What are the responsibilities and job description for the Head of Contingent and Implicit Liabilities position at Strategic Command?
Job Summary
If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives, the Treasury can offer you an exciting opportunity to influence decision making that affects the whole of the UK. Working at the heart of government, we collaborate across government to promote responsible public spending and drive strong and sustainable economic growth.
Our work ranges from protecting customers through the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, to promoting British trade around the world and supporting people across the country on jobs, growth and more.
We are part of the Darlington Economic Campus, a pioneering new cross-government hub which brings people together to play an active role in the most important issues of the day whilst working closer to the communities we serve. The campus provides the opportunity for people from all over the UK to help shape the future of the country, and our flexible working practices ensure you can collaborate effectively with our partners. It’s central government, made more accessible to you!
Job Description
About the Group
Fiscal Group works on a wide-ranging set of issues at the heart of the Treasury’s objectives and fiscal events such as the Budget. We are responsible for ensuring the sustainability of the government’s finances, overseeing its macroeconomic policy framework, and the stable and efficient financing of government liabilities. Work includes advising the Chancellor on the appropriate levels of borrowing and debt (as well as broader commitments like guarantees & insurance), providing analysis of the government’s finances, and overseeing financing raised for the government by the Debt Management Office and National Savings & Investments.
We work with teams across the Treasury to support decisions on the full breadth of government policy. We also have particularly wide and deep range of relationships beyond the Treasury including the Office for Budget Responsibility, Bank of England, and the Office for National Statistics. Delivering these objectives requires a range of skills and backgrounds, and we are proud of our diversity as a Group.
About The Team
The Balance Sheet Team leads work to improve analysis, policy, and risk management across trillions of pounds of assets and liabilities owned by government. It also leads on policy advice for new balance sheet interventions such as guarantees, loans and equity investments. This is an innovative area for fiscal policy and central to the Treasury’s role as a finance and economics ministry. We draw on a diverse network, including international institutions, colleagues across Treasury and departments, utilising expertise from across the public sector.
The team (composed of 13 people) is split into four branches:
Frameworks, Capital Assets and Metrics
Financial Assets and Investments
Contingent and Implicit Liabilities
Balance Sheet Management
The importance of our work has been underlined by an increasing focus on the balance sheet in fiscal policy and the growing use of balance sheet interventions, such as during the Covid-19 pandemic and energy price shock. Over the past year, the team have led work to support the decision by the Chancellor to target a broader measure of debt in the fiscal rules, developed a new framework for managing financial investments published at Budget, and have been part of various major policy decisions on issues varying from the financing of Sizewell C nuclear power station to the government’s fiscal support to Ukraine. To better limit government’s fiscal exposure to shocks in the future, the team is developing an ambitious new area of fiscal policy to manage government’s implicit liabilities.
We are passionate about helping our people thrive, by building an encouraging and friendly team. We champion diversity and team members work flexible working patterns. The team is home to staff based in each of our Darlington and London offices, and we work together to provide a supportive and inclusive home in each location.
About The Job
This role leads the Contingent and Implicit Liabilities branch in the team, which is responsible for overarching policy in HM Treasury on government’s role as the insurer of last resort in the economy and managing the approval of major new contingent liabilities.
Contingent liabilities are risks that could lead to costs for government if low likelihood events occur. They include financial guarantees, insurance schemes, indemnities and provisions. Examples include the Covid loan guarantee schemes that supported businesses during the pandemic, Flood Re which provides reinsurance to protect vulnerable areas from flooding risk, and provision for the long-term costs of decommissioning old nuclear power sites. The total lifetime expected cost of government’s stock of contingent liabilities was £514bn as of 2022/23.
Implicit liabilities are a type of contingent liability where government does not have a direct legal liability to meet costs but may be deemed to provide “implicit insurance” to the private sector where it faces a moral or economic obligation to assume private sector liabilities in a contingency scenario. The most prominent example of an implicit liability crystallising was the government’s bailout of the banking sector during the 2008-09 financial crisis.
This is a developing area of work with significant reach across the Treasury’s fiscal and economic policy responsibilities, so the post-holder will be able to have a substantial policy impact and shape the role to their interests.
The Post-holder Will Be Responsible For
Candidate Drop-In Session – Microsoft Teams
The hiring manager will be running a candidate drop-in session for this role to give you greater insight about the role as well as the chance to learn more about HM Treasury and ask any questions you may have. If you would like to join us, then use the link below to join the call at the right time.
Friday 17th January 2025 @ 16:30 - 17:00 Join the meeting now
If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please contact ben.barna-laue@hmtreasury.gov.uk
Person specification
We are looking for the below behaviours and we will ask you to demonstrate these in your application form. Please review the Candidate FAQ document that is attached to the advert for guidance on how to complete your application form.
If we receive large volumes of applications, we will conduct an initial sift on the lead criterion only.
