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Staff role profiles
Alan Imber, Strategic Finance Advisor
I have worked at Waltham Forest for my entire career, I’ve just passed 37 years’ service! I started as a trainee and have had a huge variety of roles in both Finance and IT over the years. I’ve been back in the core Accountancy team for around twenty years now and I head the team dealing with Resident Services and Regeneration. Obviously, the last decade of austerity in local government has been a challenge but I’m proud of the way Waltham Forest has dealt with it and the relatively stable financial position we find ourselves in.
It is an exciting time for the authority as we come out of the pandemic and return to a newly refurbished Town Hall. Hybrid working is encouraged with an output-based attitude to the workload. I am also part of a project looking at replacing our old financial system with a modern cloud-based solution.
Harun Guleid, Senior Accountant
I started working for London Borough of Waltham Forest in October 2016 as an AAT trainee. I started working in the corporate accountancy team which provided me with an insight on how the Council collects income such as council tax, business rates and fees and charges for services. The experience in corporate accountancy also provided me with knowledge on how the public sector finalise and close their financial accounts, as previously to this I only had experience in the private sector.
Completing my AAT and then moving onto CIPFA was challenging. What I really like about the Local Authority is how they supported me and other trainees to balance both our work and education. I was supported with study leave days, and even had colleagues cover my work responsibilities to ensure I was fully focused on my upcoming exams.
I have now recently qualified and have moved into a senior accountancy role that I have been doing for the past two years in education finance. What struck me when first joining the Council is how diverse members of staff are.
What I really enjoy about working for the Council is the opportunity of making a difference. Working in the education finance team, I can see how I and my team are helping students supporting them in their education throughout primary and secondary school.