Finance Business Partner

Position: Finance Business Partner
Location: Maidstone, Kent
Salary: £65,500 - £74,500 per annum (plus package)
Role: Permanent

Farrer Barnes are delighted to be working with Kent County Council on an exclusive and exciting senior opportunity within one of their well-regarded finance teams.

Kent County Council is responsible for a wide range of public services across the county of Kent and is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 81 elected councilors. Kent is the largest and most populated county in the UK with 1.68 million residents and a workforce of over 821,600 people. The Garden of England is the perfect place to live, work and play!

The business partner role provides high level strategic financial advice and support to each of Corporate Directors and their management teams, and Cabinet portfolio holders. The Finance Division has four such business partner roles supporting adult social care, children’s young persons and education, growth environment and transport, and strategic and corporate services.

This particular role is for children’s young persons and education and is responsible for supporting services such as Looked after Children , care leavers, Adoption & Fostering, Children’s social workers, children’s early help and prevention services, children’s centres, youth services, special needs assessment and placement, home to school transport, school planning and organisation, and schools delegated budgets.
The postholder will have strategic oversight of the directorate’s revenue and capital budgets, which will involve financial appraisal of major policy options and contribution to the development of the Council’s overall revenue and capital financial strategies. They will represent the directorate’s interests and ensure these align with the Council’s strategic objectives and business goals and ambitions. The business partner must also have oversight of the operation of financial management within the directorate including performance against the approved budget.
This is an exciting opportunity to work with senior managers in the Children’s, Young Persons and Education directorate as they embark on a significant change programme to integrate children’s services across Kent. The directorate has only recently brought together all children’s services under common management. The business partner will play a key role in identifying the financial opportunities this offers.
It is also a dynamic time for the education service with a move to a national funding formula for schools, the challenge of resourcing school places and finding solutions for the special needs budget. The postholder will be the lead officer providing support, advice and challenge to the Schools’ Funding Forum and will represent Kent’s views at national level through f40 (the group representing the lowest funded education authorities in England) and through regional groups.
Business partners are also a key role within the Council finance function. Although they do not have any direct line management of staff, they play a vital role in developing and delivering the Finance Division Business Plan and the Finance Vision. As part of the “Strategic Manager” family of roles within Finance the business partners are part of the job rotation policy and offer the opportunity to gain wider experience in other roles and wider knowledge of the Council’s services over time.
Due to the nature of this position it would suit someone who has worked in an environment such as;

Social Care Provider, Child Services & Fostering Agencies
Multi Academy Trust
Independent School
University or College
Charity
NHS

Experience & Skills:

Experience of contributing to the management of a service/function at a senior level
Proven track record of building relationships and engaging external partners
Experience of providing advice and guidance to senior clients, managers and colleagues
Strong presentation and speaking skills
Someone who can challenge the status quo, bringing fresh ideas and methods to the existing team.

Qualifications:

CCAB Qualification (CIPFA, ACCA, CIMA or ACA)

Or

Extensive relevant experience at a senior level in a complex organisation
Substantial, relevant professional background and proven credibility in the field

For more information on how you can apply for this role please contact Stuart Kingsnorth at Farrer Barnes on 01227 863900

Farrer Barnes Ltd does not discriminate on the grounds of age, race, gender, disability, creed or sexual orientation and complies with all relevant UK legislation. Farrer Barnes Ltd acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers.