Financial Systems Specialist

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is a system leader for health security; taking action internationally to strengthen global health security, providing trusted advice to government and the public and reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by infectious disease, environmental hazards, and other threats to health.

UKHSA’s remit, as an agency with a global-to-local reach, is to protect the health of the nation from infectious diseases and other external threats to health. As the nation’s expert national health security agency UKHSA will:

• Prevent: anticipate threats to health and help build the nation’s readiness, defences and health security
• Detect: use cutting edge environmental and biological surveillance to proactively detect and monitor infectious diseases and threats to health
• Analyse: use world-class science and data analytics to assess and continually monitor threats to health, identifying how best to control and mitigate the risks
• Respond: take rapid, collaborative and effective actions nationally and locally to mitigate threats to health when they materialise
• Lead: lead strong and sustainable global, national, regional and local partnerships designed to save lives, protect the nation from public health threats and reduce inequalities.

Job overview

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Financial Systems Specialist to join our Systems and Support team and be responsible for delivering a professional and expert systems and support service to optimise decision making and financial, supply chain and workforce management across UKHSA.

The role has responsibility for providing support, developing, and maintaining modules of the Agency’s Money and People Services (MaPS) system hosted on Oracle Cloud. There will be a requirement to cover a range of modules in Oracle Cloud and will provide a lead on certain modules and liaise with 3rd Party Support.

This role will also include writing procedures, developing processes, process mapping, analyzing requirements from users and developing new ways of working.

The specific content of the role will be flexible, and the individual will be expected to work across/within different modules and across different layers of the solution and architecture as needed.

They will ensure a high quality of service is provided to the business measured by key performance Service Level Agreements and will seek to drive and improve customer satisfaction across the end users and customer community.

Working with other staff from the Finance and Corporate Services, Commercial and People groups, the post holder/s will ensure that clear customer focus, innovation and best practice are intrinsic to the continual improvements of the MAPS system to support the efficient operation of UKHSA.

Main duties of the job

To deliver a professional and expert systems and support service in order to optimise decision making and financial management across the agency.

• Provide expert advice regarding systems and technology to internal stakeholders.
• Design training courses to upskill users on processes and systems.
• Develop and update systems guidance and training packages.
• Lead the development of financial system technologies being a focal point for change and a subject matter expert.

Data Management:

• Provide expert advice regarding data management to internal stakeholders.

Intelligent Customer Function:

• Work with stakeholders to identify and solve issues and identify better ways of working.
• Manage financial system contract.
• The postholder will be responsible for managing incidents and service requests

Working for our organisation

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

• To provide systems application support to ensure rapid solutions are provided to end user problems. Escalation points for Analysts to Third Party Support providers where appropriate.
• Analyse the requirements in detail, to arrive at credible and coherent solutions.
• Maintain knowledge of specific technical specialisms, providing advice regarding their application. The specialism can be any relevant areas within Oracle Cloud Suite.
• Understand and apply relevant technical strategies, policies, standards, and practices.
• Assist in the assurance of functional and technical documentation and solutions in alignment with requirements and UKHSA strategic objectives.
• Assist in the provision of advice on technical aspects of programme requirements into system development and integration, including requests for changes and deviations from specifications.
• Elicit and discover requirements from stakeholders, selecting appropriate techniques considering the nature of the required changes, established practice and the characteristics and culture of those providing the requirements.
• To develop and maintain the general Finance, SCM, HR and Payroll modules in Oracle ERP, SCM, EPM and HCM including Receivables, Payables, Inventory, Cost Management, Cash Management, General Ledger, Self Service Procurement, Procurement, Projects, Fixed Assets, Self Service Expenses, HelpDesk, PBCS, HR, Recruitment, and Payroll and the interfaces therein.
• To assist in ensuring the security of the finance systems and associated data.
• Produce written information of a high quality which clearly sets out key issues, options and actions.
• Use appropriate tools to contribute to the development of software requirements and architectures.
• To provide systems application support to ensure rapid solutions are provided to end user problems.
• To undertake any other duties commensurate with the role, as required.
• To represent the Systems, Support team at internal and external meetings and deputise for the Senior Systems Manager as appropriate.

• Significant experience of delivering systems support within an ITIL aligned organisation.
• Extensive experience of Oracle Cloud applications or similar ERP and/or HR systems.
• Demonstrable knowledge of managing change through the product delivery life cycle.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Qualified with CCAB, CIMA or equivalent/CIPD qualification or equivalent; or working towards qualification; or extensive Financial and/or Supply Chain and/or Human Resources expertise.

