Financial Accountant - VAT Specialist (Part-Time)

Job Introduction

We’re looking for an exceptional Financial Accountant - VAT Specialist to help us make a difference to our planet.

As our Financial Accountant - VAT Specialist, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work.

We’re pleased to offer a part time opportunity, expected to be about 18-20 hours per week but we can be flexible depending on your circumstances. Our people are at the heart of what we do and we'll do our best to agree a working pattern that works for you.

World changing work

From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are.

• We’re a force for good - focusing on our environmental and social impact
• We’re experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better
• We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart of decision-making
• We’re better together - understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater
• We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers

Your world of expertise

The Met Office is the UK’s National Meteorological Service and one of the world's foremost weather, climate service and operational oceanography providers. The Finance team provides a corporate financial service comprising both financial operations (where this job sits) and finance business support through a team of business partners.

As the VAT Specialist you will be the authoritative voice of VAT in the Met Office and manage all aspects of VAT.

Your key duties

• Provide specialist advice to Met Office staff, especially those involved in sales contracts.
• Complete the quarterly VAT return and ensure payment is made on time.
• Maintain a fruitful working relationship with the HMRC contacts.
• Document VAT rulings and knowledge.
• Play a dynamic role as a member of the Finance team. 

Why join us

Our work is life-changing, often life-saving and always life-enhancing. The Met Office is accredited as a 'Great Place to Work UK 2023' and in addition has achieved a place on both the UK's 'Best Workplaces in Tech' and 'Best Workplaces for Women' lists.

As our Financial Accountant - VAT Specialist, your total reward package will be up to £57,639 annually, which includes:

• £41,725 base pay
• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) after 5 years and option to buy or sell up to 5 days per year of annual leave 

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

1. You will have a baseline in accountancy provided by, ideally, ATT (Association of Tax Technicians) or AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians). In addition, you will have extensive experience working with VAT specifically and thus have a strong working knowledge of VAT legislation and practice. (Experts by nature)
2. The ability to explain VAT concepts to both Finance and non-Finance colleagues – you’ll be required to interact with colleagues in Finance (understand VAT but are not experts) and outside Finance (usually some finance awareness but with no knowledge of VAT or its application). 
3. The ability to debate VAT principles with counterparts in external organisations and to present persuasive arguments to tax experts at HMRC – skill in presenting a persuasive case is more likely to achieve the outcome wanted by the Met Office. (Better together)
4. Experience of understanding and working with finance systems and leading on change advice when either the legislation (e.g. Making Tax Digital) or the system changes. (Keep evolving)
5. The ability to present information in a clear and engaging way both internally and externally.

How to apply

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you. Apply below using your CV and a Cover Letter/Supporting Statement with evidence against each of the essential criteria. We recommend candidates use the CARL method (Context, Action, Result and Learning) for presenting evidence of experience and skills.

Closing date Monday 06/05/2024 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 20/05/2024. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed.

How we can help:

If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please contact us via careers@metoffice.gov.uk. You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us. Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity. You can select in your application to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role.

We understand that great minds don’t always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code.

We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.