About the Role
Finance is a fundamental service for the effective running of the Council. The Senior Finance Manager – Management Accounting is a new role and will be central to ensuring an efficient service that supports the Council in making informed strategic financial management decisions whilst maximising the value of our services.
This is a great opportunity to join our Finance team and contribute to the ambitious plans of the Council. You will ensure that advice and support are provided with timely, relevant financial information that provides analysis and insight to aid decision making. Maidstone’s finances have been well managed, and this has given us a sound financial foundation to support the strategic priority of our new Cabinet. We are looking to increase the number of properties for social housing, and this will require us to set up a new Housing Revenue Account (HRA) which will be a key objective for this role. We will also support the continued drive for value for money in our services, and that capital investment supports our long-term financial position.
We are looking for a finance team leader who can drive innovation in what we do, and also across the council. Local authority experience isn’t necessarily required, but you will need to understand the challenges local authorities face and support the delivery of our ambitious corporate plan. The post will work under the supervision of the Head of Finance (Deputy s151) who will support your development and technical skills.
This post requires strong working relationships to be developed and maintained with the finance team, service users and budget holders. The post requires daily contact and consultation with a very wide range of stakeholders of service users, but there is also a need to liaise with and respond to queries from external auditors, CIPFA, internal and external auditors, and colleagues from partner authorities.
Maidstone Borough Council is committed to professional development, and you will be given the opportunity to expand and broaden your skills, knowledge and expertise including full support to deliver against the requirements of this new post.
About Maidstone Borough Council
Maidstone Borough Council is a confident organisation with ambition and aspirations to deliver high quality services to our residents and local businesses. We strive to make the borough an attractive place for all and secure a successful economy. We continue to build on our strengths - assets, knowledge and expertise and our track record for innovation and improvement to create a financially sustainable future so that we can continue with our undiminished plans.
We will only achieve the results we are aiming for through the talents and hard work of all our people. You are encouraged to become part of our vision and in return you can expect support, training, and fair reward from us. We will give you the opportunity to develop the skills to do your job well and create a positive working environment where your ideas about improving how we do things are valued and we manage the changes needed for new ways of working well.
At Maidstone Borough Council we recognise the importance of flexible working and the benefits this can bring to both our staff and the Council. We know that by offering employees a range of flexible working opportunities we can positively impact their wellbeing and engagement, and drive productivity in return. As such we have developed a highly flexible hybrid working policy, alongside our flexi time and flexible working policies, enabling staff to shape their working patterns around building a greater work life balance.
Our Offer:
A range of benefits including:
• Highly flexible hybrid working opportunities
• 7am to 7pm flexi time to suit personal circumstances for most roles
• Generous holiday entitlement which increases after 5 years LG service plus bank holidays with the option to buy additional leave.
• Additional 3 days leave given to enable a close down of the offices between Christmas and New year.
• Free parking
• Range of flexible working opportunities to accommodate people’s home/work life balance including compressed hours, 9-day fortnight, part time.
• Invitations to staff events to celebrate success and support wellbeing that include holistic therapies and outdoor activities
• Employee Assistance Programme which provides confidential & independent information and access to counsellors
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with valuable life cover and financial protection for your family.
• Life Assurance – three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
• Season Ticket Loan - to help with the cost of your rail/ bus journey, to & from work
• Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand-new car. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax.
• Annual flu vaccine
• Cycle to work scheme
• Staff benefits discounts on leisure, eating out, holidays and shopping
• Excellent learning and career opportunities for committed individuals
• A professional fee payment, if required for the role
About You:
You will be a qualified Accountant either by qualification or by substantial experience.
You will have experience of leading a finance team and support the strategic decisions of the organisation. Additionally, you will have the ability to build and maintain relationships with budget holders and understand the local authority financial environment.
Selection Process:
Following the submission of your application form, it will be reviewed by the recruiting manager. Those that are successful in securing an interview can expect job specific interview assessment, followed by an interview.
If you would like to discuss this position, please contact Adrian Lovegrove on 01622 602048.
To apply for the position please click here and complete the online application form or by phone on 01622 602555.
Closing 02/02/2025
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Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident .