Programme Finance Lead

Organisation: Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)

Job Title: Programme Finance Lead

Location: London / hybrid (60% in the office)

Salary: £60,778 to £68,422 (plus a £4,000 accountancy allowance)

Terms: Full-time, permanent

Notable Benefits: 25 days annual leave (+ Bank Holidays), eligibility to the Civil Service pension scheme (employer contribution of 28.97%)

Note: you must be a qualified accountant to apply for this role (e.g. CIPFA, ACCA, CIMA, CFA)

Allen Lane is proud to be supporting the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in their search for a permanent Programme Finance Lead. This is a Grade 7 position, where you will have a pivotal role in partnering with senior stakeholders to provide high-quality financial insight, challenge and support across a diverse portfolio of programmes.

As Programme Finance Lead, you will be responsible for driving strong financial planning, forecasting and performance management, helping to shape decisions and ensure resources are used effectively. It is an excellent opportunity for a motivated finance professional to broaden their experience in a fast-moving and complex environment.

This is a demanding role at times, and this role requires resilience, strong stakeholder engagement skills, and the ability to manage competing priorities. However, you will be supported by an experienced and collaborative Finance team, alongside a strong network of colleagues across the Agency.

The Programme Finance Lead role provides financial leadership and oversight across complex programmes, ensuring robust financial planning, monitoring, and reporting. You will be responsible for business case development, programme financial planning and forecasting, financial control and reporting, and acting as a business partner to Programme Managers and senior stakeholders. You will report into the Head of Strategic Finance.

In order to demonstrate your ability to fulfil this role, applicants should be able to demonstrate experience with the following essential criteria within their application:

• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Excel – Intermediate level
• Knowledge of: Managing Public Money; Value for Money; HMT Green Book
• Significant experience in previous Programme Finance roles and able to demonstrate how they have driven programme engagement, budgeting and medium to long-term planning.
• Experience of designing, maintaining and amending as appropriate programme finance and control systems to ensure the integrity, quality and timeliness of financial information.
• Extensive experience of collaborating with Programme teams with a demonstrable track record of managing change and improving performance through technical know-how and analytical skills.
• Significant experience of engaging and challenging senior stakeholders in arriving at the right financial decisions.
• Strong decision-making skills and able to demonstrate when and how to change or alter procedures and processes to achieve greater efficiencies and effectiveness.

Applicants will also demonstrate the following Behaviours in their application:

• Delivering at Pace: Ensure delivery of timely quality outcomes, through providing the right resources to do the job, reviewing and adjusting performance expectations and rewarding success.
• Making Effective Decisions: Ensure decision making happens at the right level, not allowing unnecessary bureaucracy to hinder delivery. Encourage both innovative suggestions and challenge from others, to inform decision making.

For full details on the role, organisation and personal specification, please review the candidate pack.

In order to apply, applicants must submit the following by 17:00 on Monday 3rd August to MHRA@allenlane.co.uk.

• A CV (no more than 4 pages is advised).
• A statement of suitability (no longer than 1,000 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 and Success Profiles in the person specification.
• A completed Mandatory Diversity Monitoring Form – click here to complete.

This role is be based at MHRA’s location in Canary Wharf, London. MHRA support flexible working, however for this role 60% time in the office is required.

Existing civil servants on level transfer will retain their existing base salary. Candidates applying on promotion will have their substantive base salary increased by 10% or start on the minimum of the Grade 7 scale of £60,778 per annum, whichever is greater. External candidates (i.e. new entrants to the Civil Service) will be appointed on the salary band minimum.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.