Senior Finance Assistant

West Sussex County Council; Mid Sussex; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 29,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in the United Kingdom seeks a Senior Finance Assistant to support the Communities Directorate in helping refugee and asylum cohorts. This role involves reliable administrative support, managing inquiries, and maintaining records. The candidate should have strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and proficiency in Microsoft packages. This position offers a hybrid working model and competitive benefits.

Benefits

Local government pension scheme

Generous holiday entitlement

Flexible working options

Health and wellbeing benefits

Training and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Meticulous attention to detail.
• Clear and strong written communication skills.
• Ability to perform advanced administrative tasks.
• Highly organized with excellent time management.
• Confidence in processing payment requisitions.

Responsibilities

• Provide reliable and effective administrative support.
• Respond to client queries and maintain records.
• Manage and respond to inquiries from stakeholders.
• Update and maintain relevant computerized records.

Skills

Attention to detail

Written communication

Organizational skills

IT skills

Problem-solving

Tools

Microsoft packages

Job description

About the Team

The Communities Directorate is working across the county supporting refugee and asylum cohorts. These include, but are not limited to, resettled individuals and families, temporary residents in West Sussex within Afghan and Asylum Contingency and Ukrainian families and individuals on Ukraine Sponsorship visas. This team works closely with a wide range of County Council colleagues across several disciplines and in conjunction with statutory partners and community-based organisations to deliver wrap around support and provision.

The Opportunity

Salary: £27,254 to £28,598 per annum

Working Pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week

Contract type: Fixed term or Secondment opportunity until December 2027

Location: County Hall, Chichester or Centenary House, Crawley and working from home (Hybrid)

Interview date: 10 November 2025

This is an opportunity to use your knowledge and experience in working with people facing upheaval and trauma, and to work with partners and volunteers to provide coordinated support to help families begin to rebuild their lives. As the Senior Finance Assistant, you will play a crucial role in supporting this team. You will be a key player in helping displaced people to feel safe and be part of life in the UK.

You will provide reliable, efficient and effective flexible support to a team (or across the service) of a high-level administrative nature, relating to the delivery of a specialist financial service. This will include responding to typical client queries, giving standard information and guidance relating to the service, maintaining records and producing standard correspondence, providing support and day to day processing according to set procedures.

You will have responsibility within a shared inbox, managing and responding to specific inquiries from stakeholders, liaising to arrange meetings, and appropriately recording discussion and decision.

You will update and maintain relevant computerised records relating to the team and service, ensuring strong documentation of decision making, actions and outcomes.

What are we looking for?

• The role requires a meticulous attention to detail and ability to focus for long periods of time on specific tasks.
• You will ensure that all steps within the process are performed to a high standard to ensure proper processing of funds.
• You will have clear and strong written communication skills, ensuring accurate conveyance of messaging is provided to key stakeholders via email and within written reports.
• You will demonstrate confidence in performing advanced administrative tasks, including the compliant processing of payment requisitions and close monitoring of their progress.
• You will need to be highly organised, have excellent time management skills and be able to meet set deadlines and prioritise workload accordingly.
• You will need excellent IT skills, with a good knowledge of Microsoft packages.
• You will be a problem solver and have a sound understanding of project management, change control and reporting.
• The role demands initiative, enthusiasm and management of own workload and responsibilities. You will be comfortable responding to the needs of stakeholders, demonstrating appropriate initiative.

Working for us

• an excellent local government pension scheme
• generous holiday entitlement of 25 days (plus opportunity to buy additional leave)
• a range of flexible working options, depending on your job role
• maternity, paternity, dependency and adoption leave
• volunteering opportunities
• training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform (see our Staff discounts page if you are a business looking to offer a discount)
• health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further information

The reference number for this role is CPP01231.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.

Important safeguards

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.

Contact information

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Frankie Rudkin (Local Authority Engagement Team Supervisor).

Application process

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

Internal candidates

Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.

Application links

For issues or queries regarding your application please contact.

Reference

To apply contact CPP01231