We have an exciting opportunity for a motivated Finance Liaison Officer - Children's Services, to join us as a key member of the Council’s Finance team, on a 1 year fixed term contract. The role will report to the SEND Management Accountant. The successful candidate will be able to work on their own initiative, taking ownership of their work, with the ability to interpret, extract and assess important information, especially numerical data. You will have a commitment to embracing change, striving to continually improve, as well as a strong customer service ethos and excellent communication skills. You should be capable of working in an accurate and organised way and have a good eye for detail, assisting with improvements to make the team more efficient. It is essential that you can work well under pressure, meet deadlines, and adopt a flexible approach. Wokingham Borough Council offers excellent employment benefits including flexible working, an enhanced local government pension scheme, generous annual leave entitlement and much more. The finance team currently operate a hybrid working arrangement, with time split between home and Council’s offices. Key Duties, Responsibilities & Accountabilities: Lead on tracking and co-ordinating resolution of finance queries for SEND Managing a busy email inbox, communicating with external organisations Assisting with analysis of data for budget monitoring and reporting Support the SEND Management Accountant to deliver high quality financial support to Children’s Services Liaising with SEND team to resolve queries Skills, Attributes & Experience required: Aptitude for numbers & finance Prior experience of working in a finance role is desirable Excellent verbal and written skills Excellent IT skills, including Microsoft Teams, Excel, Outlook, Word and PowerPoint Ability to operate in large, complex and political organisations Wokingham Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff, other workers and volunteers to share this commitment. Wokingham is an equal opportunities employer. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks along with other relevant employment checks. Whilst this is a fixed term contract appointment, for anyone already employed by Wokingham Borough Council this would be classed as a secondment if successful. Therefore, the usual permission requests for secondments apply and you must speak to your line manager in the first instance before applying. If your application is shortlisted for an interview, you will be required to provide proof of your right to work in the UK at that stage. Additionally, successful candidates must present proof upon receiving a job offer. Please note that all offers are conditional and subject to the satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks. Interested in the role and want to know more? For an informal discussion please contact: Kenneth Chan at Kenneth.chanwokingham.gov.uk Closing date: 27 th December 2024, 11pm Please note, we will be reviewing applications daily, and if suitable candidates are identified this advert may close before the closing date. Interviews Week commencing 6th January 2025 How to apply Please apply online via the link provided. Please note, we do not accept CVs submitted without a fully completed online application form