At Westminster City Council, we believe in creating a ‘City for All’. Somewhere people are born into a supportive and safe environment. Somewhere they grow and learn throughout their lives. Somewhere they have access to high quality, affordable homes. And somewhere they can build fantastic careers in world-leading industries. This is our vision for the Westminster community. And this is your chance to be part of it.

The Role:

As our Strategic Finance Manager, you’ll be a key member of our senior management team and play a central role in council leadership, working collaboratively with members, services, partners and stakeholders to achieve our ‘City for All’ objectives and effectively manage our financial resources.

The role is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to take the lead in a high-profile organisation and get involved in a wide variety of challenging and dynamic projects. You’ll maintain a tight budgetary control across the organisation, drawing on strong working relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders and balancing this against the council’s key priorities.

Housing is a key aspect of the role as you’ll be driving the financial strategy of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Growth, Planning and Housing (GPH). Drawing on a range of skills including business planning and statutory and management accounting, you’ll be a key contributor in the delivery of our ambitious housing delivery targets and large-scale, highly visible regeneration programmes. What’s more, you’ll build invaluable strategic and leadership skills that will help you progress into senior financial roles in the future.

Naturally, forging strong relationships is a vital part of your work as you’ll be working on projects of sizeable scope with executive directors, senior stakeholders and other influential partners. You may also find yourself negotiating with contractors, government departments and other organisations to secure funding for the council and commercial agreements on multimillion-pound contracts.

Leadership within the finance department is also crucial, as you’ll be required to guide a team of 10-12 staff and ensure they deliver accurate and timely financial information for the council, including statutory returns, annual accounts and audit process, balance sheet and system reconciliations, and value for money reports, as well as financial modelling, budgeting, forecasting and other ad hoc reports. But just as much, it’s about encouraging new and innovative ways of working, and fostering a high-performance culture across the board.

Finally, you’ll be a champion for our values and always lead by example in upholding our commitments to diversity, inclusion and empowering others.

About You:

You’ll have substantial experience in leading a function within a large organisation of comparable scope. You’ll also have demonstrable experience in building partnerships with a wide range of bodies and organisations. A successful track record in resource management and business planning is also key, along with considerable experience in financial models, data analysis and project management. You will also need to be a fully qualified CCAB accountant.

In terms of skills, you’ll be comfortable translating objectives into practical plans, producing progress reports and managing stakeholders. You’ll also have a drive to continuously improve services and be able to inspire and motivate teams to high levels of performance. A good knowledge of local housing authorities and their work is desirable, but not essential.

The Council and its partners are committed to achieving diverse shortlists for all vacancies at Band 4 or above to support our desire to increase the number of staff from underrepresented groups in our workforce. If you are from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background (BAME), we invite you to self-declare this to the hiring manager as part of our positive action commitments.

What We Offer:

If you’re productive, ambitious, collaborative and enterprising, this is your chance to take real ownership of your work, right in the heart of Westminster, a true ‘City for All’ and a flagship council. This is a one-of-a kind place where different ideas and perspectives are welcome, and your work truly matters. We never stop aiming higher – join us and help shape our city for years to come.

Closing date: 24^th November 2019