Lead Sanctions Adviser (Licensing)

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!

About the Team

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has been operational since March 2016 and has quickly established itself as a world-leader in financial sanctions, a key area of foreign and national security policy.

OFSI is the UK’s Competent Authority for financial sanctions. It leads on the implementation of UN and UK financial sanctions and domestic terrorist asset freezing, providing a high-quality service to the private and third sector, and guidance to help them follow the law.

We work closely with law enforcement, intelligence agencies and strategic policy colleagues across Government to help ensure that financial sanctions are accurately understood, implemented and enforced.

We are a diverse and friendly team, offering an outstanding environment to broaden your experience and develop new skills, whilst working on some of the highest profile international issues the UK faces.

About the Job

The role will have the following responsibilities:

1.      Case management: overseeing a portfolio of licensing cases, utilising case management and prioritisation techniques, and ensuring compliance with internal policies and procedures.

2.      Case assessment: Leading on complex licensing cases; obtaining and assessing evidence and intelligence from a variety of sources in a structured and ordered way to make licensing recommendations. In many of these cases the post holder will need to work independently in areas with limited guidance or precedents.

3.      Leading external engagement on own areas of responsibility, negotiating with external partners where appropriate, and representing OFSI’s Licensing Unit more widely in external (and potentially overseas) engagements. Providing concise, accurate and timely advice and recommendations on complex matters to Ministers and senior officials, after taking into account legal, political and operational risk.

4.      Policy development: Policy scoping, research and development on licensing policy projects, including in relation to technical sanctions issues and licensing capabilities, using licensing data to support recommendations.

5.      Collaboration with a diverse set of partners including senior colleagues in policy, litigation, legal advisory, enforcement, intelligence and across HM Government to implement effective and legally compliant licensing on Russia sanctions regimes.

6.      Line management responsibility for 1 or more Higher Executive Officers and the potential for counter-signing officer responsibilities, including providing quality assurance of advice.

About You

You could be making recommendations to manage significant risks within the UK and even with a global reach – it's a really exciting opportunity to see the real-world impacts of your work, managing a range of risks and complexities to ensure financial sanctions are implemented effectively in the UK.

Previous experience of financial sanctions policy and/or operational work is beneficial but not essential, provided you are comfortable picking up new technical areas; you would also be supported with training and development opportunities to get to grips with the subject matter.

HM Treasury is proud of a diverse and inclusive work environment, committed to fairness and the promotion of equality of opportunity for all. We know that having a range of experiences, ways of working and thinking makes us a stronger organisation, better at developing policy that is reflective of the communities we serve. We embrace different views and experiences and value the fresh perspective that people from a variety of circumstances bring to the work we do. We welcome applications from candidates who have not previously worked for the Civil Service, mid- and late-career changers with transferrable skills, people from all backgrounds and circumstances regardless of disability, ethnicity, LGBT+ identity and socio-economic status.

Some of the Benefits our people love!

• 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 days after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King’s birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant). Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing you to take up to an additional 2 days off each month.
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, compressed hours).
• Generous parental leave and adoption leave packages.
• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 28%
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme and season ticket advances.
• A Rental Deposit Advance Scheme to help meet the total costs of deposits for privately rented homes.
• Access to HM Treasury’s benefits portal allowing you access to a range of discount codes for online shopping.
• A range of active staff networks, based around interests (e.g. analysts, music society, sports and social club) and diversity