Senior Finance Business Partner

Huntingdonshire District Council; Huntingdon; Ibrido; GBP 55.000 - 80.000; Tempo pieno

Vantaggi offerti da questo lavoro

Flexible working

Hybrid working arrangements

Generous annual leave

Employee wellbeing support

Descrizione del lavoro

Huntingdonshire District Council is seeking an experienced Senior Finance Business Partner to lead the Finance Business Partner team and provide high-quality financial insight to directors, service managers and budget holders in Huntingdon. The role focuses on robust budgeting, planning and financial modelling to support sustainable decision-making.

You will work with services across the Council to develop robust business cases, forecasts and financial strategies, ensuring accuracy and

Competenze

• Proven experience of financial planning, control and reporting.
• Up-to-date knowledge of accounting policy.
• Ability to lead, inspire and motivate colleagues.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret and address complex financial issues.
• Confidence to negotiate, challenge and influence at a senior level.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively while managing your own priorities and workload.
• Experience of local government finance and business partnering would be advantageous.

Mansioni

• Leading, motivating and developing the Finance Business Partner team, ensuring priorities are clear and objectives are achieved.
• Providing financial insight, guidance and constructive challenge to senior managers, service managers and budget holders.
• Supporting the preparation of the Council’s revenue and capital budgets through the approved Medium Term Financial Strategy process.
• Overseeing budgetary control and forecasting across revenue and capital expenditure.
• Challenging financial plans and forecasts to ensure they are accurate and realistic.
• Working with services to develop robust business cases and financial models, including consideration of risks and ongoing revenue implications.
• Supporting the year-end closedown and Statement of Accounts, including relevant revenue and capital elements and disclosure notes.
• Ensuring the integrity and accuracy of financial information and reconciliations.
• Providing specialist financial advice and supporting compliance with the Council’s Constitution and Code of Financial Management.
• Overseeing grant claims and statistical returns, ensuring external deadlines are met.
• Developing financial awareness across the organisation through effective support and training for budget holders and other colleagues.
• Working with external auditors, government departments, other local authorities and other external organisations as required.

Conoscenze

Financial planning

Financial reporting

Leadership

Communication

Analytical thinking

Stakeholder management

Budgeting

Collaboration

Descrizione del lavoro

Hours 37 Hours Weekly (2 year fixed-term contract)

Location Huntingdon

Contract Type Fixed term full time

Closing Date 22 November 2026 09:00

Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) is passionate about providing high-quality services to our communities, residents and businesses. This means we must employ and retain the most talented and dedicated people.

Situated within the heart of the Cambridge-Peterborough Growth Area, Huntingdonshire is a beautiful district that boasts thriving market towns and many attractive villages, each with its own identity. We are an innovative and forward-thinking local authority whose residents are at the heart of our decision-making.

At HDC we want to employ staff who embody our icare values (Inspiring, Collaborative, Accountable, Respectful, Enterprising), all of which support our ultimate purpose of putting our customers first.

As local government continues to evolve, Huntingdonshire District Council is preparing for an exciting period of change through Local Government Reorganisation . While organisational structures may change in the coming years, our commitment to delivering excellent services for our communities remains unchanged.

Joining HDC now gives you a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact today whilst helping to shape the future of local government across our area. We are looking for people who are motivated by public service, embrace innovation, and want to play a part in building the organisation of tomorrow.

Job details

Help shape better decisions through great financial insight

Are you an experienced finance professional who enjoys working in partnership with senior managers, translating complex financial information into clear advice and helping services make better decisions?
We’re looking for a Senior Finance Business Partner to join our Finance team at Huntingdonshire District Council.

This is a key role combining financial leadership, business partnering and team management. You’ll lead our Finance Business Partner team, providing high-quality financial support, insight and constructive challenge to directors, service managers and budget holders across the Council.

It’s an opportunity to move beyond simply reporting the numbers. We want someone who can help colleagues understand the “why” as well as the “what”, using financial insight to support good decision-making and the Council’s ongoing financial sustainability.

