Senior Finance Manager

Schools’ Choice; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority is seeking an experienced Senior Finance Manager to provide strategic financial leadership in Adult Social Care. This full-time or part-time role requires a fully qualified accountant with significant experience in finance within the sector. Key responsibilities include managing a finance team and leading financial decision-making processes. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of public sector funding and strong communication skills.

Qualifications

• Fully qualified accountant (CCAB or equivalent), with substantial post-qualification experience.
• Significant finance experience within Adult Social Care in a local authority or public sector setting is essential.
• Proven leadership experience with the ability to manage and develop teams in a complex environment.
• Deep understanding of public sector funding, cost drivers, and regulatory frameworks related to Adult Social Care.
• Strong communication and analytical skills, with the ability to convey complex financial information clearly.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior leader within the Finance function, contributing to planning across the Council.
• Lead financial decision-making processes relating to payments, grants, and budget reporting.
• Manage and support a dedicated finance team, ensuring delivery of key priorities.
• Take full ownership of the MTFP process for Adult Social Care, including demand projections and funding analysis.
• Provide timely financial reporting to senior management, ensuring accuracy and driving actions.
• Ensure financial governance and compliance are embedded within all activities.

Job description

Senior Finance Manager - Adult Social Care (Local Authority)
Contract (Until June 2026)
Full-Time or Part-Time

On behalf of our client, a forward-thinking and strategically driven local authority, we are seeking an experienced Senior Finance Manager with a strong background in Adult Social Care finance to join their senior leadership team on a fixed-term contract until June 2026.

This critical role will provide strategic financial leadership and drive robust financial management across Adult Social Care services-an area of high complexity and importance within the Council's overall budget.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as a senior leader within the Finance function, contributing to strategic and operational planning across the Council, with a particular focus on Adult Social Care.

• Lead financial decision-making processes relating to payments, grants, reserve requests, and budget reporting.

• Manage and support a dedicated finance team-ensuring delivery of key priorities, effective performance management, and professional development.

• Take full ownership of the Medium-Term Financial Planning (MTFP) process for Adult Social Care, including demand projections, funding analysis, risk mitigation, and development of business cases for savings and pressures.

• Provide timely and insightful financial reporting to senior management and Cabinet-offering challenge, ensuring accuracy, and driving actions to address variances.

• Ensure financial governance and compliance are embedded within all activities, while identifying opportunities for service improvement and digital transformation.

• Act as a trusted adviser to senior stakeholders on Adult Social Care funding, commissioning, procurement, and major transformation programmes.

Candidate Profile:

• Fully qualified accountant (CCAB or equivalent), with substantial post-qualification experience.

• Significant finance experience within Adult Social Care in a local authority or public sector setting is essential.

• Proven leadership experience, with the ability to manage and develop teams in a complex and pressurised environment.

• Deep understanding of public sector funding, cost drivers, and regulatory frameworks related to Adult Social Care.

• Strong communication and analytical skills, with the ability to convey complex financial information clearly to both finance and non-finance audiences.

• Confidence and credibility to influence senior leaders, elected members, and multidisciplinary teams.

This is a vital appointment at a time of transformation and challenge in the Adult Social Care sector. If you bring deep subject-matter expertise, leadership capability, and a commitment to driving financial improvement, we would love to hear from you.