Senior Accountant

Senior Accountant - Children's Services

We have an excellent opportunity for a Senior Accountant to join the Children’s Finance Team within our Financial Operations Division.

You will work closely with the Finance Manager and another Senior Accountant to manage the financial team and deliver tangible outcomes to meet Service and Corporate requirements, whilst promoting efficient and resilient ways of working, staff development and a healthy work-life balance.

The Children's Finance Team supports the Children's Services Directorate, whose role is to safeguard and support vulnerable Children and Young People, including working with their families, and to provide Education Services and support to Schools. This is a crucial time in our Children’s Services improvement journey and as such, you will have the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of Children, Young People and Families.

As Senior Accountant your key responsibilities will include:
•    Deputise for and provide support to the Finance Manager role.
•    Line management responsibility for several team members within the wider Children’s finance team.
•    Acting as the Finance Lead in the delivery of specific programmes, service improvement plans and finance led projects, such as Oracle Cloud implementation and Workforce Planning and Visioning.
•    Providing financial support to Children’s Services liaising extensively with Chief Officers, Heads of Service, members of the Directorate Leadership Team and Budget Managers.
•    Supporting financial analysis of units costs and associated demand for the significant areas of spend within Childrens to share with the service and support decision making
•    Leading the production of financial monitoring, forecasting/modelling, and budgeting information, for both revenue and capital, including projects
•    Involvement in the whole financial cycle process including year-end and budget setting at a detailed Directorate level.
•    Helping to deliver a challenging savings, transformation, and investment agenda, and ensure compliance with Financial Regulations.
You will have:
•    Current full membership of CCAB or CIMA with evidence of continuing professional development.
•    Advanced financial management and management accounting skills and experience
•    Experience of managing a financial team and working closely with other teams to deliver tangible outcomes.

This is a great opportunity to join the division and work with all our teams across Financial Operations and share best practice, including learning and development and potential future promotion or rotation opportunities for the successful candidate.  Whilst we encourage colleagues to take advantage of internal opportunities, we know we have a lot to learn from new people joining us with the benefit of their experience elsewhere. We also offer you the opportunity to achieve a positive work life balance, with flexible working hours, and a blended way of working, combining working from the comfort of your own home with working in our newly refurbished and conveniently located Council offices in Solihull town centre.

In addition, we offer:
•    Annual leave starting at 24 days and rising to 29 days after 5 years' service, in addition to public holidays
•    The opportunity to buy up to 10 days additional leave per year
•    Flexible working, including flexi leave up to 24 days per year
•    Access to our Employee Assistance Programme – a 24 hour independent, free and confidential advice and support service
•    Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme
•    Staff discount card

If you have a specific question or require further information regarding these posts, please contact us. Whilst these vacancies are full time, we would consider requests for part time working 4 days a week, or a term time only arrangement.

Face to face interviews will be carried out on the 19th and 20th January 2023.

Closing Date: 8th January 2023
This post requires a DBS