Due Diligence and Investment Appraisal Accountant

Job summary

The Department for Business Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST) supports businesses to invest, grow and create jobs across the UK. The Grant Delivery Directorate plays a critical role in delivering financial assistance that secures economic growth, strengthens key sectors and supports major industrial and infrastructure investments.

Job description

As a Grade 7 Due Diligence and Investment Appraisal Accountant, you will lead robust financial assessment and due diligence on high-profile grant and investment proposals. You will be accountable for assessing the financial viability, affordability, deliverability and value for money of complex business cases, ensuring that DBIST funding decisions are supported by clear evidence, sound professional judgement and appropriate professional challenge.

Working closely with policy, programme, commercial and finance colleagues, you will provide authoritative advice on financial risk, investment appraisal, affordability, additionality and the minimum level of public funding required. You will influence senior stakeholders, engage directly with applicants, beneficiaries and partners, test assumptions, scrutinise financial information and produce clear, succinct reports and recommendations that support senior decision-making.

You will lead continuous improvement of DBIST’s due diligence approach, developing guidance, standards and processes that support consistency, proportionality and effective assurance across the Department’s grant portfolio. The role requires strong technical accounting expertise, strategic judgement, confident leadership through expertise, excellent relationship management and the ability to challenge complex financial and strategic business cases while upholding the standards expected under Government Grant Standards, Managing Public Money and DBIST’s assurance framework.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the required due diligence process for relevant schemes within the Grant Delivery Directorate (GDD) portfolio and, where required, for the wider Department and HMG, ensuring assessments are proportionate, evidence-based and aligned to scheme objectives.
• Provide authoritative professional advice and challenge in line with Government Grant Standards and the mandated requirements of Managing Public Money.
• Lead the development, delivery and continual review of due diligence standards, guidance and processes, ensuring they are consistently applied and remain fit for purpose across the Team, Directorate and Department.
• Build and maintain robust relationships with colleagues across policy teams, wider DBIST, other government departments, stakeholders and beneficiaries, influencing effectively to ensure a joined-up approach between them and the GDD Team.
• Be accountable for embedding relevant due diligence processes across schemes within the GDD portfolio, identifying opportunities to improve consistency, proportionality, quality and assurance.
• Own the quality and accuracy of relevant Grants Hub information and SharePoint records, ensuring comprehensive audit trails are maintained to support assurance, transparency and senior decision-making.
• Develop and apply sector and/or Industrial Strategy knowledge to inform financial assessments, identify emerging risks and provide strategic insight on the deliverability and impact of proposed investments.
• Provide leadership through expertise by coaching colleagues, supporting new starters, sharing best practice and helping to build capability across the team.
• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage;

• In-depth knowledge of investment appraisal techniques used commonly within businesses, with the technical ability to assess the merits, credibility and risks of complex financial and strategic business cases and to debate and challenge those arguments with authority.
• Strong interpersonal, influencing and relationship management skills, with the confidence to advise and challenge senior stakeholders clearly and constructively.
• The ability to provide evidence-based recommendations that balance affordability, value for money, deliverability, risk and strategic objectives.
• The ability to think strategically, understand the wider departmental and HMG context, and identify how individual funding decisions contribute to broader portfolio and policy outcomes.
• The ability to lead the delivery of high-quality finance and governance advice, drawing on the expertise of others, using stakeholder feedback to improve services and setting standards for others to follow.
• The ability to manage conflicting priorities, make sound judgements under pressure and meet challenging deadlines while maintaining quality, assurance and auditability.
• Full member of CCAB body (ICAEW or Scottish equivalent).

• Memberships
• Full member of CCAB body (ICAEW or Scottish equivalent)
• Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Technical ability to assess the merits, credibility and risks of complex financial and strategic business cases and to debate and challenge those arguments with authority

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,511, Department for Business and Trade contributes

£16,660 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• 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%

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment

history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years

are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.

• A Personal Statement of up to 750 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and

experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria.

Your application will be sifted against the Experience criteria of the Civil Service Success Profiles.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date, though this is subject to change.

We aim to sift both the CV and the Personal Statement but, in the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift may be conducted on the CV only. Candidates who pass the initial sift of the CV will either progressed to a full sift where the Personal Statement is then assessed, or progressed straight to further assessment/interview. 

Candidates who pass the sift will be invited to interview, where we will assess you on the Success Profiles elements of Behaviours and Technical skill.

As part of your interview, you will be asked to deliver a short oral presentation, details will be provided prior to your interview.

Please note, following a recent change to the Machinery of Government, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) will be renamed to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) as of 20th July 2026. BIST will connect the UK’s world-class science and technology base directly to the businesses, places and workers that will drive good growth across the country. Such changes will not affect the selection process for this campaign; however, we wanted to take this opportunity to advise you of the recent changes to our department.

You can find further information here regarding recent governmental changes Machinery of Government changes: Fact Sheet - GOV.UK .

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment:

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department.

Further Information:

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases. 
• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band. 
• Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty. Any applicant who has details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
• A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. 
• Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these m