Senior Finance Business Partner – AR

Carrington Blake Recruitment; Rugby; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Carrington Blake Recruitment is seeking two experienced Senior Finance Business Partners to join the finance team and provide hands-on financial support and guidance to council services. This is a challenging and value-adding role that goes beyond routine financial reporting.

You will work closely with Service Managers and Directors to understand their services, identify and resolve financial issues, improve financial management and provide clear advice to senior leadership.

Qualifications

• Fully qualified accountant with a recognised professional qualification.
• Recent and substantial experience in District and Borough Councils.
• Strong experience in financial business partnering within local government.
• Excellent budgeting, forecasting and financial analysis skills.
• Experience addressing overspends, savings opportunities and financial pressures.
• Able to work with Service Managers, Directors and senior stakeholders.
• Strong communication skills to explain financial information to non-finance colleagues.
• Proactive, hands-on approach to resolving issues.

Responsibilities

• Act as a senior finance business partner to allocated council services.
• Provide financial guidance, support and challenge to Service Managers and Directors.
• Investigate and unpick financial issues, budget pressures and overspends.
• Provide clear financial reporting and escalate issues to the Deputy S151 Officer and Senior Leadership Team.
• Develop and maintain robust financial forecasts and analyze changes.
• Identify opportunities for transformation, efficiencies and savings.
• Develop savings proposals and calculate financial impact.
• Undertake full budget builds for allocated services and contribute to the MTFS.
• Complete monthly and quarterly financial reporting and variance reporting.
• Horizon scan for emerging financial pressures, risks and opportunities.
• Provide guidance to service managers to improve their understanding of finance.
• Take a proactive, hands-on approach to resolving issues.

Skills

District and Borough Councils

Public sector finance

Finance business partnering

Budgeting & forecasting

Financial analysis

Stakeholder communication

Problem solving

Education

Fully qualified accountant with professional qualification

Job description

Senior Finance Business Partner

We are looking for 2 experienced Senior Finance Business Partners to join the finance team and provide hands-on financial support and guidance to council services.

This is a challenging and value-adding role that goes beyond routine financial reporting. You will work closely with Service Managers and Directors to understand their services, identify and resolve financial issues, improve financial management and provide clear advice to senior leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a senior finance business partner to allocated council services, developing a strong understanding of their operations and financial position.
• Work closely with Service Managers and Directors to provide financial guidance, support and challenge.
• Investigate and unpick financial issues, identifying the causes and implications of budget pressures and overspends.
• Provide clear financial reporting and elevate significant issues to the Deputy S151 Officer and Senior Leadership Team as required.
• Develop and maintain robust financial forecasts, understanding changes and their wider financial implications.
• Identify opportunities for transformation, efficiencies and savings.
• Work with services to develop savings proposals, including calculating their financial impact and implications.
• Undertake full budget builds for allocated services and contribute to the wider Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).
• Complete monthly and quarterly financial reporting, including relevant returns and variance reporting.
• Proactively horizon scan for emerging financial pressures, risks and opportunities.
• Provide guidance and support to service managers to improve their understanding of finance and financial management.
• Take a proactive, hands-on approach to resolving financial issues and undertake any other finance-related work required.

Essential Requirements

• Fully qualified accountant with a recognised professional accountancy qualification.
• Recent and substantial experience working within District and Borough Councils.
• Strong experience of financial business partnering within a local government environment.
• Excellent budgeting, forecasting and financial analysis skills.
• Experience identifying and addressing overspends, savings opportunities and financial pressures.
• Able to work confidently with Service Managers, Directors and senior stakeholders.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain financial information clearly to non-finance colleagues.
• A proactive and hands-on approach, with the ability to investigate issues and develop practical solutions.

Working Arrangements

• The role will initially require approximately 4 days per week on site in Rugby for the first couple of weeks to understand the services and establish key working relationships.
• Following the initial period, the role will require approximately 2-3 days per week on site, depending on business needs.
• The successful candidates should be comfortable working in a challenging environment and getting direc