Senior Finance Manager

UK Ministry of Defence; Lichfield; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 51,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service pension

Annual leave 25–30 days

Hybrid working

Learning & development Days

Job summary

UK Ministry of Defence is recruiting a Senior Finance Manager for the Defence Housing Service transformation. You will communicate financial data, provide strategic financial advice, and support decision-making across internal and external stakeholders.

You will build strong relationships, lead a finance team, and drive financial reporting and governance for a major housing programme funded by a multi-billion investment.

Qualifications

• Highly numerate with the ability to review, analyse and interpret financial data for senior managers.
• Experience of delivering In-Year Management (IYM) activities, including monitoring spend against budget and analysis of actuals.
• Ability to provide clear and robust financial advice to stakeholders.
• Experience working in a financial environment with tight deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Provide clear and robust strategic financial advice to stakeholders.
• Review, analyse and interpret financial data for senior managers and decision makers.
• Line management responsibilities including mentoring, performance management and recruitment.
• Lead input for the 10-year SPC process and IYM activities.
• Monitor spend against budget and analyse actuals.
• Support governance meetings and ad-hoc analysis for senior managers.
• Oversee production of Financial Statements and respond to queries.
• Manage capitalisation and asset disposals.
• Provide leadership to the finance team to deliver DIO outputs.
• Foster strong working relationships across DIO and MOD.

Skills

Financial analysis

Strategic financial advice

In-Year Management (IYM)

Collaboration & stakeholder management

Education

AAT/CCAB/CIMA qualified or working towards

Job description

This role can be based at Andover, Lichfield or Wyton.

Subject to meeting the required criteria for a fully qualified accountant, this post may attract a Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA) of £3,000 per annum + 13% accountancy allowance.

Do you want to work on one or the most exciting transformation projects in the public sector?

The Defence Housing Service (DHS) is being created through the Armed Forces Bill to deliver a step-change in housing for the UK’s Armed Forces and their families following the publication of the Defence Housing Strategy on 3 November 2025, which marked the most significant change to Armed Forces housing in over 50 years. DHS will bring a dedicated focus to improving the homes, communities and lived experience of Service personnel, placing families firmly at the heart of everything it does.

This is one of the most ambitious housing transformation programmes in the UK today. Backed by a £9.2 billion investment, DHS will modernise tens of thousands of homes, introduce a more proactive and customer-focused approach to maintenance, and unlock new opportunities to develop housing on Defence land. DHS will have the focus and agility to deliver change at pace, combining public service values with greater flexibility to build the skills, systems and partnerships needed for the future.

This is a rare opportunity to be part of shaping its culture, influencing how it works, and helping deliver lasting improvements for Service families across the UK.

The Defence Housing team is currently part of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), who respond to the evolving needs of our military personnel, and the ways in which they live, work, train and deploy. We are proud to be the expert partner Defence needs for all their infrastructure requirements. From large scale infrastructure projects such as runways for the F35 fighter jets to net carbon-zero accommodation for our Service families, our activities focus relentlessly on our customers, and our outputs are unique in the UK and across the globe!

DIO , What we deliver every day.

The future delivery model for this team is currently under review and may change as part of potential organisational developments. This could include the team or function transferring to a different employer or organisational structure in the future. Should activities transfer out of the Ministry of Defence existing employees transferring with those activities will maintain the same, or substantially the same, terms and conditions of employment.

About the role:

As Senior Finance Manager, you’ll be responsible for communicating financial data and other information clearly to internal and external stakeholders, providing valuable financial advice, challenge and support. You’ll ensure that financial reporting is accurately completed, both within corporate reporting systems and for input of accounting entries, to support decision making.

You’ll build strong relationships and an understanding of your business area, providing support at appropriate levels.

What you'll be doing:

Key Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Provide clear and robust strategic financial advice to all relevant stakeholders.
• Reviewing, analysing and interpreting financial data, providing insight for senior managers and decision makers.
• Line management responsibility, undertaking mentoring, performance management, recruitment and countersigning tasks as required.
• Leading the input of financial information and provision of support to the 10-year Strategic Planning Cycle (SPC) process.
• Responsible for applying In-Year Management (IYM) activities, including monitoring spend against budget and analysis of actuals.
• Providing support to governance meetings and report production; including ad-hoc analysis for senior managers / customers.
• Oversee the team’s contribution to the production of Financial Statements, in accordance with timetables and instructions and respond promptly to queries.
• Manage the timely capitalisation or disposal of assets, to ensure assets are correctly recorded within the accounts.
• Provide leadership to, and management of, your Business Area’s finance team, to deliver DIO outputs and departmental goals.
• Promote strong working relationships, both within the team and with other teams across DIO and MOD.

About you:

1. Highly numerate with an ability to review, analyse and interpret financial data, providing insight for senior managers and decision makers.

2. Experience of delivering In-Year Management (IYM) activities, including monitoring spend against budget and analysis of actuals.

3. Experience of providing clear and robust financial advice to relevant stakeholders.

4. Ability to work flexible and adapt to changing priorities.

5. Ability to develop collaborative relationships with a range of stakeholders.

6. Highly developed planning and organisational skills in a financial environment and experience of delivery and meeting tight deadlines.

We would expect to see applicants who are AAT, CCAB or CIMA qualified or actively working towards qualifications with CCAB, CIMA, or equivalent or who have experience in a similar role.

This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is an informal, non-contractual and voluntary arrangement, blending a balance of attendance in the workplace (your permanent duty station, which is based on business assessment of where the work is best done) and working from home as a personal choice (if the role is suitable for this). If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

This role can be based at Andover, SP11 8HJ, Lichfield, WS14 9PY or Wyton, PE28 2EA. Work location will be agreed once the successful candidate has been selected.

What makes us great!:

Alongside your salary of £46,040, Ministry of Defence contributes £13,337 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 with a dedicated minimum of 5 days per year.
• 25 days paid annual leave rising (by 1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of five years’ service.
• Ability to roll up to 10 days annual leave per year.
• In addition to eight public holidays per year, you will also receive leave for HM The King’s birthday.
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Parental and Adoption Leave.
• Discounts on a range of services within and external to the civil service – Defence Discount Service, Civil Service societies for Sports and Leisure, Healthcare, Insurance, Motoring, Company discounts with Virgin, Vodafone, and Microsoft Office.
• In year rewards and ‘thank you’ schemes such as vouchers and gift cards
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

Equality and Diversity

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. It’s vital that our workforce reflects the diversity of both our audience and the wider society in the UK, so we’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and we actively seek candidates from diverse backgrounds and communities. We also recognise the importance of a good work life balance, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including part-time and job shares for all our roles. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process if this is something you want to explore.