Finance Officer Ref. 3391 Department: Finance, Audit and Procurement Location(s): Central Manchester, Cheltenham, London Salary : London: £37,281 or £38,602 (specialist pay band), Cheltenham and Central Manchester: £34,777 or £36,178 (specialist pay band) Job description Flexible Working: Due to the sensitive nature of the role, youll be based in the office five days per week. However, we know how important a good worklife balance is, which is why we offer part-time (minimum 4 days) and compressed hours, with flexibility around start and finish times. And you wont take your work home with you. Full time hours are up to 37 hours, depending on location. About Us MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats like terrorism and attempts by states to harm the UK, its people and way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing and assessing intelligence, and then work with a range of partners, including MI6 and GCHQ to disrupt these threats. Through our protective security arm, we provide advice and guidance to government, businesses and other organisations about how to keep themselves safe. A role in MI5 means youll do unique and challenging work in a supportive and encouraging environment, making a real difference to UK national security. The Role Our finance teams keep our internal spending on-track. Which makes them critical to our work. Whether youre just starting out in your career or looking to progress, our team offers numerous opportunities to grow your skills and build a long-term career in finance. We currently have roles across a variety of teams, including Financial Analysis, Financial Accounting and Reporting, and Financial Operations. As one of our Finance Officers, youll be a key part of managing our annual expenditure. Depending on where you join, your work will have a slightly different focus. In Financial Analysis, youll provide vital insights that help us make decisions across the agencies. In Financial Accounting and Reporting, youll summarise, analyse and detail the UK Intelligence Services financial transactions. Or theres Financial Operations, where youll ensure were able to respond to ever-evolving business needs. Whichever team you join, youll be involved in the overall running of our finance function. Youll build and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders, both internal and external, working closely with them to ensure a consistent approach to financial advice and processes. And youll use your communication skills to help you explain finance requirements to colleagues and customers who might not be familiar with financial concepts. You might be producing reports and completing analysis on them, offering financial advice, or ensuring purchase orders are actioned and requisitions are raised correctly. And youll be involved in month and year-end processes, helping your colleagues across mission teams, enabling functions and beyond to get their finances in order and meet requirements. And youll do it all as part of a welcoming, supportive workplace thats committed to helping you fulfil your potential. We offer and fund a generous study package to support you in gaining your professional qualifications, so you can develop your finance career in the long term. To see the kinds of opportunities you could grow into, take a look at our finance careers page - https:www.mi5.gov.ukcareersfinance. About You To apply, youll need to either have experience in a similar role, have achievedbe actively studying AAT or higher, or holdbe expecting a 2:2 or higher in a FinanceAccountingMaths EconomicsBusiness degree. Youll enjoy solving problems and working with others, and youll have the skills to develop collaborative relationships with key stakeholders and negotiate effectively with them. Inclusivity and teamwork will be important to you, as will learning new things and developing your skills. Youll also have a passion for what you do, attention to detail, and a drive to contribute to our overall mission of keeping the UK safe. Training and Development If youre passionate about professional development and skill building, well fund your training and support you in gaining qualifications with AAT, ACCA, or CIMA. While you study, youll benefit from a generous paid leave package, which varies depending on the qualification youre studying for. Additionally, youll be assigned a dedicated buddy, receive guidance from your line manager, and have access to internal communities, support networks, and mentors. Rewards and Benefits Along with your starting salary, youll also have access to other benefits including: 25 days annual leave, automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme Interest-free season ticket loan Excellent pension scheme Cycle to work scheme Facilities such as a gym, restaurant, and on-site coffee bars (depending on your location) Paid parental and adoption leave Equal Opportunities At MI5, diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds. Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website: https:www.mi5.gov.ukcareersworking-at-mi5diversity. Were Disability Confident MI5 are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWPs Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a fair and proportionate number of person-to-person interviews to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. This is our Offer of Interview (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are: Passing the eligibility stage Meeting essential criteria for the role at the application form stage There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best, see our website for information on reasonable adjustments we can offer. What to Expect Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Heres a brief overview of each stage, in order: Initially, well ask you to complete our pre-screening questions to find out if you meet our criteria. If you do, well invite you to begin an application Youll need to create an account and provide your full name, email address and memorable password. Once youve successfully created a personal account, youll be asked to complete a registration form, providing contact details and equal opportunities information Youll then be invited to complete an online application form If successful at this stage, you may then be invited to a final interview, which will include competency-based questions and further exploration of your motivation to work for the UKs Intelligence Services Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6-9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer. Before You Apply To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here. This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). Its something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here. Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you cant take any recreational drugs and youll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage. Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first andor surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application with us more discretely. The roles are based in London, Cheltenham or Manchester so youll need to live within a commutable distance of the location you choose. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. A loan is available to support people relocating to London. Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member. Right to Withdraw Statement: Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.