About the Job

The Government Actuary is head of GAD (effectively the Department’s Chief Executive) and of the Actuarial Profession in Government. The role combines both operational and professional leadership and includes the fulfilment of statutory duties such as in relation to public service pensions, the National Insurance Fund, State Pensions Age and the Personal Injury Discount Rate. The Government Actuary must take personal and professional technical responsibility for the advice the department provides.

As the leader of GAD, you will be responsible for the leadership and strategic direction of the organisation. This includes the development and execution of GAD’s strategy, ensuring GAD is consistently developing a new pipeline of work and meeting the needs of GAD’s clients. Across GAD’s offices in both London and Edinburgh, you will be responsible for fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture. You will also be GAD’s Accounting Officer, with responsibility for ensuring GAD’s governance and expenditure are in line with government standards.

Job Description

Working with, and as a member of, the Management Board and the Executive, lead the department in developing its strategy and business plans and setting the priorities.

Specifically:

• Ensure the advice provided to clients by professionals in the Department is objective, professional and of a high quality and value for money;
• Ensure that GAD maintains an inclusive professional culture within which employees can grow and develop their skills, experiences and careers;
• Maintain the resource capacity, organisational design and capability to meet evolving client demand for GAD services;
• Develop a pipeline of new commissions and areas of development appropriate to the anticipated needs of clients;
• As Accounting Officer be ultimately responsible for the financial, operational, actuarial and risk management of the department, setting effective systems of control and meeting financial targets set by the Treasury;
• With advice from the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and internal and external auditors, maintain effective systems of quality, compliance and risk management; and
• Build effective relationships with key stakeholders, in particular HM Treasury, peers across Government, clients and other professional contacts

Person specification

Essential criteria:

• A proven track record in inclusive senior leadership, demonstrating the ability to act as a CEO.
• A technically accomplished and capable actuary who is well-regarded by professional peers. Candidates should hold the Fellowship of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries or equivalent.
• A proven and flexible communicator, with a proven ability to create and inspire colleagues to deliver a compelling strategic vision as well as to communicate effectively technical actuarial analysis to a range of senior stakeholders.
• An effective, disciplined decision-maker with a commercial flair for effecting business change and growth through innovation, adaptation and improvement.
• A commitment to GAD’s values (detailed above) and to the Civil Service Code values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality

Benefits

• 30 days’ paid annual leave plus 9 days public and privilege holidays
• An environment with flexible working options. Flexible working and job-shares will also be considered. Arrangements would need to be agreed with the department, to ensure business needs can be met.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Things you need to know

Application deadline: 23:59 hrs on 30 May 2023

Application long-sift: 05 June 2023

Preliminary interviews for selected long-sift candidates: W/C 12 June 2023

Candidate short-sift: 21 June 2023

Leadership assessments, staff engagement and informal stakeholder sessions: W/C 26 June 2023

Final interviews: 3 and 7 July 2023

Interview location: TBC