chief Financial Officer will report to the Chief Executive of the pEPR Scheme Administrator and work closely with senior leaders across the four nations of the UK. They will lead on financial strategy, governance, and commercial oversight to support the effective delivery of the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility scheme across the four UK nations. The role provides assurance over financial stewardship, producer fee income, local authority payments, delivery partner arrangements, and the control environment, while also enabling high-quality decision-making, managing risk, and building a high-performing finance and commercial function related to:

• Finance strategy, planning, budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting
• Financial governance, assurance, audit, and internal controls
• Producer fee invoicing, income collection, debt management, and local authority payments
• Commercial oversight of key delivery partners and delegated arrangements, including the Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO)
• Financial systems, data, management information, and performance insight
• Risk management relating to affordability, scheme delivery, and financial control
• Leadership of PackUK’s finance and commercial function, capability, and continuous improvement

Strategic financial leadership

Provide strategic financial leadership for PackUK, shaping financial strategy to support the effective operation of the UK packaging Extended Producer Responsibility scheme across the four UK nations.

Lead financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and control arrangements for a scheme that collects fees from obligated producers and distributes payments to local authorities, ensuring strong stewardship of public and industry funds.

Act as a trusted strategic adviser to the Chief Executive Officer, Ministers, the Board, and senior Defra stakeholders on affordability, scheme risk, value for money, and the long-term sustainability of PackUK’s operating model.

Financial governance and assurance

Ensure robust financial governance, assurance, audit, and internal control across PackUK, aligned with Defra and HM Treasury requirements and capable of supporting four nations oversight and confidence in scheme delivery.

Oversee statutory and non-statutory reporting on PackUK’s financial position, including transparent reporting on fee income, payments, liabilities, and overall scheme performance.

Maintain effective fraud, error, and debt management frameworks.

Commercial and contract management

Lead commercial oversight of PackUK’s delivery partners and delegated arrangements, including the Producer Responsibility Organisation, ensuring strong supplier performance, effective controls, and value for money.

Provide strategic advice on commercial strategy, procurement, contract performance, and delegation arrangements as scheme functions evolve.

Work with Defra Group Commercial to manage risk and support delivery outcomes.

Delivery and operational excellence

Ensure effective end-to-end financial operations, including producer invoicing, fee collection, debt management, local authority payments, and associated controls.

Drive continuous improvement across PackUK’s financial operations, strengthening efficiency, service quality, resilience, and readiness for future policy or delivery change.

Translate financial and operational data into insight to support performance and improvement.

Stakeholder engagement and influence

Build influential relationships across Defra, HM Treasury, the four nation governments, regulators, local authorities, and industry stakeholders to sustain confidence in PackUK’s financial management and support delivery of pEPR.

Represent PackUK with senior stakeholders on financial and commercial matters across government, regulation, and industry.

Provide clear strategic advice to Ministers and senior officials on financial and commercial matters.

Risk and decision-making

Enable high-quality decision-making through clear financial insight, constructive challenge, and evidence-based advice on producer fees, local authority payments, delivery trade-offs, and scheme affordability.

Identify and manage financial risks across the scheme, including fee income, payment accuracy, debt recovery, delivery partner performance, and regulatory or reputational exposure, ensuring timely mitigation and escalation.

Support strategic decisions and policy development by advising on financial, commercial, and delivery implications.

Leadership and culture

Lead and develop a high-performing finance and commercial function.

Build capability, embed an inclusive high-performance culture, and drive continuous improvement across systems, processes, and ways of working.

Provide visible and credible leadership in a complex and evolving operating environment.

CAB or CIMA qualified accountant (or equivalent), with current membership of a recognised professional body and substantial experience operating at a senior finance leadership level.

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

What you need to do to apply

Details of the assessment process and further information

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. You will be assessed on the following behaviours throughout the selection process:

Seeing the Big Picture

Leadership

Communicating and Influencing

Making Effective Decisions

Working Together

Application Process

As part of the application process, candidates are asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement (no more than 1250 words) on how your relevant skills and experience meet the essential criteria. Completed applications must be submitted no later than the closing date of 23:55, Monday 12th October 2026.

Sift

A sift will be conducted against the key criteria in the essential criteria and will assess your experience. Applications will be assessed by the selection panel and shortlisted.

(please note: feedback is not given at the shortlist stage)

Assessment - Staff Engagement Exercise

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 for the panel to explore further at interview. Full details of the assessment process will be provided to shortlisted candidates at the earliest opportunity. For further information regarding the assessments please visit - https://scs-assessments.co.uk/

Interviews

You will be asked 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 essential criteria for the role. As part of the interview, we may ask you to prepare and present a short presentation or undertake a practical desktop exercise. This will be confirmed in the interview invitation. We will also ask some strengths-based questions.

Interviews will be held face to face in London.

Other Information

Please let us know what adjustments we can put in place to help you through the recruitment process if you are disabled.

Candidates who pass the interview criteria but are not offered a post may be kept on a reserve list for 12 months and may be offered similar roles across the department.

Defra Is committed to ‘name blind’ sifting. That means that identifying characteristics such as your name, gender, age, or address are removed from your application until after shortlisting for interview has taken place.

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