Please note that this role can be based in London or Brimingham

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential. In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

Job Purpose

To provide strategic financial, legal and commercial advice and support to the Board and Executive team. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a key strategic and business critical leadership position on the HS2 Ltd Executive Team, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer.

The role holder will be instrumental in setting, directing, and monitoring the business and delivery strategy for the HS2 programme within the agreed prerequisites of schedule cost quality and safety.

In addition, the Chief Financial Officer leads the CFO Directorate and will be accountable for financial planning, management and reporting, ensuring fit with available funding and compliance with regulations. The role holder will work closely with external stakeholders to enable the efficient and economic operation of HS2 Ltd.

As well as being a member of the Executive Committee, the Chief Financial Officer will be appointed to the Board subsequently and will attend other Governance meetings with the Department for Transport in its capacity as Sponsor for the HS2 programme. He/she can also expect to attend meetings with Senior Government officials and Ministers, up to and including the Secretary of State for Transport and more broadly across Whitehall. He/she will be asked to deputise for the CEO, as required.

About the Role

To have direct responsibility for strategic business, operational and financial planning across all the Directorates within HS2 Ltd.
Work with the CCO to support the Executive & Board on major commercial and cost-based decisions, ensuring that short and long-term viability and risk is taken into account.
Advise the CEO, Executive Committee and Board to inform decisions that enable HS2 Ltd to meet its fiduciary responsibilities.
Provide assurance on organisation & project performance and progress to other government bodies, including the Department for Transport (DfT) and HM Treasury and other review bodies as required.
Accountable for the performance of the internal controls environment to ensure that the organisation delivers the programme within agreed budgets and to time quality and safety.
Establish and direct effective systems to analyse and compare performance against internal targets and external statutory obligations and government policy on “Managing Public Money”.
Work with the CCO to provide expert advice on future commercial and major capital opportunities that will allow HS2 Ltd to deliver the programme and realise the wider economic benefits.
Provide strategic direction on the maintenance and development of HS2 Ltd.’s financial capability considering the wider organisation’s complexity and risk.
Chair internal and external committees as necessary.
Ensure HS2 remains compliant with Financial, Assurance & Legal regulations and standards.
Oversight of the Assurance and Risk Function, ensuring the development and implementation of enterprise and strategic risk management.
Oversight of Actual Cost Assurance, ensuring that HS2 are complying with the obligations set out in HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money, and ensuring the processing of final accounting of taxpayers’ money is effectively managed.
Oversight of the Counter Fraud & Investigations function, ensuring the development and implementation of HS2’s policy and the resulting strategy for fraud, risks and investigations overall.
Oversight of the IT and Legal Functions, ensuring HS2-wide system interoperability and integration and maintaining transparency and accountability in all legal dealings.
Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

About You

Skills:

Ability to operate at Executive and Board level within a major capital programme undertaking significant value and high-profile programmes of work
Influencing & negotiation skills including influencing the decisions of the Executive committee, Board, government and private sector stakeholders and programme Directors
Ability to provide effective and constructive challenge with senior colleagues to improve business performance
Ability to advise on strategic commercial decisions at senior level, including high level government, public and private sector stakeholders
Ability to produce high quality work to deadline with complex and varied workstreams
Public Speaking Skills – including the ability to represent the project with external stakeholders, politicians, and the media
Strategy Development and implementation skills – including the ability to develop vision, strategy and implementation plans to deliver business objectives

Knowledge:

Knowledge of the UK and international context surrounding HS2, which includes having insight into the political and environmental implications for the programme.
Knowledge of policies and governance procedures impacting on finance within a Non-Departmental Public Body or Central Government Department
Understanding of leading a multi-disciplinary team including legal experts and other professional specialisms
Qualified member of a recognised accountancy body or holder of an equivalent qualification or accreditation
Understanding of the Hybrid Bill and Parliamentary processes, specifically the demands of stakeholder consultation and engagement.

Experience:

Experience of leading and developing a broad ranging function for complex major operations in the UK, Europe or globally, including the management of multi-discipline project teams requiring capability development.
Experience of leading a functional teams to provide cost effective services to the organisation.
Experience of leading the successful transformation or development of a large, complex, outcome focussed delivery organisation, achieving significant improvements in efficiency, effectiveness and customer service.
Experience of navigating local and national stakeholder complexity to secure major infrastructure programme outcomes including at local and national Government levels.

We ask for a variety of detail in your online application, however we perform the first assessment of suitability for a role based solely on the information in your CV. In a further development of our efforts to create a more diverse workforce, your CV will be anonymised and personal information will be removed during the first stage of the application review. This removes bias from the process and makes it even more important that you attach an updated word version of your CV for each new application ensuring you include evidence directly related to the criteria in the job advert. Any applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

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Chief Financial Officer