Deputy Director GFF Strategy, Performance & Improvement

HM Treasury; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A government financial department in the UK seeks a Finance Change Leader to drive strategic transformation within the Government Finance Function. The role involves leading a strong team to enhance finance operations, establish cross-functional partnerships, and deliver impactful strategies through innovation and change management. Candidates should be qualified in CCAB or CIMA and have a proven ability to lead and motivate diverse teams in a complex governmental environment.

Qualifications

• Track record of delivering finance transformation and operational improvement.
• Strong leadership skills to motivate diverse teams.
• Ability to lead impactful change in complex environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of 20 to drive finance strategy and performance.
• Advise senior government officials on finance function.
• Deliver a 5-year strategy for the Government Finance Function.

Skills

Finance transformation

Leadership

Change management

Communication skills

Education

Qualified CCAB or CIMA

Job description

Location

This post can be based in London (1 Horse Guards Road), Norwich (Rosebery Court) or Darlington (Feethams House).

About the job

Job summary

If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives, the Treasury can offer you an exciting opportunity to influence decision making that affects the whole of the UK. Working at the heart of government, we collaborate across government to promote responsible public spending and drive strong and sustainable economic growth.

Our work ranges from protecting customers through the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, to promoting British trade around the world and supporting people across the country on jobs, growth and more.

We are part of the Darlington Economic Campus, a pioneering new cross-government hub which brings people together to play an active role in the most important issues of the day whilst working closer to the communities we serve. The campus provides the opportunity for people from all over the UK to help shape the future of the country, and our flexible working practices ensure you can collaborate effectively with our partners. It’s central government, made more accessible to you!

Job description

We are seeking an exceptional Finance Change Leader for the Government Finance Function to drive strategy, performance and improvement for the Government Finance Function. Reporting to the Deputy Head of the Government Finance Function, you will use your expertise and knowledge to inform, shape and deliver innovative solutions to transform for the Government Finance Function and meet the evolving needs of our customers. You will work at the heart of government, with the opportunity to create linkages and problem‑solve across the wider system, supporting reform and growth of the Civil Service.

In this post you will support the joint Heads of Function and wider Finance Directors General across government to drive the strategic transformation and performance of finance in government. You will be an experienced finance professional, trusted strategic‑partner and advocate for change with full autonomy to shape the work programme and will hold full accountability for delivery against it.

You will lead the team to shape and deliver agreed priorities for each year and overall delivery of the GFF Strategy to 2030, with direct responsibility to empower transformation and a culture of innovation and accelerate adoption of the latest digital and data practices.

Responsibilities for the role include:

1. Leadership of the c.20 strong Strategy, Performance & Improvement team, building a high‑performing inclusive team environment, with everyone supported to deliver the greatest possible impact alongside meaningful career development.
2. Being a trusted advisor and partner to the co‑Heads and Deputy Head of the Government Finance Function and wider leadership at DG and Director level across the Function.
3. Driving delivery of the 5‑year strategy for the function, underpinned by clear delivery plans, funding and a performance framework that provides transparency and insight on strategic outcomes, impact and benefits.
4. Establishing highly effective cross‑functional relationships, ensuring that the Government Finance Function is aligned to the wider Civil Service strategic aims and functional agenda, engaging and working alongside CO and wider functional experts as appropriate.
5. Delivering high‑quality, effective senior governance forums at Director General and Director level across government, that drive strong 2‑way engagement and foster open communications and a collective leadership community.
6. Proactive assessment and analysis of finance performance against standards (with ownership of the GovS:006 Finance Standard) working collaboratively with departments to drive insight and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
7. Direct and support delivery of Innovation and Data Excellence across the function, in line with the GFF Strategy 2030 through the DG‑chaired GFF Innovation Committee.
8. Partner civil service organisations to transform their finance function, setting a clear roadmap for the future shape and size of the function, based on evidence and leading practice insight.
9. Enable broad knowledge exchange across the function, through mapping of the current landscape of change and innovation, widely communicating and engaging transformation communities to inspire innovation and change at all levels.
10. Set standards and maturity frameworks for finance process, data & systems—with ownership of the cross‑functional NOVA reference model—and directly support AI, digital & data pilots to accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies and leading practice.

Candidate Drop‑In Session

We will be running a candidate drop‑in session for this role to give you greater insight about the role as well as the chance to learn more about HM Treasury and the recruitment process. If you would like to join us, then use the appropriate link below to join the call at the right time.

Wednesday 14th January 2026 @ 14:00 – 14:30

Join the meeting now

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please contact Andrew [e-mail]

Person specification

Please review the Candidate FAQ document that is attached to the advert for guidance on how to complete your application.

Required Skills, Experience and Behaviours:

For your application, please send us a CV and a personal statement setting out how you meet the following skills, behaviours and experience. This should be no longer than 1250 words, and include no more than 250 words on each criteria below:

1. A track record of delivering finance or corporate services transformation and operational improvement (Experience).
2. Strong leadership skills, with the ability to build and motivate a strong, diverse team supporting them to perform through complex change (Leadership).
3. Ability to lead impactful change and drive delivery of outcomes through influencing others in large and complex environments (Changing & Improving).
4. Adopts a system and business‑wide perspective to ensure delivery is relevant and aligns to shared interests and outcomes with strategic partners (Seeing the Big Picture).
5. Delivers wide‑ranging impactful and inclusive communications that inspires trust and confidence of across a broad range of partners and audiences (Communicating and Influencing).

Required Qualifications:

Partial or Fully qualified CCAB, CIMA (or internationally recognised equivalent) professional accountancy qualification. Post holders will be supported to progress professional qualifications in post.

Leadership Assessment

Staff engagement panel exercise

If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a staff engagement panel exercise. This assessment will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather it is designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.

At interview stage, you will be assessed on the below criteria:

• Experience
• Strengths
• Behaviours
• Leadership
• Changing and Improving
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating & Influencing

Interview Task

Prior to your interview, we will contact you about a task that the interview panel would like you to complete as part of the assessment. The exact details will be communicated to you nearer the time.

Qualifications

Partial or Fully qualified CCAB, CIMA (or internationally recognised equivalent) professional accountancy qualification. Post holders will be supported to progress professional qualifications in post.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Changing and Improving
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing

For more information and to apply, please visit our website via the apply button below.