Our shared finance team is an exciting and unique place to work. We provide finance services to two vibrant boroughs in South West London enabling the team to draw on a wide pool of knowledge and experience and learn from activities across both Councils.

 

Kingston and Sutton are both small London Boroughs but both also have big ambitions. Both boroughs already have lots of green space and the two Councils are committed to tackling the climate emergency and are developing plans for a more sustainable future.

 

Kingston is embarking on the redevelopment of its largest council housing estate to provide 2,170 new homes including a mix of social and private housing and is also developing a new community leisure centre in the town centre. There is also a thriving business community in the Borough with a mix of big name brands, including the UK headquarters of Lidl and Unilever, and smaller independent businesses.

 

Sutton are developing world class facilities for cancer research and treatment at the London Cancer Hub. This exciting project has already delivered a new secondary school and an Innovation Hub providing office and laboratory spaces for start up businesses, and future plans include joint working with partners such as the Royal Marsden to offer the best possible diagnostic and treatment services. Sutton also has a number of regeneration projects that will bring new businesses and leisure spaces to our high street, and provide much needed affordable housing.

 

Both Councils face a challenging financial situation following the recovery from Covid-19 and the economic turmoil seen in recent months but we work collaboratively to tackle these challenges and find solutions to put us on a sustainable financial footing. Like many areas we see increasing demand for our services, particularly in Children’s and Adult’s social care and in housing.

 

The shared finance service has been established over 5 years, but we haven’t stood still in that time. Recognising that strategic financial advice is fundamental to good governance the team structure has evolved to ensure that we can tailor our support to our two partners whilst still sharing technical expertise. We therefore have a mixture of teams that are shared and those that focus on one particular Council. Regardless of which team people are in we expect them to work together across departmental lines and deliver the best they can to fulfil our ambition to Add Value and Inspire Success.

 

We have established a shared set of values that are reflected in how we work, and how it feels to be a part of the finance team. We regularly reflect on our culture and invite feedback from all in the team, to ensure Finance remains a team that people enjoy being part of where careers can be developed and personal ambitions realised. We recognise that investing in our people is an important part of that so learning and development is a fundamental part of what we do. We ensure staff have the chance to connect and share knowledge with each other as well as attending formal training where relevant to enhance their careers. In fact, the successful career progression of some of our team members is what has led to the vacancies we are recruiting for now.

 

If you are able to contribute to the ambition of this forward thinking service, then we look forward to hearing from you.

 

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