To act as lead Finance Business Partner for a defined set of services within the Council, providing financial advice and support to Directors, Heads of Service and other budget holders.
To provide full financial support to a defined group of council services including (but not limited to)
Budget monitoring and forecasting
Technical advice in specialist areas (e.g. Dedicated Schools Grant, HRA,)
Provision of accurate and timely reports on relevant financial issues and performance
Providing data analysis and options appraisal to enable decision making
Budget setting and financial planning
Yearend processes including providing specified notes to the accounts.
Staying informed of financial regulations and legalities relevant to the service area and Public Sector Finance
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Fully qualified CCAB accountant or AAT/part qualified or equivalent with significant experience.
Demonstrable knowledge of accounting principles, policies and practices including experience of year end closure of accounts
Experience of working in large complex organizations and supporting the financial management of significant budgets
Ability to work on own initiative to identify and resolve financial problems and issues.
Ability to communicate complex financial information in an easy-to-understand format. This includes writing reports and providing graphical representation of information.
Ability to present to small audiences and explain financial issues verbally to non-finance professionals
Ability to build constructive relationships with budget holders, managers, and other customers.
Experience in identifying, supporting, and implementing system or process improvements,
Ability to evaluate, interpret and analyze financial and other quantitative information
Ability to use standard office IT systems such as Excel and Word and experience of using corporate financial management systems
Ability to plan and manage own work to meet regular and adhoc deadlines
Ability to develop and support more junior staff, challenging poor performance and celebrating good performance
Understand and commitment to Equality and Diversity, applying its principles to all activities