Job Title  |  Senior Finance Analyst

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Department  |  Resources

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Section  |  Finance

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Grade  |  PO8

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Reports to  |  Head of Finance

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Staffing Responsibility  |   Typically line management of 3 staff including: Finance Analysts, Finance Officers, Payroll, Pensions and MI staff and Trainees, and Apprentices

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Job Purpose

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• Responsible for providing specialist and senior financial and accounting support to a substantial area of the council's business, typically a major part of the budget for an overall department or a substantial defined technical area of the corporate accounting and control arrangements.

• Support all officers within their service area, providing them with high level professional advice on a very broad range of financial issues and their relation to the council's corporate and managerial objectives.

• To provide significant and senior input to corporate financial processes such as co- ordinating major elements of the annual accounts or budgeting processes.

• To advise on and maintain appropriate financial controls and to challenge senior managers as necessary in this regard.

• To be an appropriate professional role model to junior staff in the department and to foster and champion professional development.

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Principal Accountabilities and Responsibilities

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• Make a positive contribution to the delivery of the service, this will include working flexibly and positively to achieve the objectives of the council.

• Manage and lead staff to achieve high performance and effective operational delivery, including developing and improving staff capability.

• Manage a customer focused service and the effective use of resources.

• Ensure that the council’s overall vision, values and ethos are central to the requirements of the service.

• Support effective working relationships and act as an ambassador and advocate with external organisations

• Keep up to date with developments in service delivery and best practice to ensure the service performs effectively and to the highest standards.

• To act as a professional role model to junior staff in the department and to senior managers across the council, keeping expert professional knowledge up to date at all times.

• To mentor and support apprentices and lead professional training for the department within own area of responsibility.

• To supervise day to day work of junior staff and to lead project teams within the department and across the council.

• To be the senior professional financial advisor in respect of a significant (e.g. gross budgets in excess of £100m) area of the council's budget (for example, housing, schools, social care or other business areas of similar scale and complexity).

• To carry out, independently, unit costing exercises and value for money reviews in order to improve financial performance and to play a significant role in the setting and monitoring of substantial budgets.

• To be council's professional accounting lead for a major area of technical financial accounting complexity (e.g. capital finance, collection fund etc) and to co-ordinate complex corporate financial processes for the council.

• To appoint and manage specialist financial advisers as may from time to time be necessary for particular projects.

• To lead in statutory financial reporting within own area of responsibility, ensuring that annual accounts, government returns and similar statistical submissions are completed promptly and accurately, and that the financial implications of the information contained therein are understood and acted upon.

• To draft financial implications for formal committee reports, up to and including for Cabinet and to brief senior managers and Directors accordingly.

• To attend some committee meetings as may from time to time be required.

• To advise on and maintain effective systems of financial control and to intervene as necessary, with a high degree of professional integrity and credibility, to prevent breaches of financial control.

• To manage operational/transactional functions, for example payroll, pensions and HR management information

• To advise managers on the implications of audit reports and of the actions to be taken in response.

• To provide senior financial analysis to support commercial and contract activities, including advising on contract terms, commercial negotiations and contractors' financial position.

• Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and all employees are required to act in such a way that at all times safeguards the health and well-being of children and vulnerable adults.

• Carry out duties with due regard to the council’s customer care, equal opportunities, information governance, data protection and health and safety policies and procedures.

• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the general level of responsibility of this post.

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Job Context

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• Operates within a framework set by Corporate and Departmental Management Teams, but with freedom to influence the shape of services.

• Leads financial strategy within own area of technical expertise.

• Deals with wide range of internal and external partners, stakeholders and contractors.

• Significant supervisory and professional accountabilities

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DBS Status  |  Standard

 

Politically Restricted  |  No