Senior Technician Transactional Accounting

Nottingham City Council; East Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 34,000 - 37,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS

Hybrid work

Flexible working

Learning & development

Inclusive culture

26 days annual leave

Wellbeing support

Job summary

Nottingham City Council is hiring a Senior Technician – Finance in Nottingham. The role provides financial support, analysis, and challenge across programmes and business cases within a hybrid work model.

You will work with qualified accountants and finance colleagues to improve forecasting, reporting, and decision making while contributing to the council's financial resilience.

Qualifications

• Understanding of accounting principles applicable to local government.
• Ability to use systems to produce easily understandable financial information.
• Experience providing information that supports decision making through financial analysis.
• Ability to work on your own initiative with minimal supervision.
• Financial and commercial awareness with strong analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide accurate and timely professional support, advice, and challenge to programmes and decisions.
• Support completion of statutory and non-statutory returns, including grant claims.
• Produce corporate reconciliations for assigned areas and maintain registers.
• Prepare audit working papers and ensure compliance with audit requirements.
• Identify business risks and inform managers to address them.

Skills

Accounting principles

Local government finance

Financial analysis

Initiative

Communication skills

Risk awareness

Systems literacy

Commercial awareness

Tools

ERP/Finance systems

Job description

Senior Technician – Finance

Build your finance career where it matters. Support the services that shape Nottingham.

Nottingham / Hybrid

Salary: GLPC-F £33,673 - £36,581

Finance & Resources Directorate

Start your next chapter at the heart of one of the country's most ambitious finance improvements.

Nottingham City Council has changed significantly in the last twelve months through a programme of modernisation and re‑organisation. The leadership team is revitalising the focus on outcomes and effectiveness whilst building financial sustainability. The Senior Technician roles are key to the onward progression and embedding of this change.

At Nottingham City Council, finance isn't just about numbers – it's about making decisions that shape services, support communities, and deliver real change for Nottingham residents. As a Senior Technician, you'll work across the whole finance service, supporting the teams that produce the financial analysis, reporting, and advice that enables the council to deliver for its communities.

This is a role for someone in the early stages of their finance career who is ready to take the next step – building on your existing skills, developing your understanding of local government finance, and making a real contribution to the council's financial resilience.

About The Role

You'll provide accurate and timely financial support, advice, and challenge to a range of programmes, projects, business cases, and decisions. You'll work across the finance service, supporting the teams that produce the financial information, analysis, and reporting that informs decision‑making at every level.

Your work will be varied and will develop your skills across a range of financial disciplines. You'll support the completion of statutory and non‑statutory returns, including grant claims, ensuring the accuracy of financial information and that grants are maximised. You'll support the maintenance of corporate registers that support year‑end statutory disclosures, such as Grant Income. You'll produce corporate reconciliations for assigned areas, which may include bank reconciliation, debtors, reserves, Trial Balance, grant income, and recharges. You'll prepare audit working papers for assigned areas, ensuring they comply with audit requirements.

The reality of the role: You'll be joining at a pivotal moment. The council has set a balanced budget for 2026/27 with a forecast surplus of £1.063m, delivered a £20.4m net underspend in 2025/26, and reduced debt from £827m to £292m in six years. But significant pressures remain – the MTFP projects a cumulative budget gap of £37.107m over four years, and the council has identified £11.948m in new savings for 2026/27, with a target of £50m over the MTFP period.

Your work will directly support the council's response to these challenges. You'll support Finance colleagues to ensure that the forecasted financial position is an accurate and true reflection of the business position. You'll be proactive in identifying further training requirements of managers using the forecasting system, what corrective action is required, and supporting managers in developing those actions. You'll also identify business risks and inform managers so they can be addressed.

This is not a role where you'll be on your own with no support. You'll be part of a team, working under the guidance of qualified accountants and professional Finance colleagues, with opportunities to develop your skills and take on more responsibility as you grow.

Your Influence and Responsibility

• Financial support: You'll provide accurate and timely professional support, advice, and challenge to programmes, projects, business cases, and decisions as directed by the Finance Business Partners and Accountants.
• Compliance and control: You'll contribute towards ensuring that financial policies, procedures, and controls within your team are compliant with all relevant legislation, codes, regulations, guidelines, standards, and best practice.
• Reporting and returns: You'll support the completion of statutory and non‑statutory returns, including grant claims, ensuring accuracy, timely completion, and that grants are maximised.
• Analysis and insight: You'll ensure that the advice you provide enables your team to create analysis to inform policy and funding decisions, with consideration of constitutional process.
• Collaboration: You'll liaise with other external organisations regarding data collection, financial analysis, and benchmarking.

