Senior Accountant - Business Partnering & Financial Leadership

Location: Uttlesford District Council (predominantly remote with periodic on-site meetings)
Reports to: Chief Accountant / Finance Manager
Department: Finance

Job Purpose

A senior finance role focused on delivering high-quality financial leadership, business partnering, and strategic support across Council services. You will work closely with budget holders and senior stakeholders to provide insight, challenge, and guidance to support effective decision-making, alongside contributing to the Council''s statutory and financial reporting responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities



Business Partnering & Service Support

• Act as a trusted finance business partner to service areas, providing proactive financial advice and challenge.
• Support budget holders with financial planning, forecasting, and performance management.
• Translate financial information into clear insights to support operational and strategic decisions.
• Build strong working relationships across the organisation to embed a culture of financial accountability.

Financial Management & Reporting

• Contribute to budget setting, in-year monitoring, and forecasting processes across revenue and capital.
• Support the preparation of financial reports for senior leadership and Members.
• Assist in the development and delivery of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).
• Provide analysis and insight on financial performance, risks, and opportunities.

Technical Accounting (Supporting Role)

• Support the production of the annual Statement of Accounts in line with regulatory requirements.
• Assist with audit processes and ensure timely and accurate responses to auditor queries.
• Provide input into technical accounting areas where required, ensuring compliance with relevant standards.

Capital & Strategic Finance (Advisory)

• Provide financial support and challenge on capital projects and business cases.
• Work with services to ensure robust forecasting and financial oversight of capital activity.
• Contribute to maintaining appropriate financial controls and reporting for capital expenditure.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Support and mentor finance colleagues, promoting continuous development and high performance.
• Collaborate across finance and wider teams to drive improvement and consistency in financial practices.
• Represent finance in cross-functional meetings, project work, and service reviews.
• Deputise for senior finance leadership where required.

Person Specification



Essential:

• CCAB qualified accountant (e.g., CIPFA, ACA, ACCA).
• Strong experience in business partnering and stakeholder engagement.
• Proven ability to influence and support non-financial managers.
• Good understanding of local government finance and reporting requirements.
• Excellent communication, analytical, and interpersonal skills.

Desirable:

• Experience supporting capital programmes and strategic financial planning.
• Familiarity with local government financial systems (e.g., Civica, Oracle).
• Broader exposure to technical accounting and audit processes.

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