If you would like to apply for this position, please complete the Civil Service Jobs application form by clicking the "Apply Now" button at the top or bottom of this advert.
Stage 1 Application
At sift stage, you will be assessed on your Experience in line with the essential skills listed in the person specification section of the job advert.
To apply for this role, please provide:
Your CV Set out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role.
Your Statement of Suitability In no more than 1250 words, provide examples of how your personal skills, qualities and experience meet the essential criteria. This is not intended to be a cover letter, instead work through each essential criteria in turn. You may wish to follow the STAR technique to help focus your examples. The key things we are looking for are what you did, how you did it and what the outcome was.
You will also be required to provide 250-word examples to demonstrate how you meet the following behaviours:
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Making effective decisions
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Seeing the big picture
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Communicating and influencing
Where possible, please link your examples with the listed essential criteria.
The CV, Statement of Suitability and Behaviours will be assessed against the essential criteria detailed in the advert.
If we receive a high number of applications, we will sift your CV and statement on Being a fully qualified accountant with at least five years post qualification experience who is fitted to work in a technical accounting environment and who does, or would, enjoy doing so, and the "Making Effective Decisions" behaviour only.
Stage 2 - Interview
The interview will be a 2-part process:
Part 1: Prepare and deliver a short presentation (approx. 10 minutes) to the panel. Please be prepared to answer follow up questions on the presentation.
Presentation details What are the key considerations when developing a financial framework to provide effective and proportionate oversight of colleges?". You can use handouts if you wish to. Feel free to use notes as a point of reference, if needed.
Part 2 - The interview will last approximately 60 minutes. You will be asked questions on the essential criteria listed above to determine your level of experience in these areas. Questions will typically ask for a brief and broad overview of your experience relevant to a criteria (e.g. tell us about your experience delivering policy projects) and/or a specific example (e.g. tell us about a time when you
.). We may also ask you some follow-up questions.
We will also ask you Behaviour questions aligned to the behaviours listed in the advert.
You will also be asked strengths-based questions. Strengths are the things we do regularly, do well and motivate us. There are no right and wrong answers to these questions, we want to find out whether you are a good fit for the role. We dont advertise which strengths we are going to assess you on as we want to be able to assess your first, natural response to the questions.
Other Information
Interviews may be via Microsoft teams or face to face; the vacancy manager will confirm prior to the Interview.
In your application, please dont include personal information that identifies you.
This means we can recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - it's called name blind recruitment .
Please ensure that you remove from your application, all references to your:
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name/title
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educational institutions
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age
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gender
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email address
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postal address
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phone number
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nationality/immigration status
We reserve the right to raise the minimum pass mark in the event of a high volume or strong field of candidates.
Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK from the location options provided and not from overseas.
The government is committed to supporting apprenticeships, enabling people to learn and progress in a role whilst earning. We want to monitor the number of people who have completed apprenticeships who are now applying to progress further in their career and are asking this question to all candidates, on all vacancies. You will be asked a question as part of the application process about any previous apprenticeships you have completed. Your response to this question will not affect your application and it is not a requirement of the role to have completed a previous apprenticeship.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Department of Education of your intention by emailing [email protected] stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Department for Education do not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment unless otherwise stated.
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Candidates will be posted in merit order based upon location preference. Where more than one location is advertised you will be asked to state your preferred location.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicants details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
Terms and conditions of candidates transferring from ALBs and NDPBs
Bodies that are not accredited by the Civil Service Commission and are not able to advertise at Across Government on Civil Service jobs will be treated as external new starters and will come into DfE on modernised terms and conditions with a salary at the band minimum.
Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission but do not have civil service status will be offered modernised terms and will not have continuous service recognised for leave or sickness benefits. Salaries should be offered at band minimum, but there is some flexibility where this would cause a detriment to the individual.
Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission and do have Civil Service status will be treated as OGD transfers. Staff appointed on lateral transfer will move on to pre-modernised DfE terms (unless they were on modernised terms in their previous organisation). Staff appointed on promotion will move on to modernised DfE terms. Staff will transfer over on their existing salary (on lateral transfer) and any pay above the DfE pay band maximum will be paid as a mark time allowance. Staff moving on promotion will have their salaries calculated using the principles set out in the attached OGD transfer supplementary information.
Reasonable adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
Contact Department of Education via [email protected] soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the Assistance required section in the Additional requirements page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if youre deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Please refer to the attached Reasonable Adjustments Guide 05_2025 accessible version at the bottom of the advert, for further information.
Childcare Vouchers
Any move to Department for Education (DfE) will mean you will no longer be able to carry on claiming 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/
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
