UK Covid19 Inquiry Team Head of Operations Finance and Reporting
| Posting date: | 02 July 2024 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £53,400 to £64,000 per year |
| Additional salary information: | National: £53,400 - £59,700, London: £58,800 - £64,000 |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 15 July 2024 |
| Location: | Birmingham |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Temporary |
| Job reference: | 359960/2 |
Summary
In December 2021 Baroness Heather Hallett, a retired Appeal Court judge, was appointed by the Prime Minister as Chair of the independent public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic.
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry was formally established with full powers under the Inquiries Act 2005 in June 2022. The Inquiry sits independently of the Government with the Cabinet Office acting as the sponsoring department. Following an initial set up phase the Inquiry began hearing evidence in May 2023.
We are now looking for an energetic, collaborative and experienced Finance and Reporting lead to sit as part of the Estates and Operations team to drive and maintain oversight of the Estates' governance, finance, and compliance responsibilities and reporting.
This is an exciting role, offering the opportunity to work as part of an innovative team, in fast moving circumstances, to ensure lessons are learned from the UK response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Please note that candidates invited to interview will be invited to declare any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interests which could affect the independence of the Inquiry, in confidence, to the senior recruiting manager. This may include current or prior work undertaken on the COVID-19 pandemic response. Decisions on any potential conflict of interest will be made before an appointment to the role is confirmed.
Further information about the Inquiry can be found on the UK Covid-19 Inquiry website.
Conflicts of interest.
Please note that candidates invited to interview will be invited to declare any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interests which could affect the independence of the Inquiry, in confidence, to the senior conflicts of interest recruiting manager. This may include current or prior work undertaken on the COVID-19 pandemic response. Decisions on any potential conflict of interest will be made before an appointment to the role is confirmed.
The Team
The Estates and Operations team is an inclusive and close-knit team of five, led by the Head of Estates and Operations. The team sits at the heart of the Inquiry, overseeing the running of the Inquiry’s permanent and temporary hearing and office spaces, with particular focus on staffing and running the hearing centre during preliminary and evidentiary hearings.
We are looking to recruit an experienced Finance and Reporting lead to sit as part of the Estates and Operations team to drive and maintain oversight of the Estates' governance, finance, and compliance responsibilities and reporting.
The Estates and Operations team is part of the People, Operations & Finance (POF) Directorate in the Inquiry Secretariat, and works across the entire organisation. The POF Directorate also covers a range of corporate functions including HR, finance and commercial, and support and safeguarding. It sits alongside the Programme and Information Management Services Directorate, the Policy, Research, Analysis and Legal Operations Directorate, the Communications and Engagement Directorate and the Inquiry's legal team.
As part of the Estates and Operations team the successful candidate will be responsible for driving and maintaining oversight of the Estates' governance, finance, and compliance responsibilities and reporting, ensuring effective delivery.
Working to the G6 Head of Estates and Operations and alongside the G7 Head of Estates they will work closely with and through colleagues in the Estates and Operations team and the wider Inquiry, as well as suppliers and external government partners including the Cabinet Office and Government Property Agency.
Key to the success of the role will be building trusted and effective relationships to ensure delivery, working collaboratively with and effectively influencing key stakeholders (internal and external to the Inquiry) to ensuring timely reporting, effective financial management, compliance requirements are met, with a view to achieving delivering a quality service and value for money for the Inquiry.
The post holder will lead on all estates and operations reporting activities relating to the Inquiry that will include but not be restricted to the following key responsibilities:
- Leading on monthly finance, commercial/contract management, risk and compliance reporting for the Estates and Operations team and contributing to regular and ad hoc briefings/reports as required and input into the Directorate’s Operations Committee.
- Working closely with Finance and Governance teams at the Inquiry to understand reporting requirements for the Inquiry, setting up processes to collate and report on relevant Estates and Operations areas in a timely way, focusing on continuous improvement.
- Building and maintaining strong working relationships with the delivery partners and suppliers, including the Government Property Agency and estate leads at the Cabinet Office.
- Monitoring contract and supplier performance, implementation of appropriate commercial management tools and techniques to ensure delivery whilst ensuring value for money is achieved.
- Identifying and implementing opportunities to reduce cost and improve performance. Delivering the maximum value to the business whilst focusing on regulatory compliance, ensuring that solutions delivered have a whole life focus so that future maintenance costs are reduced as far as possible.
- Supporting the G7 Head of Estates in the effective running of the hearing centre and office spaces, including security, FM, cleaning, IT, AV, by providing governance and reporting skills, expertise and input, and occasional in-person support at the Hearing Centre in London.
- Jointly leading a small, currently London-based, team, developing a strong team environment so that the team works with those from across the Inquiry collaboratively to drive successful delivery of the estate, and ensure that any grey areas between team accountabilities are mapped, understood and managed. Possible line management of up to 3 SEOs. Travel to the London office (if based elsewhere) for meetings as necessary.
- Working effectively within the relevant governance mechanisms and controls framework.
- Delivery of wider operational and logistic priorities as necessary.