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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Provide expert financial support and advice across various departments.
- Company: Join Herts Finance Service, making a difference for over 1.2 million people.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, hybrid working, and excellent career development opportunities.
- Why this job: Be part of a team that drives impactful financial decisions in your community.
- Qualifications: CCAB qualified or equivalent with strong analytical skills.
- Other info: Flexible working arrangements and a supportive work environment.
The predicted salary is between 42839 - 47181 ÂŁ per year.
Starting Salary: ÂŁ42,839 with the opportunity to progress to ÂŁ47,181 pa per annum (pro rata for part time)
Hours: 37
Location: Stevenage/Hybrid
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Resources
About The Team
This is an exciting opportunity to join our Herts Finance Service in providing outstanding financial advice and support to a range of teams: Growth and Environment, Resources and Children’s Service. Not only will you know that your role is providing value to over 1.2 million people within Hertfordshire, your contribution will be invaluable in achieving our core values.
Growth and Environment
The role is part of the Growth and Environment Business Partner team, providing expert financial support and advice to the G&E department, including waste, highways, sustainability and Herts Futures. This role will be involved with supporting both internal and external stakeholders.
Resources
This role is part of the Resources Finance Business Partner team, providing expert financial support and advice to the Resources department, including Property, Technology, Business Support, HR, Legal, Libraries and Insurance. The role is expected to focus on supporting the Property team initially, who have a challenging programme of savings to deliver, although responsibilities may change over time.
Children’s Services – DSG
You will join the Children’s Services Finance Team, providing financial advice, monitoring, and support for funding allocated to the County Council to deliver education in schools and early years settings, services for children with additional needs, and related educational support functions. This role focuses on funding provided through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and requires strong analytical skills to use data effectively to produce clear, insightful management information on grant‑related expenditure.
Children’s Services – Non‑DSG
As a member of the Children’s Services Finance Team, you will play a key role in providing financial support and guidance for the Children Looked After (CLA) budgets. Your primary focus will be on the Independent Placements area. Strong analytical skills and a high level of attention to detail are essential to help improve processes and support informed decision‑making within the service.
About The Role
Growth and Environment
The role will entail providing expert financial support to the finance manager within the Growth and Environment team. It will involve taking the lead and supporting on the in‑year financial cycle including the medium‑term financial planning process, preparing and reconciling monthly monitor reports and leading on year‑end processes. Further key roles would be ensuring timely and accurate submissions for annual government returns and grant submissions.
Resources
The role will entail providing expert financial support to the Head of Finance and Director of Finance. It will involve taking the lead and supporting on the in‑year financial cycle including the medium‑term financial planning process, preparing and reconciling monthly monitor reports and leading on year‑end processes. The role will also be involved in financial support for business cases for disposals and alternative uses.
Children Services – DSG
This role provides expert financial support to budget holders across a range of demand‑led services. It involves managing and analysing large volumes of financial data, and supporting robust forecasting, monitoring and analysis of direct spend budgets funded through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). The post holder will identify and develop innovative solutions to streamline financial data, implementing more efficient and effective approaches to financial management. A key aspect of the role is leading informed discussion on areas of high‑risk spend to support sound decision‑making.
Children Services – Non‑DSG
The primary focus is on monitoring the independent placements budget for high‑risk social care placements, strengthening analytical processes, and improving reporting. You will also lead on tracking key transformational savings programmes and working with colleagues to deliver planned savings. You will contribute collaboratively to building knowledge and resilience across the team.
If you have preference of team, please can you state this in your covering letter.
About You
- Essential
- CCAB qualified or equivalent or have significant proven experience.
- Ability to make effective use of multiple data sources and to use available tools to carry out detailed financial analysis.
- Ability to interpret, apply and explain financial policies, procedures and guidance.
- Ability to build relationships and communicate effectively with senior stakeholders, creating trust and confidence and being able to persuade and negotiate as to the actions required.
- Experience in presenting complex financial information to senior stakeholders to support proposed courses of action.
- Ability to manage competing priorities and flexibility to re‑prioritise according to business needs.
- Desirable
- Experience in managing and leading a team.
We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.
This job role is within the Corporate Services, level CORP11 job profile.
To hear more about this opportunity please contact Margaret Walsh, Margaret.Walsh@hertfordshire.gov.uk for an informal discussion about the role.
Interview Date: to be confirmed
Benefits of working for us
On top of your salary, you will also receive an excellent benefits package including:
- Market leading pension scheme with immediate eligibility.
- An employee support scheme providing discounts on all the essentials such as shopping, health and leisure vouchers.
- Support and welfare groups, with regular welfare sessions available to all staff.
- A career development and training programme for all.
- Hybrid and flexible working arrangements.
How to apply
As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert/job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.
Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.
Senior Accountants in Stevenage employer: Hertfordshire County Council
Contact Detail:
Hertfordshire County Council Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Accountants in Stevenage
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the finance sector, especially those who work in local government or similar roles. A friendly chat can lead to insider info about job openings and even referrals.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the specific teams you'll be working with. Understand their challenges and how your skills can help them succeed. This shows you're genuinely interested and ready to contribute from day one!
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your financial analysis skills! Be ready to discuss how you've used data to drive decisions in past roles. Real-life examples will make you stand out and show that you can handle the responsibilities of a Senior Accountant.
✨Tip Number 4
Don't forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it gives you a chance to showcase your enthusiasm for the role and the organisation.
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Accountants in Stevenage
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the Senior Accountant role. Highlight your relevant experience and skills that match the job description, especially your analytical skills and ability to manage financial data.
Showcase Your Achievements: In your application, don’t just list your duties from previous jobs. Instead, showcase your achievements! Use specific examples where you’ve made a difference, like improving processes or saving costs.
Craft a Compelling Covering Letter: Use your covering letter to tell us why you’re the perfect fit for this role. Mention your preferred team if you have one, and explain how your background aligns with our core values and the responsibilities outlined in the job description.
Proofread Before Submitting: Before hitting that submit button, give your application a thorough proofread. Check for any typos or grammatical errors, as these can make a big difference in how we perceive your attention to detail.
How to prepare for a job interview at Hertfordshire County Council
✨Know Your Numbers
As a Senior Accountant, you'll need to demonstrate your financial acumen. Brush up on key financial metrics and be ready to discuss how you've used data to drive decisions in previous roles. Prepare examples that showcase your analytical skills and how they’ve led to successful outcomes.
✨Understand the Role's Impact
Familiarise yourself with how the role contributes to the Growth and Environment, Resources, and Children’s Services teams. Be prepared to discuss how your expertise can support these areas, especially in managing budgets and providing insightful financial advice.
✨Build Relationships
This role requires effective communication with senior stakeholders. Think about past experiences where you’ve successfully built relationships and influenced decision-making. Be ready to share specific examples of how you’ve communicated complex financial information clearly and persuasively.
✨Show Flexibility and Prioritisation Skills
The job involves managing competing priorities, so be prepared to discuss how you handle multiple tasks. Share examples of times when you had to re-prioritise your workload and how you ensured that critical deadlines were met without compromising quality.