Deputy Director of Finance - Health and Safety Executive

The Deputy Director of Finance will be an integral part of HSE’s senior leadership group, forging strong relationship with strategy, policy and operational teams across the organisation, ensuring the financial strategy and the rolling three-year financial plan are fully aligned to HSE’s strategy and support the delivery of the Business Plan.

The role will be responsible for the relationship with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) strategic finance teams, HM Treasury (HMT) spending team and others in the centre of Government covering all aspects of strategic finance including leading all aspects of spending reviews and other fiscal events.

Key Responsibilities and Activities

• Leading and developing the rolling medium-term financial plan, maintaining key assumptions, driving their delivery with Executive Committee and leading HSE’s responses to Spending Reviews and centrally requested financial commissions.
• Leading the production of the Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) to strict deadlines and ensuring maximum contribution across Finance and operational teams. Lead the relationship with National Audit Office (NAO) and project manage HSE’s response to the annual external audit of the ARA.
• Leading the provision of a financial service to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) ensuring all key performance indicators are delivered and supporting the BSR in the production of key financial statements for the ARA.
• Acting as a catalyst for change to improve financial processes, innovation and value for money, ensuring advances in data, analytics and artificial intelligence are fully utilised for financial reporting. This includes a key role for as the Senior Responsible Officer for the Synergy programme which will replace the Single Operating Platform.
• Developing the activity based costing model to support effective cost recovery for regulatory activities and working across operational, policy and legal colleagues to ensure resilient mechanisms are in place for charging, invoicing and collection of £100m of income.
• Driving robust assessment of organisational performance through business intelligence tools which support the Executive Committee Performance Hub.
• Co-ordinating operational and financial reporting and forecasting across HSE and maintain effective working relationships across DWP, MHCLG, HMT and other funding government departments. The role will be critical in building and maintain trust and credibility with colleagues in these departments.
• Embedding the five finance government standards across HSE and seeking regular assurance that these are working effectively. This will be across both central finance and business partnering to ensuring high standards are maintained.
• Leading on the Division’s workforce plan, learning and development requirements and integrating services to ensure sufficient capability, capacity and resilience to support the strategic direction of HSE.
• Leading HSE’s carbon reducing programme through estate utilisation, travel and supply chain initiatives.

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.

Application Process

Your online application via CS Jobs should be completed no later than 23:55 pm on Monday 28th September 2026. You will need to complete the online application process, outlined below:

1. A CV 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 (max 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 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 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.

If you are successful at the application stage, you will 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. We will be assessing against the following Success Profiles at interview: Experience and Behaviours.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

You may also have the opportunity to speak with David Murray prior to the final interview to learn more about the role and organisation. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process.

Candidates may be asked to complete a presentation as part of the interview process, you will be given the subject in advance. Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.

Interviews for this role will be held face to face at HSE, Redgrave Court, Bootle, Liverpool.

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.

Should you encounter any issues with your online application please get in touch with us via:

scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

For further information about the role and the selection process please review the attached candidate information pack.

Indicative Timeline

We will try and offer as much flexibility as we can, but it may not be possible to offer alternative dates for interviews. You are therefore asked to note the below timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process, in order to meet the dates given. Please note that these dates may be subject to change.

The anticipated timetable is as follows:

Advert Close Date Monday 28th September 2026 23:55

Shortlist Week commencing 5th October 2026

Interview Week commencing 19th October 2026

Reasonable Adjustment

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 need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service at: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Complete the ‘assistance required’ section in the ‘personal information’ page of your application form to provide information we should be aware of that will enable us to support you further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Reserve lists

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, which the Civil Service may use to fill future suitable vacancies across government for candidates who are considered appointable following interview.

Further Information

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

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