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Our client is a large local government organisation and looking for an experienced Finance Manager on a permanent basis
You will
Finance Manager for Education, Inclusion and Skills: this role is focussed on supporting the provision of education services, schools, and associated transformation and capital projects.
Finance Manager for Childrens Social Care: where this role is focussed on supporting Placements, Fostering, Asylum Teams and associated transformation and capital projects.
All roles will manage a team of Group Accountants and support the Business Partner with Executive Meetings and with other committee and member support responsibilities.
Corporate Finance
The Corporate Finance team is where you will provide technical financial advice, largely around revenue accounting issues.
We monitor a range of technical corporate accounts including suspense, holding and control accounts, close the annual accounts and manage external audit. We also support technical aspects of finance systems work.
Besides being part of the technical finance team, a part of this role includes responsibility for risk and insurance. Therefore knowledge of the insurance industry and its procurement along with an understand of risk frameworks is beneficial but not essential.
About the roles
You will be the trusted advisor to senior members of the council on financial matters. That includes setting annual budgets as well as ensuring short, medium, and long-term forecasts are robust.
You will identify, analyse and report on the financial implications of new initiatives in your area of responsibility.
At year end you will support the preparation of annual statements.
To be successful in these roles you will need to build strong relationships with key stakeholders in your area and across the Council. That will allow you to challenge and advise. A commitment to continual improvement is key and you will need to consistently offer ideas to improve current practice and find efficiencies. There will be opportunities to work on cross-cutting projects that address issues across the council.
Finally, you will need to manage and motivate your team to deliver.
Objectives
- Be personally responsible for taking all necessary steps to fully understand the business needs of the client service areas allocated to you and a general awareness for the whole Directorate, such that you can provide expert assistance to management in achieving value for money and service improvement.
- Provision of monthly reporting, analysis and insight on the performance of each budget. Reporting to include insight on what is driving performance, what actions can be taken to remediate any performance gaps and what actions can be taken to improve performance.
- Research and maintain awareness of alternative models of service delivery and, in conjunction with budget managers, consider how innovative solutions to service delivery can be implemented within the council and/or with partners.
- Identify and participate in improvement and efficiency projects. To facilitate the preparation and delivery of efficiency and savings plans for clients which support corporate long term financial planning including the modelling of costs for various options.
- Support the ring-fenced accounts as required for your remit, including annual update of the 30-year HRA Business Plan and associated model and involvement and update of the financial information for the DSG.
- Build excellent professional relationships with key senior stakeholders across the council, external partners and government departments as appropriate. Representing the council at appropriate external forums & maintain relationships to ensure that proposed initiatives are financially viable and delivered as effectively as possible.
- Interpret financial performance for council wide services or activities and provide options to managers to assist them achieve required efficiencies and spend to budget position on an on-going basis.
- Provide independent analysis & interpretation of complex financial data, to facilitate support & challenge to both internal and external stakeholders and allow decisions to be made following consideration of financial resource and risks implications.
- Draft and present reports on the analysis of financial performance for budget holders and the public in relation to financial issues and collaborate with external partners & agencies as required.
- Undertake appropriate development work as required in response to changing financial regimes, new government legislation and initiatives.
- Expand on management responsibilities to include support of more complex management issues and to provide coaching and mentoring as appropriate.
- Lead on financial support to projects related to the respective area of the directorate, develop business cases & options appraisals in support of business objectives, investigate & support mechanisms for greater efficiencies or additional income generation & invest to save.
- In accordance with council procedures and delegated level of financial authority, support the development and timely preparation of the key internal and external financial documents for your respective area of the portfolio; quantifying associated costs, benefits, risks and funding solutions and associated sensitivities.
- Acquire and maintaining comprehensive service specific knowledge to support policy development as appropriate, working with service leads reinforcing the need for corporate governance and financial management best practice.
PLEASE NOTE A STANDARD DBS IS ESSENTIAL FOR THIS ROLE
HYBRID WORKING AVAILABLE
