FBP: Social Care, Education & Schools Fi

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Finance Business Partner:

Social Care, Education & Schools Finance Team

£43,590 - £52,482 per annum

Role Purpose

To provide a full range of financial direction, support and guidance to a range of Council services and/or cross cutting support as required within the Corporate Finance service.

To support the Groups’ Senior Management and their budget managers to deliver their budget management responsibilities. The post holder will be required to translate complex financial data to non-financial stakeholders and effectively challenge senior managers, in ensuring robust financial management of each business area.

To provide direct financial support to the Groups to enable them to develop their strategic financial plans and ensure that the future needs of the service are reflected in the Council’s medium term financial forecasts. To support the Finance managers in the provision of high quality financial advice and accurate and timely financial information to Corporate Directors, Heads of Service and budget managers across the Groups through day-to-day management and coordination of a service finance team

To support the group Finance Manager in ensuring that each Group complies with Financial Standing Orders and all other financial policies and procedures as directed by the Chief Finance Officer. Key to the role will be working with a variety of stakeholders including elected Members, Corporate and Divisional Directors, and budget managers.

To work with colleagues across the Corporate Finance service as required to proactively support the production of strategic and medium-term financial planning information.

To ensure that the statutory accounting requirements with respect to each Group are met and that legislative changes that may have financial impact on Groups are covered.

People Management

To support the coordination of a Corpoirate Finance team or a number of staff within the team, to provide an optimum level of service provision in accordance with the Council’s policies, budget allocation and statutory requirements

To support the target setting, performance management, business planning and budget management for the Finance team.

To support the responsible selection, development and performance of junior members within a specific finance team in line with the Council’s HR policies.

To take personal responsibility for Continuous Professional Development and updating of the financial and business skills and legislative/ service knowledge required to undertake the role. To keep up-to-date with best practice elsewhere.

To undertake additional and specific management responsibilities within the team as directed by the Finance Manager.

Customer Management

To work closely with the Senior Managers within the Group so that they are fully informed of the financial position and risks for their services, and take the necessary actions to stay within budget.

To support the development of effective external working relationships with key stakeholders within the council to ensure the service has the knowledge and expertise to continuously improve its financial performance.

To take the lead on developing and maintaining external relationships as directed by the Finance Manager.

Operational Service Delivery

To develop and support improvement projects within the Group from a finance perspective.

Ensure that officers and Members are provided with high quality financial advice and direction on financial strategies, policy, standards and practices, enabling service Directorates to make timely and well-informed strategic and operational decisions in the knowledge of the impact those decisions will have financially on the Council.

Understand the business of the service Directorate and the customer’s needs and provide a finance service that adds value.

Support the delivery of productivity, efficiency improvement and cost reduction plans within the service Directorate, including change programmes and cross cutting projects, and the identification and securing of new funding streams.

The post holder will also be responsible for identifying financial issues within the service Directorate that require attention and seek resolutions to areas of financial concern to ensure expenditure and income is contained within the Budget.

To lead on the work and review of complex and high level financial issues for specific service areas.

To regularly represent Senior Finance Officers as the finance expert at both internal and external forums.

Service Planning & Development

Ensure clear Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) are in place where appropriate, covering all aspects of service delivery with performance and response levels.

To support the development of annual operational plans and budgets for the function or team so that there are clear priorities and appropriate resources are allocated to their achievement.

To formulate and develop plans and budgets for particular areas of the team and input into the workforce planning process.

Financial & Resource Management

To support the development and implementation of budget plans across the Group, within legislative requirements and in compliance with the Council’s policies, regulations and standing orders.

To ensure the provision of timely financial information in support of Departmental and Corporate performance monitoring requirements and to corporate timetables.

To ensure all purchasing and procurement is conducted in line with the corporate guidelines with appropriate use of the Council’s financial systems.

To maintain high standards of statutory accounting and meet the Council’s statutory and professional requirements.

To ensure that all financial systems within the Group are fit for purpose, link with our Corporate financial systems, meet statutory requirements and financial regulations.

To play a key role in supporting the delivery of productivity and efficiency improvement and cost reduction plans within the service Directorate, supporting transformation change programmes, and identifying and securing new funding streams.

To identify financial issues within the service Directorate that require attention and assist in the successful resolution of areas of financial risk and concern

To ensure the service Directorate has considered and is managing financial risk and ensure there are adequate reserves and provisions, reporting exceptions to the Finance Manager as necessary.

To take a lead in resolving specific and complex financial issues within the service.

To take personal responsibility for specific technical accounting issues within the team/service area as directed by the Finance Manager

Continuous Improvement

To support the Finance Manager in the provision of financial input to the transformational agenda across the Council.

Support the implementation of improvement initiatives and change programmes using the Council’s Project Management and Service Improvement methodologies.

To contribute to corporate areas of activity, organisational development and council-wide, cross departmental strategies, projects or policies, as required from time to time.

To undertake personal responsibility and the finance lead in transformational projects and change programmes as directed by the Finance Manager

Contacts

Primary contact will be with other officers within the Council with financial or budget holding responsibilities. and service users / residents and their representative bodies. The postholder could be expected to attend senior management, member briefings, committees and other stakeholder forums as directed.

