Head of Finance - Service Reform and Strategy (Adult Social Care)

HAYS; Wembley; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent role in the London Borough of Brent, serving as the principal financial adviser within the senior finance leadership team. The position emphasizes strategic financial management aligned with corporate priorities, team leadership, and the enhancement of financial insight for effective decision-making. Benefits include a competitive salary, pension scheme, generous holiday entitlement, and opportunities for training and development in a modern working environment.

Benefits

Local Government Pension Scheme

Generous holiday entitlements starting from 27 days

Family friendly policies

Flexible working patterns

Training and development opportunities

Good travel links

Access to My Brent Rewards

Work at Brent Civic Centre

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant with experience in local government finance.
• Strong interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills.
• Experience driving business transformation and financial performance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as principal financial adviser to key stakeholders.
• Lead a team of Finance Business Partners and oversee financial support.
• Shape and deliver the department’s financial strategy.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Leadership skills

Communication skills

Strategic thinking

Education

Qualified accountant (CCAB or CIMA)

Job description

Your new organisation

At London Borough of Brent, finance is more than just producing the accounts—it’s about enabling transformation, safeguarding public resources, and helping shape the future of our borough. Working closely with colleagues across the council to ensure that financial insight is at the heart of decision-making. Their work is grounded in fairness, inclusion, and respect, and great pride is taken in creating a team environment where every voice is heard, and every success is celebrated. These values are not just aspirations—they are embedded in how they lead, how they support each other, and how they deliver for Brent’s communities.

Your new role

As a key member of Brent Council’s senior finance leadership team, this role serves as the principal financial adviser to the Section 151 Officer, Deputy S151 Officer, Elected Members, and the Corporate Director for Service Reform & Strategy. The position plays a pivotal role in shaping and delivering the department’s financial strategy, ensuring alignment with corporate priorities and fiscal sustainability. The role involves building and maintaining strong partnerships with key stakeholders, including health sector partners, and leveraging financial insights to support strategic decision-making and policy development.

Leading a team of Finance Business Partners (2 Senior Finance Analysts, 2 Finance Analysts and graduate trainee), the postholder oversees financial support across a diverse portfolio, including Adult Social Care, Strategic Commissioning and Capacity Building, Public Health, Leisure & Parks, Integrated Care Partnerships, and Communications, Insight & Innovation. The team provides expert financial advice, robust challenge, and strategic support to service directors—enabling effective budget management, financial modelling of policy and corporate initiatives, and the delivery of savings and service efficiencies in line with the Council’s values and objectives.

What you need to succeed

You will be a qualified accountant (CCAB or CIMA - CIPFA would be a particularly beneficial) with strong interpersonal, communication and leadership skills and a good understanding of local government finance. This role requires a highly skilled individual with a blend of technical, leadership and influencing skills across a broad strategic agenda. You will ideally have been a key contributor and driver in an organisation which has undergone significant business transformation with demonstrable success working collaboratively and proactively with Senior Managers and key stakeholders to improve an organisation’s financial performance. You will ideally have experience of partnering with adult social care and will have a willingness to constructively challenge and question assumptions, underpinned by a solutions-focused style.

Benefits include

• competitive salary
• the opportunity to join the Local Government Pension Scheme
• generous holiday entitlements starting from 27 days' holiday a year
• a full range of family friendly policies, including generous maternity and paternity entitlements and childcare schemes
• flexible working patterns, including hybrid working
• training and development opportunities
• good travel links in and out of Wembley and a range of cost saving travel schemes
• access to My Brent Rewards, our dedicated website for staff with big brand discounts and local offers
• work at the outstanding state-of-the-art Brent Civic Centre

The closing date will be 7^st July but please note that applications will be reviewed as they are received. Please do not wait until the closing date to apply.