What You'll Lead And Influence

• Supporting the completion of statutory and non‑statutory returns, including grant claims
• Supporting the maintenance of corporate registers to support year‑end statutory disclosures
• Supporting Business Partners to ensure that forecasted financial positions are accurate and true reflections of the business position
• Providing accurate and timely professional support, advice, and challenge to programmes, projects, business cases, and decisions
• Supporting managers in the development, achievement, and updating of business plans to ensure the robustness of financial planning
• Preparing audit working papers for assigned areas
• Producing good quality and fully supported corporate reconciliations for assigned areas
• Promoting correct use of the Chart of Accounts across the Council
• Ensuring corporate timelines, standards, and processes are applied to the budget and closedown process

Who We're Looking For

You're someone in the early stages of your finance career who is ready to take the next step. You may already be working in a finance role and looking to develop your skills in a larger, more complex organisation. You may be part-qualified and looking for a role that will support your development. Or you may have relevant experience and be looking for an opportunity to build your career in local government finance.

Whatever your background, you'll bring a willingness to learn, a commitment to accuracy, and a desire to make a real contribution to the council's financial resilience.

You’ll Bring

• An understanding of accounting principles and practices and their applicability to local government
• Able to utilise a range of systems to produce easily understandable financial information
• Experience of providing information that supports decision making through financial analysis and option appraisals
• An ability to work on your own initiative with a minimum of supervision
• Financial and commercial awareness with strong analytical skills and a creative approach to problem solving
• An ability to assess risk whilst effectively supporting services and strategic priorities
• Ability to communicate to colleagues from other disciplines through strong communication skills
• An understanding of the current issues and challenges facing local government in general and Nottingham City Council in particular

You’ll also bring the behaviours that make a great local government finance professional

• A willingness to learn and develop – you're open to feedback, you look for ways to improve your own skills, and you take ownership of your time, wellbeing, and performance
• A collaborative approach – you work well with others, you deal with disagreement constructively, and you're honest about what's possible
• A proactive mindset – you act early when you spot risks, gaps, or unmet needs, and you suggest improvements for how you and your service work
• A commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion – you treat people fairly and with respect, you challenge bias and exclusion where you see it, and you value different perspectives
• A mission‑driven, public service orientation – you're motivated by the knowledge that your work supports services that make a difference to people's lives

Why Nottingham, Why Now?

Few councils have undergone a change of this scale. Having rebuilt financial resilience and restored confidence, we're now focused on long‑term excellence.

Nottingham's financial recovery has been remarkable. In November 2023, the council issued a Section 114 notice. By early 2026, the government confirmed its intention to scale back intervention – acknowledging the significant progress made. The council delivered a £20.4m net underspend in 2025/26, did not require Exceptional Financial Support, and set a balanced budget for 2026/27.

But the next phase requires discipline at every level. The council must continue to deliver savings while investing in services.

This is a role for someone who understands that in local government, every reconciliation you complete, every return you support, and every piece of analysis you produce helps the council direct its resources to where they can make the most difference.

We Offer

• Local Government Pension Scheme – one of the most generous in the country
• Hybrid working – flexibility to balance office and home
• Flexible working arrangements
• Ongoing learning and development
• A supportive, inclusive culture
• Up to 26 days annual leave, plus bank holidays increasing with time served
• Employee wellbeing support

Our Commitment to Inclusion

We are proud to be an inclusive employer where everyone is valued and respected. We want our workforce to reflect the communities we serve.

We Particularly Welcome Applications From

• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities
• LGBT+ communities
• Disabled people

Disability Confident Employer – guaranteed interview scheme available

Armed Forces Covenant signatory

For Informal Enquiries, Please Contact

Larry Seymour, Finance Transformation Lead

[e-mail]

You can find the job description for this post.

At Nottingham City Council we believe that work is what you do, not where you do it. We offer different working arrangements, depending on the role, including hybrid working. Further information on Worker Types and what these mean in terms of how and where you work can be found on the additional information for applicants page.

Closing Date: 8th November 2026

Interviews will be held: TBC

If you have any technical issues when completing your application, please contact our Employee Service Centre: https://emss.org.uk/support

By applying to this job, you agree to our Terms & Conditions.

About Us

Thank you for your interest in working for Nottingham City Council. As one of the largest employers in Nottingham we offer a wide range of roles across a range of services. In return for your skill, drive and commitment to serving the people of Nottingham, we can help you to develop an exciting and rewarding career, with access to the following benefits.

In addition to working within a great team and a competitive salary you will have access to:

• 26 days annual leave (rising to 33 days after 5 years’ service) + bank holidays with the ability to buy additional leave annually
• Access to a generous, defined benefit pension scheme offering 17.9%
• Smart Working – to support your work life balance
• Health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounted membership at selected local sports and fitness centres, cinema, shopping and much more!

Nottingham City Council is committed to recruiting a talented workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We are a fair, inclusive and Disability Confident Employer, welcoming applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and abilities. We recruit for diversity and value difference.

If you are a disabled candidate and wish to be considered under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this within your application. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and employment journey.

We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and welcome applications from serving personnel, veterans, reservists and military families.

We particularly want to hear from you if you are from Minority Ethnic communities, identify within the LGBTQ+ community, or are disabled. These groups are currently underrepresented in our workforce, and we are committed to better reflecting the communities we serve.

We are supportive of flexible working arrangements wherever possible and encourage candidates to discuss this with us during the recruitment process.