Job Details

Job Description – Senior Finance Officer

Job Title

Senior Finance Officer

Grade

G9

Department

Resources & Commercial Directorate – Finance & Assurance Division

Reports To

Service Accountant

Role Purpose

To provide professional financial and accountancy support to designated service areas, ensuring effective budget management, financial reporting, forecasting, and compliance with statutory and corporate financial requirements. The postholder will work closely with budget managers to provide financial advice, support informed decision-making, and contribute to the continuous improvement of financial processes.

Key Responsibilities

Budgeting and Financial Management

• Assist in the preparation of annual revenue and capital budgets.
• Produce and maintain accurate monthly budget monitoring reports.
• Analyse budget variances and provide clear financial commentary.
• Prepare financial forecasts and projections, including expenditure, income, cash flow, and staffing budgets.
• Support the calculation of fees, charges, and support service recharges.

Financial Analysis and Reporting

• Analyse financial performance, expenditure trends, and unit costs.
• Produce management information and financial reports for senior managers, management teams, and Cabinet.
• Extract, manipulate, and analyse financial data from the Council’s financial systems.
• Provide recommendations based on financial analysis to support operational and strategic decision-making.

Financial Accounting

• Support the year-end closure of accounts.
• Prepare accruals, journals, reconciliations, and working papers.
• Assist in producing schedules and supporting documentation for external auditors.
• Monitor balance sheet accounts and investigate outstanding balances where required.

Financial Advice and Business Partnering

• Build effective working relationships with budget managers and service teams.
• Provide professional financial advice and guidance to non-finance managers.
• Respond to financial queries and assist managers in understanding budget performance.
• Deliver financial training and guidance where required.

Statutory Returns and Compliance

• Prepare and submit government, CIPFA, and other statutory financial returns.
• Complete grant claims accurately and within required deadlines.
• Ensure compliance with accounting standards, financial regulations, and Council procedures.

Systems and Continuous Improvement

• Use financial systems (including SAP where applicable) and Microsoft Excel to produce accurate financial information.
• Develop and maintain procedure notes and working papers.
• Participate in finance transformation, service improvement, and project work.
• Identify opportunities to improve financial processes and reporting.

Key Skills and Experience

• Strong knowledge of management accounting principles, budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting.
• Experience of working within a finance function, preferably in the public sector.
• Ability to interpret and communicate complex financial information to non-finance stakeholders.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and financial data analysis.
• Experience using financial management systems, ideally SAP or similar ERP systems.
• Strong analytical, numerical, organisational, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively within a team and manage competing priorities.

Qualifications

• CCAB Part Qualified (ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, ACA or equivalent), or
• AAT Qualified, or
• Significant relevant finance experience demonstrating equivalent knowledge and capability.

Core Competencies

• Budget Management
• Financial Analysis
• Forecasting
• Management Accounting
• Business Partnering
• Financial Reporting
• Year-End Accounts
• Stakeholder Management
• Excel & Financial Systems
• Continuous Improvement
• Customer Focus
• Team Collaboration