Senior Finance Officer

Halton; Widnes; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

34 days holiday plus bank holidays

LGPS pension

Life cover 3x salary

Personal development

Free car parking

Employee benefits platform

Job summary

Halton Borough Council is seeking a Finance professional to join the Financial Management team in Widnes. You will contribute across the annual financial cycle, from budgeting to year-end closure, with support from all levels and opportunities to improve processes.

The role requires recent local government or health finance experience, AAT Part Qualified or CCAB equivalent, strong report writing and presentation skills, and the ability to plan and prioritise.

Qualifications

• Requires excellent report writing and presentation skills.
• Highly organised and able to plan and prioritise work.
• Experience working with colleagues at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Involves activities across the annual financial cycle: budgeting, monitoring budget outturn, year-end closure.

Skills

Report writing

Presentation skills

Organisation

Planning & prioritising

Education

AAT Part Qualified / CCAB equivalent

Job description

Our Story:

Halton is a vibrant local authority with a rich history and heritage, featuring three iconic bridges that connect communities across the River Mersey. Located in Cheshire, Halton boasts excellent transport links between Liverpool and Manchester, as well as close proximity to both Liverpool John Lennon and Manchester Airports. Our progressive community strategy aims to bring about meaningful, long‑term improvements that enhance lives. It’s an exciting time to join us as we develop new policies and transform the way people access services. We are immensely proud that when asked what’s great about working for Halton, the most popular response from our workforce has been ‘our colleagues’.

Our Team:

The Financial Management function supports a wide range of operational departments across the Council. You will be involved in the full range of activities across the annual financial cycle from setting budgets, monitoring the budget outturn position to closing down accounts at financial year‑end. You will be well supported from all levels but also given the chance to be creative and innovative to problem solving and improving processes.

Hours:

37

Your Contributions:

Relevant recent experience within a local government or health finance environment with proven experience and knowledge of accounting treatment for schools funding.

In addition you will have:

• For this role, you must be a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians Part qualified CCAB accountant, or equivalent.
• Will have excellent report writing & presentation skills, be highly organised, confident in dealing with colleagues at all levels and be able to plan and prioritise your work.

Our Offer:

Aside from working with a great team, our employees have access to a fantastic range of benefits, including:

• A generous annual holiday allowance starting at 34 days per year (including bank holidays), increasing with long service
• with the option to purchase an additional four‑days of unpaid leave for our Annual Christmas Closedown Membership of our defined benefit, salary‑linked Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with generous employer contributions
• 3 x Salary Life Cover via Local Government Pension Scheme
• Investment in your personal development
• Free Car Parking at HBC sites
• Extensive employee benefits platform including discounted shopping, car leasing, gym memberships, wellbeing hub and Employee Assistance Programme.

Next Steps:

At Halton Borough Council, we want all of our candidates to feel well‑informed so if you would like to have an informal chat about this role, please contact [e-mail]

Interviews will take place W/C 9/11/2026

At Halton Borough Council we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce and a vital part of this is to encourage diversity in all respects. We are committed to making our recruitment practices barrier‑free and tailored to best suit the needs and strength of the individual. This includes making adjustments for people with a disability, neurodiversity or with long‑term health conditions.

If you require accommodations, please reach out during the recruitment process so that we can make this the best possible experience for you –[e-mail]

We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the specified date should we receive sufficient applications.