Desirable criteria (the below five have been selected from the job description and may be used in the event of a large number of applications / large number of successful candidates)

Project Management:

• Managing Successful Programmes at either Foundation or ideally Practitioner level
• PRINCE2 at either Foundation or ideally Practitioner Level

Digital, Data & Technology:

• ITIL Service Management
• Agile Project Management
• Lean Six Sigma

Selection Process Details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours/Experience/Technical skills

Stage 1: Application & Sift

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:

• Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• 1250-word Statement of Suitability

This should outline how you consider your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.

The application form and Statement of Suitability will be marked together.

Your statement of suitability must be no more than 1250 words.

Please note: The system will allow you to write up to 1500 words but please do not exceed 1250 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of:

1. Meets all essential criteria
2. Meets some essential criteria
3. Meets no essential criteria

Please notes piles 1 & 2 will be carried though to Shortlist

Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on: Extensive experience of Oracle Cloud applications or similar ERP and/or HR systems.

Stage 2: Interview

Success profiles

You will be invited to a single remote interview.

This vacancy is being assessed using Success Profiles. During the interview we will assess your Behaviour's and Technical skills.

The assessed behaviours will be:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Please note you will not be able to upload your CV. You must complete the application form in as much detail as possible. Please do not email us your CV.

Eligibility Criteria

External

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).

Hybrid any Core HQ

As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's core HQ’s (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London).

Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC)

Security Clearance Level Requirement

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

Person specification

Application Form and Statement of Suitability

• Application Form and Statement of Suitability

Behaviours

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ

Your application may be rejected and/or you may be subject to disciplinary action if evidence of plagiarism is detected. Examples of plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence (AI), as your own.

Applicants must also meet necessary security and vetting requirements, along with any other relevant pre-employment checks.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

For more information on job nationality requirements and the right to work in the UK, see the Civil Service Nationality rules (opens in a new window) and the UK Visas and Immigration rules (opens in a new window)

Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

The Civil Service pay structure and progression is different from NHS Agenda for Change (AfC), most local authority pay grades and other systems that have annual pay increments. For further details, please refer to the Information Sheet- Starting Salaries & Benefits attachment.

For AfC or Medical/Dental posts, you must have the correct professional registration to be appointed. The pay will follow the AfC or Medical & Dental terms & conditions. You may be asked to provide evidence of previous service whilst we are conducting pre-employment checks to determine your starting salary.

You cannot take the post up as a fixed term. If you are an existing UKHSA member of staff, you will take up the post as either a level transfer or a temporary promotion as per the UKHSA’s Pay policy.

Given the nature of the work of the UKHSA, as a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, you may be required in an emergency, if deemed a necessity, to redeploy to another role at short notice. You may also be required to work at any other location, within reasonable travelling distance of your permanent home address, in line with the provisions set out in your contract of employment.

Late Applications will unfortunately not be considered.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: [email protected] If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website here.

Reserve List - If more than the required number of suitable candidates pass the interview criteria, you may be kept on a reserve list for 12 months subject to your agreement. You may be contacted, in merit-order, if similar roles with closely matching essential criteria become available and the department choose to appoint from a reserve list.

The panel will assess if candidates meet the requirement of the role first, using a specific benchmark system. If you are interviewed for the post and do not meet the required threshold for the specified grade, your application may be assessed against a similar, lower grade role and you may be offered the post should one be available.

Interview expenses will not be reimbursed.

UKHSA is required to check employment and/or education history covering three consecutive years. Please ensure you give details of at least two different referees, even if you were employed in one company for three years or more.

If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.

Any move to UKHSA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

Benefits of working at UKHSA include:

• Generous annual leave:
• 26 days for the first 5 years of continuous service
• 28 days after 5 years of continuous service
• 32 days after 10 years of continuous service
• Plus public holidays and one privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions.
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving.
• Access to a retail discounts and cashback site.
• We also promote flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours). UKHSA views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they are able to enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including working from home, compressed hours and job sharing.
• We also offer a generous maternity/ paternity and adoption leave package.

Hybrid Working

UKHSA operates a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce.

As a hybrid worker, you will usually spend a minimum of 60% of your contracted hours (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's locations (approximately 3 days a week pro rata) and the rest of your time working from home.

Disability Confident Scheme

If you wish to be included in this scheme please tick the box on your application form.

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone.

To help you during the recruitment process, we will take into account any reasonable adjustments that could help you.

An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work.

This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme.

If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should:

Contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

International Police Check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and could be time accrued over that period.

Internal Fraud check

Currently this is only for External candidates to the Civil Service.