Candidate Guidance Support Session
We will be running an overview of Success Profiles and the STAR approach; top tips for the application and interview process and an opportunity to ask general questions around our recruitment practices. If you would like to join us, then use the link below to join the call at the right time.
Thursday 16th January 2025 @ 12:30 - 13:15 Join the meeting now
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
Alongside your salary of £55,760, HM Treasury contributes £16,153 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
HM Treasury views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they can enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including; part-time, compressed hours and job sharing. Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees the flexibility to adjust their working patterns throughout the week which is subject to operational needs and line management approval.
At HM Treasury we have an incredibly broad remit; our work touches every citizen of the country. So, it’s important our employees come from the widest possible range of backgrounds, bringing us the widest possible range of perspectives and ways of thinking. We are committed to ensuring that all staff can realise their potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
HM Treasury operates an office based working approach across all Treasury sites - Darlington, London, and Norwich, and along with the rest of the Civil Service, has an expectation of a minimum of 60% attendance in the office, along with working remotely. This blended working approach allows you to work collaboratively, meet stakeholders face to face, support others and promotes a healthy work life balance (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review. All our offices have been recently modernised and designed to collaborate and connect with colleagues as well as desk and quiet space to allow a range of ways to work.
The office working expectation is linked to the location of the role. If you apply to a post in a single location, then you will not be able to meet this expectation at any of our other sites or move your role to another location.
If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives, the Treasury can offer you an exciting opportunity to influence decision making that affects the whole of the UK. Working at the heart of government, we collaborate across government to promote responsible public spending and drive strong and sustainable economic growth.
Our work ranges from protecting customers through the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, to promoting British trade around the world and supporting people across the country on jobs, growth and more.
We are part of the Darlington Economic Campus, a pioneering new cross-government hub which brings people together to play an active role in the most important issues of the day whilst working closer to the communities we serve. The campus provides the opportunity for people from all over the UK to help shape the future of the country, and our flexible working practices ensure you can collaborate effectively with our partners. It’s central government, made more accessible to you!
Job Description
About the Group
Fiscal Group works on a wide-ranging set of issues at the heart of the Treasury’s objectives and fiscal events such as the Budget. We are responsible for ensuring the sustainability of the government’s finances, overseeing its macroeconomic policy framework, and the stable and efficient financing of government liabilities. Work includes advising the Chancellor on the appropriate levels of borrowing and debt (as well as broader commitments like guarantees & insurance), providing analysis of the government’s finances, and overseeing financing raised for the government by the Debt Management Office and National Savings & Investments.
We work with teams across the Treasury to support decisions on the full breadth of government policy. We also have particularly wide and deep range of relationships beyond the Treasury including the Office for Budget Responsibility, Bank of England, and the Office for National Statistics. Delivering these objectives requires a range of skills and backgrounds, and we are proud of our diversity as a Group.
About The Team
The Balance Sheet Team leads work to improve analysis, policy, and risk management across trillions of pounds of assets and liabilities owned by government. It also leads on policy advice for new balance sheet interventions such as guarantees, loans and equity investments. This is an innovative area for fiscal policy and central to the Treasury’s role as a finance and economics ministry. We draw on a diverse network, including international institutions, colleagues across Treasury and departments, utilising expertise from across the public sector.
The team (composed of 13 people) is split into four branches:
Frameworks, Capital Assets and Metrics
Financial Assets and Investments
Contingent and Implicit Liabilities
Balance Sheet Management
The importance of our work has been underlined by an increasing focus on the balance sheet in fiscal policy and the growing use of balance sheet interventions, such as during the Covid-19 pandemic and energy price shock. Over the past year, the team have led work to support the decision by the Chancellor to target a broader measure of debt in the fiscal rules, developed a new framework for managing financial investments published at Budget, and have been part of various major policy decisions on issues varying from the financing of Sizewell C nuclear power station to the government’s fiscal support to Ukraine. To better limit government’s fiscal exposure to shocks in the future, the team is developing an ambitious new area of fiscal policy to manage government’s implicit liabilities.
We are passionate about helping our people thrive, by building an encouraging and friendly team. We champion diversity and team members work flexible working patterns. The team is home to staff based in each of our Darlington and London offices, and we work together to provide a supportive and inclusive home in each location.
About The Job
This role leads the Contingent and Implicit Liabilities branch in the team, which is responsible for overarching policy in HM Treasury on government’s role as the insurer of last resort in the economy and managing the approval of major new contingent liabilities.
Contingent liabilities are risks that could lead to costs for government if low likelihood events occur. They include financial guarantees, insurance schemes, indemnities and provisions. Examples include the Covid loan guarantee schemes that supported businesses during the pandemic, Flood Re which provides reinsurance to protect vulnerable areas from flooding risk, and provision for the long-term costs of decommissioning old nuclear power sites. The total lifetime expected cost of government’s stock of contingent liabilities was £514bn as of 2022/23.
