Assurance Lead

Description:

Detention and Escorting Services (DES) is part of Immigration Enforcement and offers some of the most varied and challenging opportunities in Government. Immigration detention plays a vital role in maintaining effective immigration control and securing the UK’s borders. DES is responsible for managing and delivering immigration detention facilities and detained escorting within the UK, with immigration detention a key element of the Government’s immigration strategy, helping to perform the function of removing those not entitled to be in the UK.

The DES Finance Team are looking for a new colleague to lead the new Project Finance and Assurance strand of work within the Finance Team.

The job holder will lead this new strand of work, focussing on improving financial reporting for project finance and high-quality financial assurance for DES within Home Office Borders & Enforcement. Working to the Finance Lead, this role covers the whole of the UK detention estate and provide the job holder with a wide overview of the work carried out by DES in addition to the finance elements of the role.

Areas of responsibility include (but not limited to) the following areas:

• Developing new, as well as building on existing, financial processes and controls to manage the financial elements of large capital projects taking place around the detention estate. Provide assurance to senior budget holders that projects are being competently managed in line with wider Treasury financial guidelines.
• Providing regular reporting to senior budget holders on project expenditure and project financial management practices. Identify trends, risks and other developments that require attention by project staff and assist with putting plans in place to manage this appropriately.
• Providing advice to stakeholders and supporting the implementation of financial best practice throughout DES. This will also include providing advice to senior staff on the management of the budget for smaller capital works taking place across the estate.
• Working with colleagues in the Portfolio Management Office the jobholder will provide in a “critical friend” role. Providing budgetary oversight outside of their line management chains.
• Taking on the responsibility for the management of a team of up to two colleagues (possibility exists that job holder may assist with recruitment process dependent on length of their onboarding process).