• Details

Reference number

395972

Salary

£98,000 - £120,000

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

SCS Pay Band 2

Contract type

Permanent

Type of role

Senior leadership
Other

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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

Location

Cardiff

About the job

Job summary

Companies House is an Executive Agency of the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). As Chief Executive Officer, you will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction for the organisation and will work closely with DBT to deliver the policy objectives of Ministers.

This is an exciting time to join Companies House as we are undergoing the biggest reform programme since Companies House was established in the 19 th Century, which will fundamentally transform what we do and how we do it. In 2023 the UK Government passed the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, which sought to ensure that Companies House is fully equipped with the powers we need to tackle misuse of the companies register and to support the Government’s fight against economic crime. This is a significant expansion of the role of Companies House, and we are making a reality of new powers to maintain the integrity of the register, introducing new processes to verify the identity of directors on the register and developing new capabilities to identify and tackle economic crime on the register.

In parallel we are in the process of modernising our underlying systems and processes, ensuring we can leverage the full use of digital tools and cutting age data analytics to maximise the value of the data on our register and to strengthen our ability to deliver both our core services and our new powers.

Taken together, this is a substantial and far-reaching reform programme which will enable Companies House to play a leading role in the fight against corrupt business practices, providing the transparency and clarity necessary for the UK to continue to be regarded as a world-leading place to do business.

These changes will have an impact on our systems, services, culture and ways of working, and we are looking for someone experienced to lead the organisation through this next phase of transformation, ensuring that our organisation not only meets the challenges of today but is also well-prepared for the future. This journey requires expertise and experience in leading a complex change agenda, the delivery of multiple programmes and the creation of significant new value.

Key Responsibilities

As CEO of Companies House, you will be instrumental in guiding the organisation through the period of significant change, fostering a culture of innovation and excellence, and ultimately helping Companies House to achieve its mission of enhancing corporate transparency and combating economic crime. Your key responsibilities will include:

• Provide strategic leadership and direction to Companies House, ensuring the delivery of its statutory functions, services and transformation programme, with a strong emphasis on the critical importance of people and culture to Companies House’s success.
• Acting as Registrar of Companies for England and Wales. Working in close collaboration with the Registrars for Scotland and Northern Ireland you will be responsible for meeting the Registrars’ objectives as set out in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
• Lead the development and implementation of the organisation’s strategic plan, aligning it with government priorities and stakeholder expectations.
• Create an environment that supports the delivery of multiple programmes and establishes many of the best practices found in leading edge data and service companies. Fostering a culture of innovation, continuous improvement and customer focus within the organisation.
• Managing the pivot towards a more customer, data and analytics centric ecosystem, and influencing industry ecosystems in creating greater trust in the integrity of the register.
• Foster a collaborative and transparent relationship with non-executive directors and the Department for Business and Trade, ensuring their insights and expertise are effectively integrated into the strategic decision-making process.
• Oversee the management of the organisation, driving increasing levels of performance while ensuring that efficiencies are identified and realised.
• Represent Companies House at the most senior levels with Ministers, government departments, industry bodies, and other stakeholders. Acting as the Accounting Officer of the organisation and appearing before Parliament to account for the organisation’s spend and performance.

Learn more about the role from John Clarke (Chair Companies House)

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Significant senior leadership experience, demonstrating a strong commitment to public service values, integrity, and ethical conduct, with expertise in the public sector, regulatory bodies, or a comparable private sector environment.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage organisational change and transformation, including complex technical, analytical, and service programmes, ensuring operational resilience and maximising the value of data and insight.
• Strong strategic thinking and planning skills, with the ability to translate vision into actionable plans while ensuring alignment with corporate governance, regulatory frameworks, and compliance requirements.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, demonstrating the ability to build trusting relationships and gain the confidence of a wide range of stakeholders.
• Evidence of strong financial acumen and experience of managing a significant budget to drive efficiencies and resources effectively.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £98,000, Department for Business and Trade contributes £28,390 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

Selection process details

How to apply

Hays, an Executive Search firm, have been appointed to assist with this recruitment campaign. To apply for this post, you will need to submit documentation below via the following link, by no later than 23:55pm on Sunday 6th April.

Follow this link to apply

If you have any issues accessing the link or questions regarding the documentation, please contact:

• Andrew Timlin: 07887777735, Andrew.Timlin@hays.com
• Owen Quant: Owen.quant@hays.com

Documentation :

1. A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.

2. A Supporting Statement of around two pages of A4 explaining how you meet the requirements of the person specification as far as you are able to.

Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification. Please ensure that both documents contain your full name.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles .

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Andrew Timlin
• Email : Andrew.Timlin@hays.com

Recruitment team

• Email : Owen.quant@hays.com

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact Georgia Defoe SCSrecruitment@businessandtrade.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/contact-us/