Finance jobs in United Kingdom

Are you motivated, proactive and experienced finance professional with a background in analysing the performance of finance functions and identifying opportunities to help them be more effective and efficient? If so we would love to hear from you!

The Strategy, Performance & Improvement Team is one of the central Government Finance Function (GFF) teams, responsible for driving finance performance, standards and leading practice to achieve a vision of a modern, digital finance function that delivers quality services more effectively and efficiently.

We launched our new GFF Strategy earlier in 2025, which sets the direction for the function for the next 5 years, encouraging finance teams to be more skilled, innovative, and insightful. We are now focussed on helping finance teams across government embed the new strategy, while also developing an accompanying performance framework that establishes clear line of sight from strategic objectives to performance metrics. We are also responsible for setting clear standards for the function and maintaining a relentless focus on finance foundations, proactively strengthening them to deliver even greater value across government and for the citizen.

The twenty-person team works across a wide range of partners, providing the individual with the opportunity to be part of creating positive and long-lasting change across finance function communities. The role offers exposure across Whitehall, including the chance to work and influence at the highest levels of the Civil Service. The team prides itself on providing an encouraging working environment, which role models flexible working and inclusivity, with opportunities to build networks within the finance function and beyond.

In this role, you will:

• Lead the annual review of finance performance across all government departments and identify opportunities to improve and strengthen then process. The annual review involves coordinating a range of qualitative and quantitative metrics, including HM Treasury spending teams’ assessment of departmental performance, customer surveys, people engagement insight, and maturity / continuous improvement frameworks.
• Maintain and improve the Government Functional Standard GovS006-Finance, ensuring clear standards are set and maintained in line with government priorities (Productive & Agile State) and leading practice, and the standard is accessible and value add for finance teams and other users.
• Lead the evaluation of the GFF Strategy, through establishing a clear Strategic Outcomes Framework aligned to the GFF 2030 vision to strengthen functional productivity and quality.
• Create actionable reports, data visualisations, frameworks and guidance that support departments to understand and assess their performance and identify priority areas for change and improvement.
• Lead the GFF Finance Foundations Group (DG Chaired senior forum), driving strategic priorities, and improvement opportunities, informed by insights from the annual review of finance performance.
• Provide quality leadership and mentoring across the team, working to build an encouraging and inclusive team environment, while supporting delivery across the wider team and GFF centre more broadly.

The role holder will lead the GFF Performance Team (with 2 direct reports) and will require a broad skill-set, ranging from analysing and reporting performance data, managing a quality service by running the GFF Finance Foundations Group (made up of senior finance leaders from across government), and working with other central GFF, HMT & CO teams to monitor progress against the strategy.

The ideal candidate will:

• have a track record of assessing finance and delivery performance to improve business outcomes
• adopt a government wide perspective to ensure activity is relevant and aligns to shared interests and outcomes with strategic partners
• have experience of driving continuous improvement across government finance by leading cross government performance reviews and strategic forums, and turning insight into practical tools, guidance and leadership that enable finance teams to prioritise and deliver change
• use performance data and analysis to drive transparency of performance and inform decision making

• 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King’s birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant). Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees to take up to an additional 2 days off each month
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
• Generous parental and adoption leave packages
• Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions of 28.97% Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme and season ticket advances
• A range of active staff networks, based around interests (e.g. analysts, music society, sports and social club) and diversity

For more information about the role and how to apply, please follow the apply link.

If you need any reasonable adjustments to take part in the selection process, please tell us about this in your online application form, or speak to the recruitment team at hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk.

Head of Performance for the Government Finance Function • Durham, UK