Deputy Head of Pensions in London

Finance Salary Range: £48,873 - £62,451 depending on experience

Permanent – Fulltime

Location: Wandsworth

Other essential information: Hybrid Working Available

Are you an experienced qualified accountant (preferably CIPFA) or have 5 years' experience of working in technical accounting in local governments? If the answer is "yes" then we have the perfect opportunity for you at Richmond and Wandsworth Councils.

The Pensions Finance team has a variety of work shared in a small team giving the opportunity to get involved in every area. The team provides financial and investment support to Wandsworth Council's £3bn pension fund, the Southwest Middlesex Crematorium Board and the Better Service Partnership's Insurance function.

Your role will be to support the Head of Pensions Finance in producing the reports and financial statements of the Pension Fund, Insurance and Southwest Middlesex Crematorium Board as well as managing financial assets and cash balances. This includes deputising for the Head of Pensions Finance on operational matters, staff management, as lead officer for Local Pension Board, the role of Treasurer to the SWM Crematorium and on accounting advice and decision making. The strengthening of pension fund governance in the General Code and Fit for the Future adds a non-finance element to the role and requires strong written and verbal communication skills for report writing and presentation to Board.

You will need a strong understanding and experience of accounting (preferably using CIPFA Code of Practice) and the ability to gain in depth knowledge of the 3 areas while meeting deadlines.

As Deputy Head of Pensions Finance you would need to be prepared to step in as Deputy and Committee or Board and you would need to build your knowledge of:

• Accounting (ideally for an LGPS fund or local government) and governance
• Smaller Body accounting and financial planning for Southwest Middlesex Crematorium
• Accounting and budgeting for the costs of the council's insurance, including setting aside appropriate balances to cover self-insurance costs

You will have excellent communications skills to write reports and brief notes with the opportunity to present them at Board and other meetings.

Essential Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• Must be able to demonstrate experience of producing year end accounts and interpreting and applying accounting rules.
• Ability to effectively check your own work and that of colleagues is essential.
• Must have in depth knowledge and understanding of local governments accounting codes, standards and regulations that apply to local authorities, LGPS pension funds and joint committees.
• Experience of providing a finance support service including financial planning and reporting, ensuring non-finance managers comply with financial regulations engage effectively with, budget setting and monitoring in year.
• Knowledge and understanding of the Local Government finance environment, including the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline:

• Closing Date: Sunday 01st February 2026
• Shortlisting Date: W/C 02nd February 2026
• Interview Date: TBC

We may close this vacancy early once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. If you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment and selection process, please let us know.

We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts may be exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to these posts will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We offer a wide range of benefits designed to attract, develop, and reward our employees such as 40 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays), flexible working and a generous pension plan.