About the role

Reporting to the Chief Accountant, you’ll lead and develop a team of four and play an important role in delivering the Council’s financial planning, budget management, monitoring and reporting arrangements.
You’ll work closely with services across the Council, providing professional advice alongside appropriate challenge and helping ensure that financial plans, forecasts and business cases are robust, realistic and well understood.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading, motivating and developing the Finance Business Partner team, ensuring priorities are clear and objectives are achieved.
• Providing financial insight, guidance and constructive challenge to senior managers, service managers and budget holders.
• Supporting the preparation of the Council’s revenue and capital budgets through the approved Medium Term Financial Strategy process.
• Overseeing budgetary control and forecasting across revenue and capital expenditure.
• Challenging financial plans and forecasts to ensure they are accurate and realistic.
• Working with services to develop robust business cases and financial models, including consideration of risks and ongoing revenue implications.
• Supporting the year-end closedown and Statement of Accounts, including relevant revenue and capital elements and disclosure notes.
• Ensuring the integrity and accuracy of financial information and reconciliations.
• Providing specialist financial advice and supporting compliance with the Council’s Constitution and Code of Financial Management.
• Overseeing grant claims and statistical returns, ensuring external deadlines are met.
• Developing financial awareness across the organisation through effective support and training for budget holders and other colleagues.
• Working with external auditors, government departments, other local authorities and other external organisations as required.

About you

We’re looking for someone who combines strong financial knowledge with excellent communication, leadership and influencing skills.

You’ll be comfortable working with colleagues at all levels of the organisation and able to turn financial information into clear, practical advice. Just as importantly, you'll be prepared to constructively challenge assumptions and help managers understand the financial consequences of their decisions.

You’ll bring:

• Proven experience of financial planning, control and reporting.
• Up-to-date knowledge of accounting policy.
• The ability to lead, inspire and motivate colleagues.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret and address complex financial issues.
• Confidence to negotiate, challenge and influence at a senior level.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• The ability to work collaboratively while managing your own priorities and workload effectively.
• Experience of local government finance and business partnering would be advantageous, as would experience of delivering financial training to finance and non-finance colleagues

What We Can Offer

At Huntingdonshire District Council, we believe our people are our greatest asset. In return, we offer:

• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Employee wellbeing support and benefits
• Opportunities to contribute to exciting projects, transformation programmes and the future of local government services.

Why Join Us?

This is a great opportunity to take on an influential Finance role where you can make a visible difference across the organisation.

You’ll have the opportunity to lead a team, work closely with senior managers and services across the Council and help ensure that financial considerations are at the heart of good decision-making.

The role combines the technical disciplines of accountancy with the more commercial and relationship-focused skills of effective business partnering, giving you exposure to financial planning, budgets, forecasting, capital, business cases, year-end accounts, audit and financial governance.

At Huntingdonshire District Council, our icare values, Inspiring, Collaborative, Accountable, Respectful and Enterprising, underpin the way we work together and deliver for our customers.

If you’re an experienced finance professional who enjoys combining technical expertise with leadership, collaboration and constructive challenge, we’d love to hear from you.

An offer of employment is conditional upon having the right to work in the UK. HDC does not hold a Sponsorship Licence and is unable to provide a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) or take over sponsorship for any role.

We recognise that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support their application. While we welcome the use of technology to help present your experience and achievements, we ask that the content of your application remains an accurate reflection of your own skills, knowledge and experience.In particular, we encourage candidates to demonstrate how they meet the criteria for the role by providing specific examples from their own experience. This helps us to better assess your suitability for the position.

For many of our roles, our hybrid work model enables employees to work remotely while allowing for in-office collaboration opportunities across the district, with an expectation of being in the office at least two days a week. However, please note that some positions may require a more consistent presence in the office due to the nature of the work.

Working for the council

As an employer who values diversity of thought, we seek to employ candidates from a range of backgrounds in order to make our organisation more innovative. We are seeking candidates who are looking for their next career opportunity and are supportive employers, enabling our staff to work in an environment that produces high standards of work in an employee-led environment.

Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our recruitment and along with our values we are committed to creating an inclusive working environment, where diversity is valued and there is equality of opportunity. We therefore welcome applications from all sections of the community and we offer a range of benefits, including flexitime, to encourage a work-life balance.