Principal Accountant - Planning and Business Partnering

Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service; Winsford; Presencial; GBP 45.000 - 65.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service is seeking a qualified accountant to turn financial information into well-founded decisions and lead financial planning. You will partner with senior managers, consolidate forecasts, and coordinate annual budgets and medium-term plans, aligning resources with Community Risk Management priorities.

You will supervise planning work, challenge assumptions, and enhance reporting usefulness.

Formación

• Qualified accountant with experience in financial planning and business partnering.
• Able to strengthen business cases and drive performance reporting.
• Experience in collaborating with budget holders and senior managers.

Responsabilidades

• Leading the planning and monitoring calendar, including monthly forecasting, annual budget preparation and medium-term financial planning.
• Providing effective finance business partnering to senior managers and complex service portfolios.
• Consolidating revenue forecasts and explaining movements, risks and actions.
• Coordinating pay and establishment forecasting with People and payroll teams.
• Leading financial monitoring of the capital programme and its cost, timing and revenue implications.
• Assessing business cases and investment options using whole-life costing and risk analysis.
• Producing clear reports and committee papers with required actions.
• Line managing the Assistant Accountant and coordinating planning support across Finance.
• Improving TechnologyOne and Power BI reporting requirements with finance and digital teams.

Conocimientos

Financial planning

Budgeting

Business partnering

Forecasting

Management reporting

Power BI

Educación

Qualified Accountant (ACCA/CIMA/CPA)

Herramientas

Power BI

TechnologyOne

Descripción del empleo

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is seeking a qualified accountant who can help managers turn financial information into well-founded decisions. This new role will lead financial planning and business partnering, helping the Service allocate resources to the risks and priorities in its Community Risk Management Plan.

You will lead a small planning team and work closely with budget holders, colleagues in reporting and control, and the Deputy Head of Finance. Your work will bring together monthly forecasts, pay and workforce plans, capital investment, the annual budget and the medium-term financial outlook.

We are looking for someone who will ask constructive questions, make assumptions visible and explain the choices available. You will strengthen business cases and benefits monitoring, improve the usefulness of financial reporting, and help managers take ownership of their forecasts and agreed actions.

Duties of this role will include:

• Leading the planning and monitoring calendar, including monthly forecasting, annual budget preparation and medium-term financial planning.
• Providing effective finance business partnering to senior managers and complex service portfolios, challenging assumptions and advising on corrective action.
• Consolidating revenue forecasts and clearly explaining movements, risks, opportunities and ownership of actions.
• Coordinating pay and establishment forecasting with People and payroll colleagues, using validated workforce information and avoiding double-counting of savings.
• Leading financial monitoring of the capital programme and connecting cost, timing, financing and revenue consequences.
• Assessing business cases, savings proposals and investment options using whole-life costing, risk analysis and sensitivity testing.
• Producing clear reports, briefings and advice for senior leaders and committee papers, including uncertainty and required actions.
• Line managing and developing the Assistant Accountant and coordinating agreed planning support across the Finance Department.
• Improving TechnologyOne and Power BI reporting requirements with finance systems and digital colleagues, ensuring reportseconcile to the ledger.