To leading financial strategy and business partnering across the Housing Revenue Account and General Fund housing services, including housing capital investment, temporary accommodation and homelessness prevention. 

To lead and deliver a value adding, customer focused finance function that collaborates with service colleagues and other professional functions to meet the needs of the Council, whilst also delivering on corporate objectives and responsibilities. To drive Council efforts in delivering the changes and improvements needed to meet its challenges in the short, medium, and long term.

To ensure the provision of high-quality finance and accountancy service that integrates best practice and customer focus with all aspects of service delivery and complies with statutory and policy requirements.

To pro-actively ensure the financial strategies and transformation in relation to these services are consistent with the longer term political and service aspirations as set out in relevant organisational and service strategies.

To lead, develop and drive the changing role of finance in becoming a function that is proactive, takes ownership, and maximises benefit from technological changes, focuses on becoming a data led, value adding professional advisory function.

To provide professional leadership as part of the Council’s finance community, ensure and promote the professional competence of staff involved in finance and driving a collaborative, customer, and outcomes focused approach.

Support the S151 Officer and Director of Finance in the effective planning, monitoring, and delivery of the Council’s financial strategy.

Lead and have overall responsibility for all aspects of a directorate’s finance activity and ensure pro-active, effective, value adding customer focused support for Directorate Leadership Teams/ Corporate Leadership Team and budget holders, including access to sound and timely financial advice on policy and strategic issues.

Overall responsibility to drive and increase financial competence, enable, and get buy-in from budget holders and Directors so they manage their own day to day finances and forecast through the appropriate financial systems of the organisation on a regular basis.

Overall responsibility to lead, manage and deliver all aspects of financial planning, production of management and statutory accounts, reporting and statistical returns (including returns to government departments and tax returns) to the highest professional standards and facilitate their internal and external scrutiny as appropriate. To ensure the Council’s accounts reflect the true accounting position and transactional postings to the chart of accounts are correct at source, and effective controls are in place.

Hold budget responsibility for your team.

Lead and develop a forward looking, pro-active team of finance staff that take ownership, personally responsibility, accountability, and work in a collaborative manner to deliver a value adding, customer focused finance function, ensure outcomes are delivered which is positively recognised by service colleagues, Members and others involved.

Co-ordinate expert and technical advice around management and project accountancy for large and complex capital programmes and the accounting treatments that are applied to these programmes.

Proactively engage and work with Directors on the scheduling of and producing reports to formal Council committees and other governance bodies that detail the financial implications of any proposals together with any other financial advice as may be necessary under S151 of the 1972 Local Government Act.

Advise Directors in managing their current budget position taking into account changes to funding and grants on the financial horizon and leading the financial support to deliver changes to their operating model, through the provision of detailed and specialist advice.

Take personal responsibility to develop and influence others’ thinking and negotiate to achieve optimal outcomes for the Council, working extensively with senior management, external partners, regulators, and members, and have significant influence on the authority’s financial strategic direction and effective financial stewardship.

Provide personal, customer focused advice and support to Corporate Directors, Cabinet Members and Committees.

Provide the operational leadership to ensure there is a robust process for monitoring the in-year financial position and reporting on that position to the highest professional standards and to meet statutory requirements and full internal and external scrutiny as appropriate, in a timely way to both senior management and elected members.

Lead on the assessment of the effectiveness of existing financial management approaches against both internal and external “best practice” comparators and recommend innovative enhancements to support the continuous improvement of service provision across the council.

Lead, manage and support transformational change implementations as required, securing the co-operative support of senior colleagues and partners as necessary to ensure consistency of approach and evidencing of financial impact.

Act as an authorised signatory for respective service delivery area under the delegated authority of the Director of Finance.

​Organisational Expectations

All Council managers are expected to work in a way which meets the Council’s Core Values and Behaviours and supports the achievements of the Borough Plan outcomes.

​Key skills & experience 

Proven knowledge of the following: operating in a complex multidisciplinary organisation; programmes and projects; people management 

Detailed understanding of local government (or other appropriate public sector body) finance, funding, and financial techniques.

Knowledge of the current financial challenges and issues being faced by local government.

Understanding of the requirements of accounting standards, CIPFA Local Authority Accounting Code of Practice, the Financial Management Code.

Relevant Experience

Experience in working at a senior level of local government finance for budget setting (both revenue and capital), monitoring, closing and project management.

Experience of providing financial advice to senior officers and members including partners and formal committees.

Working with extremely large and complex budgets, financial systems and accounts

Significant experience of leading and managing a team of staff, including developing and motivating them to deliver a highly skilled, effective, customer focused service

Qualification

CCAB (or equivalent) qualified accountant 

Additional professional management qualifications and/or training will be advantageous

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