Strategic Finance Lead

In the role of Strategic Finance Lead, you operate at the crossroads of financial strategy, planning, policy, and operations.

Collaborating closely with colleagues throughout the CPS, you play a crucial role in supporting Strategic Finance to drive the CPSs financial strategy, by championing a collaborative approach with Other Government Departments and external partners, overseeing financial planning and contributing to financial impact assessments for policy proposals.

Your responsibilities include working with CPS Policy & Strategy teams and other government departments to assess and reflect the implications of policy changes in the CPS Medium Term Financial Plan.

You also support activities and preparation for fiscal events such as the Spending Review.

You empower CPS teams and business case authors to enhance the quality of financial and economic appraisals for business cases, offering expert advice and constructive feedback to business case authors and the Portfolio Management Office.

By providing strategic financial support and guidance, you re instrumental in steering the business towards sound decision-making. This involves delivering insightful financial analysis, driving commercial awareness, offering constructive challenge, and ensuring strong financial governance, control, and alignment throughout the CPS.

An additional taxable allowance is payable for the following accountancy qualifications. The allowance in non-pensionable and does not form part of pay awards.

The values payable are:

• 1,000 per year on achievement of ACCA Applied Knowledge and Skills / CIMA Managerial / CIPFA Certificate & 2 Diplomas / ICAEW Professional
• 2,000 per year on achievement of ACCA Strategic Profession / CIMA Strategic / CIPFA Certificate & 3 Diplomas / ICAEW Advanced
• 5,000 per year on achieving full qualification with ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, or ICAEW

The Crown Prosecution Service is based in England and Wales. If youre applying for this role and live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you must let us know when accepting this offer as you need permission to work from your home address if hybrid working is part of your role. Theres no guarantee that we will grant this approval.

You must be aged 18 or over at the point of starting in this role. The expected start date is approximately 812 weeks after the application closing date. You are expected to commence employment as soon as possible following the expiry of your notice period. Requests for significantly later start dates may not be accommodated.

This role involves occasional travel for in person meetings.

You must complete and pass your Civil Service tests by 23:55 on 06 November 2026 to be able to complete an application for this role.

Your role and responsibilities include:

• Reviewing cross-government policy proposals to assess and manage financial implications for CPS.
• Supporting and coordinating the delivery of robust and evidence based Spending Review bids.
• Championing effective strategic decision-making and risk management to ensure strong financial performance across business as usual, projects, and programmes.
• Assessing affordability and value for money of new policy measures and business cases, ensuring financial impacts inform decisions under tight deadlines.
• Ensuring financial and economic cases for endorsement are comprehensive, reflect lifecycle costs, align with strategic priorities, and are affordable

A full copy of the job description is attached.

To be eligible to apply, you need to demonstrate:

• Experience in developing financial plans.
• Experience in financial modelling.
• Part or Fully Qualified CCAB / CIMA accountancy qualification, with strong technical accounting skills. As a minimum you must be working towards full qualification.
• Ability to explain complex financials to a broad base of recipients.
• Ability to lead and influence using a collaborative approach, objectively considering several options and scenarios through multiple lenses, to achieve desired outcomes with a strong sense of continuous improvement.
• Understand Budgeting Principles, Effective Financial Management, Government Finances and Efficiency Frameworks.
• Advanced Excel and presentation skills.