Finance Manager - Children's Services

Job Introduction

Role Purpose

Join Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council as our Finance Manager for Children's Services and be a critical part of our Accountancy team.  

We have a fantastic opportunity for you to join us and manage a team supporting a number of key statutory services of the council with a general fund net budget of £91 million plus the Dedicated Schools Grant for school funding of £363 million.   

We have already achieved a great deal since BCP was established in 2019 and our ambitions to modernise and innovate continue.

We have a strong, collaborative and supportive culture that enables everyone to grow and develop. Ensuring employees have a positive work life balance is really important to us. We have an agile working policy, which enables our people to work flexibly either at home or in the civic offices in Bournemouth town centre.  

The main purpose of the Finance Manager role is to partner with the service areas noted above providing financial advice and guidance to deliver a comprehensive financial accounting, management accounting and advisory service. This role will lead and manage a small team of Accountants in delivering this service.  

Main Responsibilities

Responsibilities include for the designated service areas to: 

• Provide consistent and comprehensible financial advice and support to officers and members.
• Lead the production of financial reports and information and be the lead financial expert. 
• Lead on the financial aspects of policy development.  
• Plan, direct and monitor the work of the finance team. 
• Support the development of business cases.
• Contribute to the development of the annual budget and medium-term financial plan for the service area.      

The Ideal Candidate

•   Fully qualified member of one the five accountancy institutes in CCAB or CIMA 

•    Knowledgeable and experienced of the finances for the designated services areas in local government 

•    Experienced in staff performance management  

•    An excellent communicator at all levels  

•    Able to convey complex information clearly, correctly & concisely 

 If you are positive and share our vision, then we want to hear from you. For an informal discussion about this role, please call Nicola Webb, Assistant Chief Finance Officer on 01202 128764 or at nicola.webb@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

About BCP Council

BCP Council provides services to a diverse community of 400,000 residents and employs more than 5,000 people. Our area includes over 15 miles of beautiful world-renowned coastline. We can offer career defining roles to transform and improve services. By working with us, you can help deliver a vision of a thriving, word-class, prosperous and inclusive place for generations to come.

Our Benefits

We offer an excellent benefits package to colleagues. Find out more on our website

As a result of the creation of BCP Council in 2019, we are working on simplifying our terms and conditions of service and will be creating a single pay structure which is to be applicable for all employees. It is important to us that we offer benefits that our colleagues value as part of their total employment package and we are reviewing these to make sure we have it right. We are in the process of establishing a timescale for implementation and colleagues joining us will be included in these changes.