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Head Office
The MOD’s Head Office runs the department of state and the military strategic headquarters. Its annual expenditure of £2bn+ includes the operating costs of the Head Office, plus 15-20 strategic programmes, four enabling organisations (arm’s length bodies), and the science and technology portfolio. The Head Office is the ‘beating heart’ of the MOD and is a fast-paced and exciting place to work. In the centre of Whitehall we are close to parliament and other government departments, and by working here you will be involved in decisions that affect the defence of the UK.
Head Office Finance
The budget of the Head Office is divided into a number of business areas, each led by a Director General (civil servant or equivalent senior military officer). The role of the Head Office finance team is to provide high quality finance business partnering to these Directors General (DGs) and their management teams. As a finance business partner you will be part of the team reporting to the Finance Director (Head Office and Strategic Programmes) but will be expected to work as an integral part of the business area you are partnering by providing insightful advice, financial support and appropriate challenge. The business areas in Head Office are varied, complex and fascinating, and a vital component of the defence of the UK.
Finance business partnering is being implemented across the MOD as part of the Finance Functional Leadership programme which, in turn, is implementing the government finance operating model. In these roles you will play a crucial part in establishing the finance business partnering model by leading the change in your team, working with the business areas to help them understand what business partnering means, and role modelling the behaviours and activities expected of a finance business partner in government finance.
Business Areas in Head Office
Security Policy and Operations
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With a budget of around £500m and a workforce of around 2,000 people, many of whom are based overseas, this area is the military strategic headquarters of the UK.
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Activities include the UK’s contribution to NATO, engaging with other nations, developing policy on how defence can contribute to the UK’s foreign and domestic policy, and managing our relationship with the judiciary.
Defence People
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With a budget of around £250m and a workforce of around 500 people, this area is the strategic Human Resources (HR) function for the defence enterprise.
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Activities include setting HR policy for both civilian and military personnel, developing government policy on how to support veterans, managing major change programmes, and managing our relationship with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. HR policy for defence is much broader than in other organisations as it includes areas like accommodation, childcare and access to medical services.
Finance
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Even finance teams need a finance business partner. In MOD, the finance area in Head Office has a budget of around £75m and a workforce of around 1000.
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Activities include managing the overall cost and expenditure of the defence enterprise, making priority decisions where necessary to ensure our activities are affordable, managing the relationships with our strategic suppliers and the commercial staff that enable defence to procure services, setting finance policy for the whole department, creating the MOD’s annual report and accounts, and managing the relationship with the National Audit Office.
Chief Operating Officer
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The Chief Operating Officer holds a budget of around £130m and a workforce of around 250.
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His responsibilities include managing a range of large transformational programmes designed to make defence more efficient and effective, managing our relationships with arm’s length bodies, and managing our central legal services, as well as a range of other vital administrative functions.
Defence Science and Technology
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Run by the department’s Chief Science Adviser, this area holds a budget of around £400m which is given in grants to support the delivery of science and technology research.
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Maintaining an effective defence of the UK depends on us staying ahead in a wide range of fields of science, such as cyber, artificial intelligence, novel materials, and defence against chemical and biological weapons. The department aims to spend 1.2% of the defence budget on fundamental research.
Military Capability
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Supporting the finance teams, this business area sets strategy and policy for what military capability and infrastructure we will need in future.
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With a budget of around £30m and a workforce of 150 comprising a mixture of civilian and military personnel, the key activities include oversight of all equipment and infrastructure programmes to ensure they collectively deliver a coherent and affordable military capability.
Other Business Areas