Implicit liabilities are a type of contingent liability where government does not have a direct legal liability to meet costs but may be deemed to provide “implicit insurance” to the private sector where it faces a moral or economic obligation to assume private sector liabilities in a contingency scenario. The most prominent example of an implicit liability crystallising was the government’s bailout of the banking sector during the 2008-09 financial crisis.
This is a developing area of work with significant reach across the Treasury’s fiscal and economic policy responsibilities, so the post-holder will be able to have a substantial policy impact and shape the role to their interests.
The Post-holder Will Be Responsible For
- Appraising new and novel schemes that incur contingent liabilities and managing the Treasury approval process for new contingent liabilities. This will involve developing a broad stakeholder network across the department and advising Ministers, policy leads and senior officials. Recent examples of new contingent liabilities the team have been involved in advising on include indemnities to support the UK’s £22bn investment in Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage and guarantees to provide fiscal support to Ukraine.
- Developing a new policy approach to manage implicit liabilities across government, including advising the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on policy design and implementation. This will involve developing a broad understanding of the different areas that government provides implicit insurance, working with Treasury spending teams and departments to lead policy deep dives (e.g. on airline and travel insurance), and leading the publication of a new framework. The team’s work here is world-leading in expanding the boundaries of fiscal management.
- Evolving government’s overarching control of contingent liabilities, including considering potential top-down constraints on government’s maximum fiscal exposure to risks and how we can increasingly manage government’s stock of contingent liabilities as an overall portfolio. This will support Treasury ministers when considering whether to enter into new commitments (e.g. guarantee schemes to support infrastructure financing) or exit existing interventions.
- Leading on the Treasury’s relationship with the Contingent Liability Central Capability in UK Government Investments (UKGI), who provide analytical and advisory expertise on contingent liabilities across government. The role will involve collaborating regularly with UKGI on development of new policies and setting the strategic-direction for long-term priorities, such as evolving their portfolio-level analysis of contingent liabilities across government.
- Managing 1-2 HEO/SEOs in your branch, providing effective line management to support their work, wellbeing, and development.
Candidate Drop-In Session – Microsoft Teams
The hiring manager will be running a candidate drop-in session for this role to give you greater insight about the role as well as the chance to learn more about HM Treasury and ask any questions you may have. If you would like to join us, then use the link below to join the call at the right time.
Friday 17th January 2025 @ 16:30 - 17:00 Join the meeting now
If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please contact ben.barna-laue@hmtreasury.gov.uk
Person specification
We are looking for the below behaviours and we will ask you to demonstrate these in your application form. Please review the Candidate FAQ document that is attached to the advert for guidance on how to complete your application form.
- Making Effective Decisions: ability to use evidence and analysis to come to a sound judgement on complex policy or analytical problems, particularly when faced with an uncertain context.
- Working Together: ability to build strong relationships across a range of internal and external stakeholders, collaborate effectively, and influence others to achieve outcomes.
- Delivering at Pace: ability to lead challenging pieces of work to tight deadlines and balance a mix of competing short- and long-term work priorities.
- Experience: experience of working with economic principles and/or experience of working on public spending issues.
If we receive large volumes of applications, we will conduct an initial sift on the lead criterion only.
Candidate Guidance Support Session
We will be running an overview of Success Profiles and the STAR approach; top tips for the application and interview process and an opportunity to ask general questions around our recruitment practices. If you would like to join us, then use the link below to join the call at the right time.
Thursday 16th January 2025 @ 12:30 - 13:15 Join the meeting now
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
- Delivering at Pace
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
- Delivering at Pace
Alongside your salary of £55,760, HM Treasury contributes £16,153 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
- 25 days’ annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King's birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant)
- Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
- Generous parental and adoption leave package.
- A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 28%
- Onsite restaurant and coffee bar. The London office also offers a gym, showers and prayer room
- Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving
- Access to a retail discounts and cashback site
- A Rental Deposit Advance Scheme to help meet the total costs of deposits for privately rented homes
- A range of active staff networks, based around interests and diversity
HM Treasury views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they can enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including; part-time, compressed hours and job sharing. Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees the flexibility to adjust their working patterns throughout the week which is subject to operational needs and line management approval.
At HM Treasury we have an incredibly broad remit; our work touches every citizen of the country. So, it’s important our employees come from the widest possible range of backgrounds, bringing us the widest possible range of perspectives and ways of thinking. We are committed to ensuring that all staff can realise their potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
HM Treasury operates an office based working approach across all Treasury sites - Darlington, London, and Norwich, and along with the rest of the Civil Service, has an expectation of a minimum of 60% attendance in the office, along with working remotely. This blended working approach allows you to work collaboratively, meet stakeholders face to face, support others and promotes a healthy work life balance (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review. All our offices have been recently modernised and designed to collaborate and connect with colleagues as well as desk and quiet space to allow a range of ways to work.
The office working expectation is linked to the location of the role. If you apply to a post in a single location, then you will not be able to meet this expectation at any of our other sites or move your role to another location.
Salary : $16,153 - $55,760
