Assistant Director Finance & Governance and Deputy Section 151 Officer in Essex

Assistant Director Finance & Governance and Deputy Section 151 Officer

Organisation: Basildon Borough Council

Salary: Up to £121,526 + a monthly car allowance of £200 per month + fringe allowance of £753 per annum

Closing Date: Friday 2nd October, 12pm midday

This is an opportunity for a finance leader who wants more than stewardship of the numbers.

Basildon needs strong core financial management, a deliverable Medium-Term Financial Strategy and a savings programme that is understood and owned across the organisation. It needs clear information, effective financial planning and a finance service that enables senior leaders to make sound decisions at pace.

It also needs someone who can see the wider opportunity.

As Assistant Director Finance & Governance and Deputy Section 151 Officer, you will lead a broad and influential portfolio including finance, revenues and benefits, procurement, audit, risk, insurance and corporate fraud. You will support income generation, value for money and delivery of Council priorities, while helping to strengthen governance and organisational assurance.

You will be a key partner to the Executive Director of Resources and Governance, giving them the capacity to maintain a broader corporate and strategic focus while you build grip, coordination and confidence across the finance function.

The brief combines the essentials of excellent local government finance with questions that are anything but routine. How does Basildon deliver its savings commitments without losing sight of its ambitions? How can its commercial activity, procurement and partnerships create greater value? How can the Council strengthen its long-term financial resilience? And how do we build a finance team that finishes this period stronger than it began?

You will also lead the continued development of the shared Revenues and Benefits service with Brentwood and explore wider partnership opportunities.

We are open to experienced Deputy Section 151 Officers and ambitious senior finance leaders ready for greater corporate exposure. You will need a strong track record of delivery, the confidence to operate in a political environment and the ability to combine commercial judgement with the discipline and public purpose of local government finance.

For an aspiring Section 151 Officer, the development opportunity is significant. You will work closely with the Council's senior statutory leadership, gain exposure to major organisational change and play a leading role in strengthening the Council's financial sustainability and organisational performance.

This is a role from which you can demonstrate not only that you can manage finance, but that you can use it to make an entire organisation better.

Strengthen the foundations. Create the capacity. Shape the future.