Group Accountants

A group of people in a meeting.

£44,253 - £51,928 (pro rata)

Full time, Part time or Term-time only will be considered unless otherwise stated.

We're currently recruiting roles in the Divisional Financial Management teams.

Current vacancies

Financial Planning and Reporting

Full time, Permanent

The Group Accountant for Financial Planning and Reporting will play a key role in shaping and supporting the council’s financial plans, helping to provide a clear picture of the financial opportunities and challenges it faces over the medium term. The role will support the development and annual update of the council’s Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and the delivery of the annual budget-setting process.

You'll be at the centre of bringing together financial information from across the council, working collaboratively with Finance Business Partners and service accountants to develop forecasts, understand emerging pressures and savings, and assess how changes in funding, demand, inflation and other assumptions affect the council’s financial position. You'll support the development and maintenance of the MTFS model, using financial modelling, analysis and insight to help identify the medium-term financial gap and inform the choices needed to deliver a balanced and sustainable budget.

The role will have an important part to play in keeping the annual budget-setting process moving, coordinating key activities, information and deadlines across Finance and ensuring that the different elements of the budget come together into a clear and consistent corporate position.

With local government finance continuing to evolve, you'll also help the council stay ahead of change by reviewing government funding and policy announcements, assessing their potential financial impact and helping translate complex changes into meaningful information for colleagues, senior leaders and councillors.

A key element of the role will be turning complex financial information into clear and engaging messages. You'll help develop reports, briefings and presentations for senior officers and councillors and will support budget workshops and briefings, providing analysis and insight to support informed decision-making.

This is a varied and collaborative role that provides the opportunity to work across the whole organisation and gain a broad understanding of the council’s services and priorities. Sitting at the heart of the council’s financial planning process, you'll help ensure that financial information is robust, joined up and clearly communicated, supporting the council to make well-informed decisions about its resources and future priorities.

Resources 

An opportunity is available within our Accounting and Technical team for a 12-month fixed-term Group Accountant with a focus on Collection Fund accounting. This specialist role offers the chance to take ownership of a key area of local authority finance, providing expert financial support and helping to ensure the Council meets its statutory accounting and reporting obligations.

As the lead accountant for Council Tax and Business Rates, you'll be responsible for forecasting, financial reporting, statutory returns and providing technical advice across the organisation. Working closely with colleagues in Finance and Revenues and Benefits, you will contribute to financial planning and decision-making while supporting the delivery of high-quality financial management within a large and diverse local authority.

This role is ideal for an accountant with Collection Fund experience who enjoys technical work, problem-solving and making a meaningful impact in a complex financial environment.

Children and education 

The children and education team are looking for a part time Group Accountant supporting schools in the city.

You'll be fully or part-qualified CCAB accountant who is looking to become fully qualified. You'll be working with schools across the city and helping to manage a budget of over £500 million. Ideally you'll have experience of working in schools or with them and an interest in seeing the process from the side of the council.

This is an interesting time to work in education with the most significant changes in a generation being delivered through the government's education white paper. Working with budget holders within the council and in schools you'll lead on forecasting and reporting budgets in-year as well as setting budgets for future years.

You'll need to be able to work well with non-financial people while presenting constructive challenge to ensure savings and other commitments are delivered. This will be a job share arrangement working with someone who has returned from maternity leave and will be working c. 20 hours a week.

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 this role 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

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 unless specified. Include your preference in the application.

Please indicate which of the Group Accountant roles you wish to be considered for in particular.

These roles are subject to a Standard DBS Check.

Applicants are required to have the right to work in the UK. We are unable to offer Sponsorship for these roles.

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.