Head of Financial Accounting

The advertised salary is inclusive of a base salary of £54,857 and an allowance of £4000.

Pension: Generous employer pension contribution.

Job grade: Grade 7.

Contract type: Permanent.

Working pattern: Flexible working, full-time, job share, part-time, compressed hours.

DVSA is a large, complex government organisation responsible for road safety. It operates across Great Britain, generating an annual income of around £450m and employing approximately 4,600 people.

This position is to lead the Financial Accounting. This specialist team sits at the heart of Finance. The team is responsible for the integrity of the finance systems, statutory reporting and managing the balance sheet including fixed assets.

The Head of Financial Accounting is responsible for ensuring effective financial stewardship including compliance with financial standards and best practice, delivery of the Annual Report and Accounts, managing the annual audit and delivering an unqualified audit opinion.

The position directly leads a team of 5 colleagues, also providing influence and direction to the whole of the Finance department on matters of financial accounting. It provides expertise in financial accounting and has exposure to senior leaders as well as external stakeholders.

Person specification:

• You will be a fully qualified CCAB accountant (or equivalent) with excellent knowledge and experience of financial accounting.
• You will have great communicating and influencing skills and be able to deliver complex finance messages to a broad range of stakeholders.
• You will have extensive experience of working with statutory reporting frameworks (such as UK GAAP, IFRS etc.) and delivering Annual Report and Accounts, or equivalent.
• You are proactive with a strong record of delivery.
• You will have experience of leading financial activities in a large and complex organisation.
• You will have the confidence and enthusiasm to make a real impact within our team driving those around you to achieve the same shared objectives.

This role can be based in Swansea, Nottingham or Bristol, your presence at one of these locations will form part of the working arrangements agreed with you. We operate a hybrid working model giving you greater flexibility about where and when you work. Our expectation is that you will spend a minimum of 60% of your time at your base location. Visits to other DVSA sites or work locations count towards this.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part-time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.

How to Apply:

Please refer to the full advert on Civil Service Jobs - reference 405419.

For this role you will need to submit a CV which must include your employment history, relevant experience to date, and professional qualifications and memberships.

For your CV, please provide detailed evidence of your experience against the following essential criteria:

• Delivering Annual Report and Accounts, or equivalent.
• Experience of leading financial activities in a large and complex organisation including for example working in an accountancy practice with large complex clients.

Please note, for this vacancy, we are working with our recruitment partner Hays.

Please send your CV to Jackie Taylor. The selection process will include an interview and presentation. Interviews are likely to be held from 23rd June 2025. This interview will be conducted via a video interview, details of which will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.