Head of Finance

Location

Abbey Wood (Bristol), Andover, London, RAF Wyton or Whittington.

This role will require regular travel to London and there is an expectation that a minimum of 60% of working time will be spent in the office. All work-related travel and subsistence costs will be reimbursed except when travelling to your base location in line with departmental policy. More details about business travel benefits specific to this role can be found on the next page.

About the job

Job summary

The Head of Finance is a senior leadership role within the Defence Housing Service (DHS) (which is currently operating as a team within DIO), responsible for overseeing the organisation’s finances, governance, and risk management. The postholder leads finance-related change, compliance, assurance activities, and works closely with senior leaders to translate complex financial data into clear insights, enabling informed decisions on risks and investment consequences.

As the principal expert supporting the DHS Accounting Officer, the role ensures robust financial management, transparency, and security governance in a fast-paced environment. The postholder oversees the financial management of the Defence Housing Service (DHS) and plays a key role in strengthening governance and financial discipline. Through influence across teams and stakeholders, they shape strategy, planning, and investment decisions, while setting standards and guiding the future finance operating model and transformation.

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.

Job description

Responsibilities

• Leads and line manages the Finance Team, Financial Accounting; Decision Support, Scrutiny and Assurance Team (DSSAT); Finance Business Improvement and Change team; Security; and Governance, Risk and Assurance teams.
• Oversees audit and corporate assurance activities, including management of statutory and internal audit processes.
• Manages the organisational risk management and assurance framework.
• Acts as lead for Corporate Governance, delegations, and investment approvals, providing financial scrutiny and cost-modelling expertise.
• Leads Financial and Capital Accounting, Balance Sheet management, VAT, counter-fraud, and related compliance activities.
• Provides decision-making support and advice to the DHS Executive and the wider organisation.
• Builds strong functional capability, embedding finance and good governance at the heart of decision-making.
• Ensures the adequacy and optimisation of the control framework, balancing risk management with the pursuit of faster, improved infrastructure delivery.
• Leads adoption and compliance with relevant policies within DHS, offering advice and guidance across the organisation.
• Directly leads and line manages the Accommodation finance team, working closely with Delivery as Finance Business Partners to deliver robustlyin-year.
• Ensures Finance Team supports the production of ABC budget submissions alongside delivery colleagues, actively contributing to programming, risk management, and investment decision-making.
• Oversees the development and delivery of a change and finance improvement programme, collaborating with other parts of the organisation and the wider MOD.
• Support DIO’s Senior Security Risk Coordinator, overseeing the DHS physical security and security vettingprogrammes.
• Accountable for DHS security performance, ensuring business outputs are delivered while maintaining robust and effective security governance.
• Accountable for business continuity arrangements across DHS and Industry Partners.

Person specification

• Strong leadership skills to inspire confidence, lead multi-disciplinary teams, and drive change through innovative ways of working.
• Significant experience in financial accounting, governance, control, and senior-level financial management within complex environments.
• Extensive expertise in financial and capital accounting, audit oversight, risk management, and corporate governance.
• Proven ability to provide high-level financial advice and decision support to senior executives and governing bodies.
• Experience leading finance change and improvement programmes that enhance financial processes, systems, and ways of working.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, capable of engaging senior leaders and external committees effectively.

Qualifications

• Professional financial qualification (CCAB, CIMA, or equivalent) with substantial senior financial management experience.

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