Director of Finance

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Hereford

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Accountant

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Advertising Salary

£107,198 per annum

Interview Date

Not Specified

About The Role

Job title: Director of Finance

Contract: Permanent

Location: Hereford

Hours: 37

Salary: £107,198 annum

Closing date: 17th March 2025

Interview date: 7th April 2025

Join Herefordshire Council as our Director of Finance (s151 Officer) and play a crucial role in shaping and defining our financial direction for future years. Reporting to the Chief Executive and working with Directors and political leadership, you will leverage your technical ability, political skill and commercial mindset to help us maximise the use of our financial resources, ensuring that every Herefordshire pound matters.

We are looking for a qualified accountant with significant experience in leading a financial function. You should possess the ability to work collaboratively to drive improvement and uphold the highest standards of personal integrity.

The Role

Responsibilities

As the Director of Finance, you will work collaboratively across Directorates and services to maximise financial efficiency for Herefordshire residents, making a real difference to the community. The primary responsibilities include:

• Develop and implement financial strategies aligned with council objectives.
• Oversee the financial governance framework, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements.
• Lead and manage the finance team, fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence.
• Provide expert financial advice to senior management, political leadership and stakeholders.
• Ensure accurate and timely financial reporting and analysis.
• Drive initiatives to improve financial efficiency and resource allocation.
• Represent Herefordshire Council in financial discussions with external partners and stakeholders.
• Uphold the highest standards of personal and professional integrity.

About You

The role profile attached to this advert provides a description of our expectations around skills, experience and qualifications. As an overview, you will be:

• A qualified accountant (e.g., ACCA, CIMA, ACA) with significant experience in leading a financial function.
• Able to demonstrate political skill and commercial mindset.
• Have a proven ability to work collaboratively and drive improvement.
• Showcase strong leadership and team management skills.
• Have excellent communication, interpersonal abilities and high standards of personal integrity and ethical conduct.

We Offer

• A competitive salary, holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:
• Salary of £107,198 per annum, pro rata
• Pension Scheme Enrolment in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Annual Leave: 31 days’ annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum.
• Flexible working: hybrid working with a balance of days onsite and working remotely.
• Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
• Payment of professional membership fees for one professional body
• Pick your perks – our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.

About Us

Herefordshire Council is a financially stable, well-run unitary council in one of England’s most beautiful counties. Our cathedral city, historic market towns and iconic landscapes are positioned on the border with Wales with links into both the West Midlands and South West.

The Council Plan 2024 – 2028 Is Attached To This Advert And Sets Out How The Council Will Make Its Contribution To Achieving a Better And More Successful Herefordshire. We Want To Deliver The Best For Herefordshire In Everything We Do. We Want Children To Have The Best Start In Life. We Will Work To Increase Prosperity, Protect The Environment And Provide Those Services That People Need. Our Priorities Are Focused On:

• People: We will enable residents to realise their potential, to be healthy and to be part of great communities who support each other. We want all children to have the best start in life.
• Place: We will protect and enhance our environment and ensure that Herefordshire is a great place to live. We will support the right housing in the right place, we will support access to green spaces and we will do everything we can to recover the health of our rivers.
• Growth: We will create the conditions to deliver sustainable growth across the county; attracting inward investment, building business confidence, creating jobs, enabling housing development along with providing the right infrastructure.
• Transformation: We will be an efficient council that embraces best practice, delivers innovation through technology and demonstrates value for money.

Reasonable Adjustments

Our recruitment process runs in partnership with Hoople Resourcing. If you require any reasonable adjustments or alternative methods for the online application process, please contact the resourcing team by email: (email protected)

Creating an inclusive workplace

Employee Network Groups play an important role in strengthening the voices of employees at Herefordshire Council. Embedded in the Council’s values is a commitment to listen to people’s views and needs.

Employee Network Groups are a collective of colleagues who often share identities, life experiences or cultures and who come together to initiate positive change in their work place. Our groups include: Black and Asian Staff Networking Group, LGBTQ+, Parents & Carers, Climate and Nature, Diff-abilities and Armed Forces, VOICE and Early Career Connections. For more information about what it means to live, work and thrive in Herefordshire, please view our dedicated recruitment website:

We welcome applicants whatever their personal characteristics or social identity. All requests for flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments will be considered.

The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:

• Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme;
• Those who indicate in their supported statement that they serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, or their families. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant.
• Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.

How to apply

To apply for this opportunity, please upload an up-to-date CV and a supporting statement of no more than two sides of A4 demonstrating your experience, skills and abilities for the role.

For more information please contact George Harris, Strategic Recruitment Business Partner: (email protected)

Closing date : 17 March 2025

Selection date : 7 April 2025

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