Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location Galashiels, Scotland, TD1 3TE About the job Job summary Looking for a challenge in a fast paced financial environment? The Scottish Public Pensions Agency is an Agency of the Scottish Government. Our principal role is to administer the pensions for employees in the National Health Service, Teachers, Police and Fire-fighters pension schemes in Scotland. The Agency administers these public service pension schemes on behalf of Scottish Ministers to over 640,000 members with annual payments of over £3.7 billion, together with the related agency administration expenditure of c. £31 million. The Scottish Public Pensions Agencys Finance function delivers a complete financial management, reporting, and treasury service combined with responsibility for finance transactions with members and employers, to ensure the delivery of value for money outcomes. The Senior Financial Accountant has overall responsibility for the financial reporting outputs of the Agency including monthly budget monitoring returns and the Annual Report and Accounts, for the support of operational processes and information to inform financial decision making by Senior Management and by Ministers. You will be a member of the business areas senior management team, managing members in one of the finance teams and supporting the Financial Controller and CFO. Responsibilities Lead and Manage the Accounting and Reporting team within the finance function, engaging and collaborating with both internal and external stakeholders to achieve outcomes. Provide professional technical accounting and budgeting advice, analysis and scrutiny of financial proposals to support business areas and contribute to future business strategies. Produce key statutory financial reports and notes to the Annual Report and Accounts, commissioning and collating the required information in accordance with the FReM and other accounting guidelines and regulations. Complete the associated Scottish Government Consolidation and whole of Government Accounts. Liaise with Audit Scotland and Internal Audit, on both the annual accounts and audit activity, throughout the year, and provide comments and management responses on draft audit report. Advise relevant Accountable Officer on any responses required to audit reports. Provide effective leadership and support to the team, including direct line management of staff. Job description Qualifications The successful candidate must be fully CCAB qualified with up to date CPD and relevant post qualified experience in an accountancy environment. Success Profile Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on. Experience: Producing key statutory financial reports and notes to the Annual Report and Accounts. Strong technical financial accounting skills and ability to communicate complex financial information clearly and succinctly to a wide range of audiences, including to non-finance colleagues. Experience of implementing or managing effective, sustainable change, modifying and improving behaviours. Highly effective leadership, communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence, negotiate and collaborate with a range of staff and stakeholders. Strong planning and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage a diverse workload and team; able to adapt to changing situations and managing competing priorities. Behaviours: Seeing the Bigger Picture - (Level 4) Leadership - (Level 4) Communicating and influencing - (Level 4) Delivering at Pace - (Level 4) You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Behaviour levels - Success profiles: candidate guide - gov.scot Person specification The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) is an Agency of the Scottish Government. Its principal role is to administer the pensions, premature retirement and injury benefits schemes for employees of the National Health Service in Scotland (NHSSS) the Scottish Teachers' Superannuation Scheme (STSS), the Fire Scotland Pension Scheme and the Police Scotland Pension Scheme. Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland. We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer. As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Working Pattern Our standard hours are 35 hours per week. We offer a range of flexible and hybrid working options, with two days minimum working on-site at SPPA. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us. Equality Statement We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation. Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them. Further information Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website. Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes. Benefits Alongside your salary of £57,701, Scottish Government contributes £16,715 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% Things you need to know Selection process details How to apply On our website, submit online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 1500 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the skills, experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profile above. If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and presentation. Assessments are scheduled for w/c 3rd March however this may be subject to change. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Nationality requirements 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) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job contact : Name : Philip McKibben Email : philip.mckibbengov.scot Recruitment team Email : scottishgovernmentrecruitmentgov.scot Apply at advertiser's site Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail