Director of the Serious Fraud Office

About this role

Details

If you are successful and are from outside the Civil Service, you can expect your salary on appointment to be c.£199,000 per annum. If you are an existing civil servant, your salary will be agreed in line with the Civil Service pay rules in place on the date of your appointment. The SCS3 salary band minima is £135,000.

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

SCS Pay Band 3

Length of employment

5 years with the possibility of extension for a maximum of 2 years

Type of role

Senior leadership

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

About the job

Job summary

The Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) plays a critical leadership role at the forefront of the UK’s fight against serious and complex economic crime. As head of a unique specialist agency, the Director is responsible for tackling the most significant cases of fraud, bribery and corruption, safeguarding the UK’s economic integrity and maintaining public confidence in the justice system.

The SFO occupies a unique position within the UK criminal justice landscape in that it both investigates and prosecutes its cases. It involves multidisciplinary case teams of lawyers, investigators, forensic accountants and other experts working together from the very outset of investigations. These are some of the most significant and challenging cases in any jurisdiction. They can involve powerful suspects and defendants, vast sums of money, thousands of victims, millions of documents, activity in many countries and the highest levels of public scrutiny.

The Director has ultimate accountability for the SFO’s operational and corporate functions, working closely with the rest of the Executive Committee which comprises the Chief Operating Officer, Director of Operations and Director of Legal Services. They also work with the SFO Board, including four non-executive directors, the Audit Risk and Assurance Committee and other governance structures.

To succeed in this role, you will need to lead the organisation through an ongoing period of change and maintain the momentum it has gained in recent years. First and foremost, the role requires good leadership, a clear vision and a strong ability to deliver results through a variety of teams.

The Director is also responsible for deciding which criminal investigations the SFO should open and which of those cases should be prosecuted. These decisions are supported by robust advice, including legal counsel, from the Executive Committee and operational staff.

They are accountable to the Attorney General for the exercise of their functions and accountable to Parliament, as Accounting Officer, for the expenditure of public funds.

Job description

In this exciting, varied, and challenging role, the Director’s responsibilities include:

• *Setting the direction and priorities*of the SFO in collaboration with the senior leadership team.
• Being *accountable for the overall performance*of the SFO and ensuring its functions are delivered effectively.
• As Accounting Officer, working with the AGO to safeguard public funds while ensuring that the SFO is sufficiently resourced to take its cases through their entire lifecycle from intelligence referral to post-conviction asset recovery.
• Championing a culture of excellence, integrity and inclusion across the organisation, *ensuring the SFO attracts, develops and retains exceptional talent*and promotes continuous learning and improvement.
• Developing, *strengthening and achieving results through constructive relationships with partners*across Government, domestic and international law enforcement, the wider public sector, civil society and the private sector to support casework delivery and improve confidence in the SFO.
• Being the public face of the organisation, communicating the SFO’s work effectively to the press and social media audiences to generate interest, trust and support for the SFO’s work.
• Ensuring the SFO contributes to Government policy and strategy to tackle serious and complex economic crime, sharing their unique knowledge and expertise.

Please see the attached candidate pack for more information.

Person specification

To be appointed to this role, you will need to provide clear evidence of meeting the following criteria:

• Experience of effective executive level decision-making on both complex operational delivery and strategy, showing an ability to manage risk and make difficult decisions.
• Experience of challenging the status quo and of proactively instigating and leading change in an operational environment, including using technology to drive organisational efficiency and performance.
• Experience of building and maintaining effective relationships with stakeholders at the highest levels of seniority.
• Proven ability to engage staff at all levels of an organisation, delivering through high-performing teams of leaders across different disciplines.
• Experience of leading investigatory or legal functions in any of the following sectors:*law enforcement, criminal or civil litigation, public sector organisations.*

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £199,000, Serious Fraud Office contributes £57,650 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides .

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to the Serious Fraud Office on this appointment. Candidates should apply for this role through Saxton Bampfylde’s website here using code OCCYA. If you are unable to apply online please submit your application to maria.dodson@saxbam.com.

Please send the following information by no later than 23:55 Friday 30 October.

• Your CV, with educational and professional qualifications and full employment history, including an explanation of any gaps in your employment history, and details where possible of budgets and numbers of people.
• A short covering statement of no more than two A4 sized pages (1000 words) explaining why this appointment interests you and how you can evidence your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the ‘relevant experience’ section.
• Notification of any dates you are unable to accommodate within the indicative timetable set out above.

You will also be asked to complete a diversity monitoring form. Please note that references and open-source due diligence checks (including into social media accounts) may be undertaken for all short-listed candidates.