Financial Accountant

Forestry England; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 47,000 - 51,000; Full time

Job summary

A national agency for forest management in Bristol is seeking a Financial Accountant to manage financial reporting and provide expert guidance to finance teams. The role offers flexible working arrangements and a comprehensive benefits package including a generous pension contribution and additional holiday days with service. You will help ensure high-quality financial accounting services across the organization.

Benefits

Generous pension contribution

25 days holiday, increasing with service

Employee benefits scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in statutory financial reporting.
• Ability to maintain robust financial controls.
• Expertise in guiding finance teams and senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Support the Head of Financial Accounting and Tax with financial services.
• Manage statutory financial reporting and financial controls.
• Provide expert guidance to finance teams.

Skills

Financial reporting

Financial controls

Stakeholder management

Job description

Overview

We are Forestry England. We live and breathe forests. Job title: Financial Accountant

Salary: £47,252 - £50,927

Contract: Permanent • Hours: 37 hours per week

Vacancy closes: 23:58 28 September 2025

Join us. We're foresters, professionals and experts. We are a passionate team who love to share our enthusiasm and want to make a positive difference for you and the environment. Together, we’re using our scale and expertise to grow the nation’s forests for everyone. We’re already adapting our landscapes for tomorrow, and getting stuff done today, like creating amazing places and experiences for you to enjoy. We’re providing vital homes for wildlife, making our air cleaner to breathe and producing sustainable timber.

What you’ll do

The Financial Accountant will support the Head of Financial Accounting and Tax in delivering high-quality financial accounting services across Forestry England and the Forestry Commission. This role involves managing statutory financial reporting, maintaining robust financial controls, and providing expert guidance to finance teams and senior stakeholders.

Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.

Where you’ll work

You will be based at our National Office in Bristol. We aim to provide a great place to work and blended working forms part of our flexible and inclusive approach to future ways of working. This is an informal arrangement which gives you the option to work some of the week from home and some from the office, subject to role requirements, business needs and regular review.

Benefits

Alongside your salary, Forestry England contributes an average of 28.97% towards your pension. You will become a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.

• 25 days holiday a year, increasing by one day per year of service, up to 30 days (pro-rated for part-time staff) plus additional days off such as bank holidays.
• STaR is our employee benefits scheme offering discounts on everyday purchases (supermarket shopping, hotel stays, clothes, mobile phones, etc.).
• Free parking at Forestry England sites and free entry to our National Arboretums at Westonbirt and Bedgebury.
• Commitment to lifelong learning through career development, including continual professional development, support for individual learning plans, and sponsored membership of professional bodies.

Read more about the benefits on the Forestry England website.

How to apply

You will be asked to write a 200-word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sift. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form.

You will be assessed on technical skills and experience questions during your interview.

The behaviours being assessed at interview are:

• Leadership
• Delivery at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.

If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email.

If you’re planning to use AI to support your application, please ensure you’ve read our guidelines here first.

Read more about our application process and working with us on the Forestry England website.

Nationality requirements

Read more about Nationality Requirements here.

Working for the Civil Service

Forestry England is part of the Civil Service. The Civil Service has a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). This means candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria during the application process will be guaranteed an interview. We also offer a Redeployment Interview Scheme to current civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the role. This role is also part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans and Prison Leaver Recruitment initiative.

Within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants have the ability to converse in accurate spoken English.

Our recruitment process makes appointments based on fair and open competition and merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in line with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email.