£42,839 - £50,269 (pro rata)
Full time, Part time or Term-time only will be considered
We're currently recruiting for a range of roles in the Divisional Financial Management teams.
Current vacancies
Technical and Accounting
This is an opportunity to join our Technical and Accounting team as a Group Accountant. The team has a broad remit around the technical accounting functions for Bristol City Council, with focus on year-end Statement of Accounts, External Audit, Statutory Returns such as the Whole of Government Accounts, Corporate Controls improvements and ongoing management, Grants records management and Collection Fund management and reporting.
Within this team, you’ll work closely with colleagues across finance and beyond to ensure a robust technical service and delivery against the key reporting deadlines.
This is an excellent opportunity for someone to fine tune technical exposure within a local authority. As this is a career graded post we are interested to hear from fully qualified CCAB candidates keen to hone their skills in this area, or part qualified CCAB candidates looking to complete their qualification.
Adult and Communities
We currently have a vacancy for a Group Accountant, to join our Adult Social Care Finance Team.
You'll help support Adult Social Care on its transformation journey and will support the service as it strives for financial sustainability.
Day to day we have a revenue budget of circa £190 million across a diverse range of operational areas including social work team, in house services and commissioned services.
Children and Education
A Group Accountant is needed on a fixed-term contract until 31 March 2027 to provide budget management support and coordination for various grant-funded projects in the Employment, Skills and Learning service.
Finance Transformation and Improvement team
A new and exciting opportunity has been created at the heart of our transformation agenda. We’re looking for a proactive and forward-thinking individual to join the Change and Transformation Portfolio Management Office (PMO, a key part of the Portfolios, Programmes and Projects (PPP) Service, while retaining your professional home within the Finance Service.
This role is key in supporting the tracking of the delivery of substantial savings and transformation programmes that will help shape a financially sustainable council for the future. You’ll be the bridge between finance and transformation, ensuring robust oversight of funding, spend, and benefits realisation across the portfolio.
Working across a diverse and ambitious transformation portfolio, you’ll have exposure to high-impact initiatives across multiple services. You’ll help ensure the organisation has clear insight and control over the financial dimensions of the change, tracking funding allocations, monitoring spend and supporting the delivery of savings and wider benefits. But this role isn’t just about reporting. There will also be opportunity to shape how we work. You’ll be able to use your insights and experience to help improve our portfolio, programme and project management practices in relation to the financial elements of the lifecycle.
What you’ll bring:
- strong analytical skills and advanced Excel capability
- excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills
- a proactive mindset for improving how things are done
- the ability to work across services and domains, building trusted relationships and driving clarity
What you’ll gain:
- a role at the intersection of finance and transformation
- the chance to influence and improve ways of working
- a collaborative, supportive team environment
- opportunities to grow your skills and shape your career
About the roles
In all areas you will be carrying out analysis of costs, cost drivers and supporting the accounting function, with the possibility of deputising for the Finance Manager carrying out supervisory responsibilities too.
You'll be the trusted advisor to senior members of the Council on financial matters. That includes setting annual budgets and ensuring short, medium, and long-term forecasts are robust. You'll identify, analyse and report on the financial implications of new initiatives in your area of responsibility. At year end you will support the preparation of annual statements.
To be successful in these roles you will need to build strong relationships with key stakeholders in your area and across the council.
That will allow you to challenge and advise. A commitment to continual improvement is key and you will need to consistently offer ideas to improve current practice and find efficiencies. There will be opportunities to work on cross-cutting projects that address issues across the council.
Finally, you will need to manage and motivate your team to deliver.
Objectives
- Be personally responsible for taking all necessary steps to fully understand the business needs of the client service areas allocated to you and a general awareness for the whole Directorate, such that you can provide expert assistance to management in achieving value for money and service improvement.
- Provision of monthly reporting, analysis and insight on the performance of each budget. Reporting to include insight on what is driving performance, what actions can be taken to remediate any performance gaps and what actions can be taken to improve performance.
- Research and maintain awareness of alternative models of service delivery and, in conjunction with budget managers, consider how innovative solutions to service delivery can be implemented within the council and/or with partners.
- Identify and participate in improvement and efficiency projects. To facilitate the preparation and delivery of efficiency and savings plans for clients which support corporate long term financial planning including the modelling of costs for various options.
- Support the ring-fenced accounts as required for your remit, including annual update of the 30-year HRA Business Plan and associated model and involvement and update of the financial information for the DSG.
For the upper limit of the salary range you'll need to have a CCAB qualification and demonstrate that you can:
- build excellent professional relationships with key senior stakeholders across the council, external partners and government departments as appropriate. Representing the council at appropriate external forums and maintain relationships to ensure that proposed initiatives are financially viable and delivered as effectively as possible
- interpret of financial performance for council wide services or activities and provide options to managers to assist them achieve required efficiencies and spend to budget position on an on-going basis
- provide independent analysis and interpretation of complex and technical financial data, to facilitate support and challenge to both internal and external stakeholders and allow decisions to be made following consideration of financial resource and risks implications
- draft and present reports on the analysis and interpretation of financial performance and actual or implied changes to legislation for budget holders and senior officers and the public in relation to financial issues and collaborate with external partners and agencies as required
- undertake appropriate development work as required in response to changing financial regimes, new government legislation and initiatives
- lead on financial support to projects related to the respective area of the directorate, develop business cases and options appraisals in support of business objectives, investigate and support mechanisms for greater efficiencies or additional income generation and invest to save
- acquire and maintain comprehensive service specific knowledge to support policy development as appropriate, working with service leads reinforcing the need for corporate governance and financial management best practice
- in accordance with council procedures and delegated level of financial authority, support the development and timely preparation of the key internal and external financial documents for your respective area of the portfolio; quantifying associated costs, benefits, risks and funding solutions and associated sensitivities
How to apply
To apply, send us your:
- CV, no more than 2 sides
- a supporting statement, with a maximum of 1,000 words, which demonstrates by practical example how you meet the following:
- part or full CCAB (or equivalent qualification). If part qualified you'll need to commit to completing the qualification in the role
- experience of analysing, interpreting and presenting financial management to people who manage budgets
- ability to establish excellent working relationships with colleagues and customers
Please indicate if you wish to be considered for any of the Group Accountant roles in particular. Experience of Dedicated Schools Grant or adult social care would be a particular advantage for those roles.
Email your CV and supporting statement to finance_recruitment@bristol.gov.uk.
These roles will be considered on a full time, part time or term time only basis. Please include your preference in the application.
No agencies please.
Application date
There is no specific end date, we are regularly reviewing CVs and holding interviews, and will close vacancies once they are filled, so please submit your application at your earliest convenience to be considered.
At Bristol City Council, we value having a workforce as diverse as the city we serve. We therefore welcome, develop and promote people from all sections of the community. We particularly welcome applications from Black and racially minoritised candidates, Disabled candidates, young people and LGBTQ+ candidates, who are currently under-represented within this service area of Bristol City Council.
Appointments will be made on merit.