To develop and promote internal and external partnerships that reflect the Council’s commitment to work in active partnership with the community. so that coherent and value for money services are provided.

To be aware of and assist in managing effective cross-Directorate working relationships, while maintaining professional integrity and without compromising good financial and accounting practice.

To regularly attend member briefings, committees and other forums to represent finance on specific financial issues within the service.

Miscellaneous

Through personal example, to value and celebrate the diversity of Hillingdon’s communities, ensuring equality of access and treatment in employment and service delivery.

Complete other reasonable tasks in order to fulfil role purpose or as instructed by management.

Key Performance Indicators

Delivery against any agreed Service Levels.

Delivery against allocated budgets and MTFF saving targets.

Staff performance & productivity metrics.

Any other role specific KPI’s

Person Specification

Key:

E - Essential, D - Desirable

Testing Method: Pre-application question (PA), Application (A), Test (T), Interview (I), Scored application question (Q)

Qualifications:

Fully qualified Accountant - CIPFA, ACA, ACCA, CIMA (E) (PA)

Educated to degree level or equivalent (E) (PA)

Evidence of post qualification continuing professional development (E) (PA)

Statuary / role specific requirements:

Occasional evening meetings and longer hours during peak work times (D) (A, I)

Experience:

Experience as a finance professional in a large and complex public sector organisation and an understanding of the annual financial cycle and regime within local authorities (E) (PA)

A good understanding of statutory and regulatory financial framework for local government (E) (PA)

Experience of building partnerships and working effectively with a range of internal and external stakeholders (E) (PA)

Evidence of developing financial strategies and project work in a corporate finance setting and across service boundaries (D) (PA)

Experience of successful management of significant budgets in a comparable public sector organisation (D) (PA)

Experience of working across the full range of the accountancy function (D) (PA)

Experience in a management role in a multi-disciplinary organisation (D) (PA)

An understanding of working in a political environment (D) (PA)

Knowledge and skills:

Knowledge of accounting principles and practices necessary to provide financial control and direction (E) (T, I)

Strong analytical and technical skills and the ability to clearly present financial information in a manner appropriate to the recipients of the information (E) (T, I)

Ability to consult and communicate clearly and effectively, orally and in writing (E) (T, I)

Knowledge and understanding of the Council’s core objectives. and an understanding of the legislative frameworks and key issues relevant to local government financial management generally (E) (T, I)

Ability to extract and manipulate relevant financial data from the core financial information systems with advanced Microsoft Office skills (E) (T, I)

Strong interpersonal skills including the ability to communicate with Members and senior management (E) (T, I)

Ability to provide constructive challenge and to exert influence (E) (T, I)

Ability to build effective working relationships with colleagues and good networking skills to work across the organisation (E) (T, I)

Advanced technical financial skills such as capital investment appraisal, options appraisal, financial modelling, benchmarking, and appropriate financial inputs into business cases (E) (T, I)

Ability to use professional judgement effectively in the management of the financial affairs of the Group with the minimum level of recourse to more senior staff (D) (T, I)

A high degree of Political acumen and sensitivity to local political issues. (D) (T, I)

An understanding of the specific financial and business context facing the service Directorate and the relevant legislative requirements and context. (D) (T, I)

Ability to contribute effectively in a large complex organisation with plans for transformational change and improvement. (D) (T, I)

Competencies:

“Can do” positive attitude - Identifies opportunities for organisational change, taking into account the wider impacts of change; ensuring the needs of stakeholders and customers are considered and acts as a positive role model for new initiatives. (E) (Q)

Takes responsibility and delivers results - Adapts to changing demands to ensure that objectives are met, overcoming problems and making well considered decisions. (E) (Q)

Team working - Acts as a role model to others in the team, sharing knowledge and experience when necessary, whilst respecting and valuing the contribution other team members’ experiences can bring. (E) (Q)

Communication - Demonstrates well developed written and verbal communication skills; and the confidence to present reports and verbal accounts credibly to a variety of different audiences.(E) (Q)

Customer Care - Develops contacts and relationships with customer/ client groups, regularly reviewing service delivery and taking responsibility to ensure quality service provision. (E) (Q)

Takes ownership of personal development - Takes action to develop own and others' capability and knowledge by promoting and supporting developmental opportunities to improve performance. (E) (Q)

Credibility - Gives clear and consistent direction on business strategies and objectives, involving others whilst retaining corporate accountability (E) (Q)

Leads and inspires others - Values the contribution of others and fosters a culture of respect, encourages constructive, open feedback and innovative thinking (E) (Q)

Strategic thinker - Understand and examine the wider public sector business environment, contributing to new business strategies and identifying and managing risk (E) (Q)

Decision maker - Willing to make difficult decisions and remain accountable for those decisions and takes personal responsibility for communicating these (E) (Q)

Management - Ensures effective business delivery through influencing and motivating others, providing direction, promoting a culture of high performance and an environment of dignity and respect (E) (Q)

Passion to make a difference - Strives to improve outcomes for customers, identifying efficiencies and smarter ways of working, and encouraging creative input from others- so that solutions developed are practical, fit for purpose and implemented appropriately. (E) (Q)

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