The Company

The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) was established in 2008 as an arm’s length company owned by the Scottish Government. As an infrastructure specialist, it works hand in hand with the public and private sectors to maximise the benefits coming from their infrastructure projects – whether that is how they are paid for, how they are built, how they are used or how they are maintained.

SFT has a vision of ‘world-class infrastructure for the people of Scotland’ which is underpinned by four core values:

• Bold - Believing in what it does, with commitment and courage to enable successful outcomes
• Collaborative - Sharing knowledge, experience and working in partnerships to achieve more for Scotland’s communities
• Dynamic - Accelerating positive outcomes by promoting innovation and being a catalyst for change
• Ambitious - Striving to excel and inspire by raising expectations

The Role

Job Purpose:

The Finance Manager will be responsible for consolidating, analysing, modelling and reporting on financial information to support PPP infrastructure programmes and the investments held by Scottish Futures Trust Investments (SFTi). This will include leading the production of the SFTi annual statutory accounts under the supervision of the Head of Finance.

Location:

The post holder will be based at the office in Edinburgh. The team works flexibly with an expectation that you need to be in the office for in-person meetings, as required. Additional travel may be required to attend external meetings or site visits.

Responsibilities:

• No direct reports
• No budget responsibility

Principle Accountabilities:

• Analyse and track investment performance from DBFM operational models through the use of the SFTi portfolio model, including forecasting income due to SFTi and the carrying value of investments including fair value calculations and any impairments to ensure high-quality management information for the SFTi Board
• Lead on the external audit and production of the SFTi statutory accounts under the supervision of SFT’s Head of Finance. This will involve shadowing the Head of Finance initially in year 1 with the aim of leading from year 2 onwards
• Assist the Senior Associate Director – Project Finance with the preparation of SFTi board and Group Audit Committee reports
• Update forecasting models for future revenue commitments for hub and Non-Profit-Distributing (NPD) PPP programmes, to support Scottish Government budget processes and data reporting
• Review and update published data for hub and NPD companies (e.g. investor information)
• Develop briefing materials to support responses to ad hoc queries from Scottish Government Infrastructure and Investment Division and other external interested parties to support scrutiny of SFT infrastructure programmes
• Provide ad hoc support to the Senior Associate Director – Project Finance on briefing materials for the Public Interest Director forum
• Support the Senior Associate Director – Project Finance on financial analysis work in considering future revenue-funded investment programmes
• Ad hoc support to the Operational Contracts Management team on data analysis of Scotland’s PPP contracts
• Support all 32 local authorities through the LEIP project development process by ensuring that local authorities have a full and detailed understanding of relevant funding conditions, outcomes and the award process. Provide updates to stakeholders as required
• Assist with the preparation and development of programme budget forecasting and financial modelling to Scottish Government and the LEIP Programme Board
• Assist with the ongoing management of the £1bn capital equivalent LEIP Budget (and associated revenue budget) in collaboration with other team members
• Manage individual project funding allocations by preparing indicative and final funding awards in line with individual project parameters and programme funding principles
• Provide Scottish Government with the necessary information to formalise funding awards
• Monitor local authority returns in relation to outcomes funding for operational projects and make adjustments to funding as necessary
• Contribute to the overall governance of the programme including preparation of LEIP Board papers and other programme reports as required
• Contribute to the planning, preparation and updating of presentations, programme documentation, briefing papers and reports in collaboration with members of the Learning Estate team
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with other SFT workstream colleagues and key contacts in Scottish Government, all 32 local authorities, SHOPs, SOLACE, ADES, COSLA, suppliers and other organisations linked to the programme
• Assist with ad hoc learning estate issues and queries to support Scottish Government

Knowledge, Skills and Experience - Essential

• Degree or equivalent relevant experience
• Qualified Accountant, member of a recognised accountancy body
• Experience in managing key stakeholder relationships
• Advanced Excel skills
• Self-motivated with a strong ability to prioritise tasks and actions.
• Experience in interpreting and manipulating complex financial models (most are in Excel)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience – Desirable

• Public sector experience
• A good understanding of PPPs and project finance (additional training can be provided)
• Infrastructure sector experience
• Financial investment experience
• Good level of Statutory Accounts experience

The Process

• The search and selection process of this assignment is being managed by advising consultants, Will Dodds and Claudia Prat at Rutherford Cross - [email protected] / [email protected]
• Selected professionals will then be invited to interview with selected shareholders and stakeholders
• All third-party applications, enquiries and direct approaches to SFT will be referred to Rutherford Cross