Lead Accountant

Coventry City Council; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in the United Kingdom seeks an experienced finance professional to join its Finance team. This role involves providing strategic support and advice, developing financial models, and acting as a primary advisor for multiple projects. The ideal candidate will be a qualified Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in financial management. The council promotes diversity and offers a variety of benefits to its staff, aiming to create an inclusive working environment.

Benefits

Comprehensive rewards and benefits package

Commitment to inclusion and diversity

Guaranteed interview scheme for specific groups

Qualifications

• Fully qualified Chartered Accountant with experience in challenging financial environments.
• Ability to work strategically with various stakeholders.
• Skilled in developing complex financial models.
• Experience in promoting value for money and efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Act as a primary financial advisor to service leads.
• Collaborate with project teams to identify financial opportunities.
• Review proposals and conduct investment appraisals.
• Provide expert financial guidance for strategic initiatives.

Skills

Financial analysis

Strategic planning

Stakeholder management

Complex financial modeling

Value for money assessment

Education

Chartered Accountant (CCAB or CIMA)

Job description

What is the job role?

Are you passionate about public service? Coventry is forward thinking and a community focused City, and we are looking for an experienced finance professional with the technical skills and enthusiasm to take a lead role in our Finance team.

• Act as a primary financial business link with service leads and provide strategic financial support and advice to enable effective financial planning and management.
• Collaborate with project teams and the wider Council to explore challenges and identify opportunities, creating initiatives that will financially benefit the Council and become a proactive and supportive financial advisor.
• Support the strategic vision of the One Coventry Plan, through reviewing new proposals and undertaking formal investment appraisals to assess the financial viability of future projects and initiatives.
• Provide expert financial guidance for several strategic initiatives and programme boards.

All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.

Our Values

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

Qualifications and Experience

• Fully qualified Chartered Accountant (CCAB or CIMA) with experience of working in a challenging financial environment.
• Work strategically with various stakeholders including directors, service managers, auditors, and external partners to build, maintain and promote effective working relationships.
• Work effectively under pressure, meeting unpredictable deadlines and managing conflicting demands.
• Develop and interpret complex financial models to inform financial analysis and present a compelling rationale for recommended options in reports and presentations.
• Promote value for money and efficiency throughout all areas of the Council’s operation, looking for commercial opportunities and innovation both in the finance function and in relevant service areas and projects.

We value and respect the diversity of our team and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects our diverse communities. Currently within our middle‑management team, people from minority ethnic backgrounds are under‑represented and as a result we would like to encourage people from minority ethnic backgrounds to apply for this post.

We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process, including the consideration of reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability or who are neuro‑diverse.

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme – As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria: Members of the Armed Forces and veterans, Are currently in care or have previously been in care, If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long‑term health condition. For full details on the application process, please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled ‘Coventry City Council Application Process’.

If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.

Interview date(s): 3rd‑4th February 2026.

About Coventry: Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting‑edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5,100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package – to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council‑vacancies.