Finance Assistant - Req24517

Job title:Finance Assistant (Temporary)

Salary: £24,294 to 25,979 pro rata

Hours: 37

Contract: Temporary (12 months)

Location: Civic Hall, Leeds with opportunity for hybrid working

Internal vacancy. Applications will only be considered from existing Leeds City Council employees.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you

As a Finance Assistant, you will bring to the role:

• Educated to a minimum of GCSE level including English and Mathematics at grade C or above
• Good communication skills, both verbal and written
• Good IT skills including the use of Microsoft office applications, particularly Excel
• Sound numeracy skills and the ability to work with large data sets
• Good interpersonal skills
• The ability to work within tight deadlines 
• Flexible approach to work demands and team-working
• Ability to respond independently to unexpected problems and situation, and organise your own workload, deciding when and how to carry out the work for which you are responsible.

About the role 

Leeds City Council delivers over 500 different services to residents and is dedicated to bringing the benefits of a prosperous, vibrant and attractive city to the people of Leeds. High quality, effective financial management is key to delivering the Council’s ambitions. 

This is a great opportunity to work in a financial role at Leeds City Council, where we can offer a variety of work in a vibrant and forward-thinking environment. As our next Finance Officer, your role is integral to our Operational Finance team where you would provide a comprehensive financial administration support service to the wider Financial Management Service. 

You might be responding to routine financial queries or assisting with the reconciliation of financial information held within FMS to other financial systems. The role includes processing financial transactions and assisting finance officers with annual financial processes including the preparation of budgets and year end accounts.

You might also be delivering training to colleagues or providing them with advice on financial matters. 

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

• a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
• membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
• flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
• a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
• a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply

Please complete the online application form.

Read our guidance for further advice. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application. 

We promote diversity and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds. Leeds City Council is ranked 70 on the Stonewall Equality Index 2023. We are also an age-friendly employer, a Mindful Employer and a Disability Confident Leader.

All new Leeds City Council appointments are made subject to the satisfactory completion of a six-month probationary period.

This role is based in the UK. Employment is conditional on confirmation of the right to work in the UK - either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa. If you do not have the right to work in the UK and the role does not meet eligibility for sponsorship, please consider carefully whether you meet the eligibility to apply.

Job Description

Job Purpose: Working as part of the team providing a comprehensive financial administration support service to the wider financial management team, the post-holder will model the Council’s values and behaviours in order to help us achieve our ambition of being the best council in the country. 

Responsibilities for Grade:

• Respond to routine financial queries from non-finance staff in relation to their use of the Financial Management System (FMS) for example, implementing changes to FMS User access, maintenance of FMS hierarchies, delivering training and providing ad-hoc advice re process, coding, etc. 
• Assist with the reconciliation of financial information held within FMS to other financial systems 
• Raising Ad-hoc orders for the Financial Management Service and being the registered Purchasing Card owner for transactions 
• Assist Finance Officers in the preparation of financial information 
• Support the processing of virements and internal recharges, journals and other financial transactions
• Maintain group e-mail lists and access to share-point sites 
• Explaining financial matters or to provide basic training to financial and other staff, using well developed communication skills to undertake this clearly and understandably.
• Assist Finance Officers in monitoring specific budgets and the provision and collation of information contributing to revenue and capital budget reporting. 
• Assist Finance Officers with annual financial processes including the preparation of budgets and year end accounts.
• Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade  
• To participate in appraisal, training, and development activities as necessary to ensure up to date knowledge and skills
• To improve own practice through observation, evaluation, discussion with colleagues and development programmes.
• To work collaboratively with colleagues, knowing when to seek help and advice.
• Contribute to the overall ethos, work, and aims of the service by attending relevant meetings, training days/events as requested.
• Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures e.g., child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality, and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person
• Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, and promoting the values, standards, and equal opportunities of Leeds City Council. 
• Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment or victimisation and any form of abuse of equal opportunities, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and procedures.
• The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and this role will be expected to work within these parameters.
• The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.

Qualifications

• Educated to a minimum of GCSE level including English and Mathematics at grade C or above or equivalent

PERSONAL SPECIFICATION: Method of Assessment will be through one or more of the following Application Form, Test, Interview, and Certificate

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS: It is essential that the Candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role duties and responsibilities: Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate on the application form that they meet all the essential requirements

Skills Required

• Able to work flexibly across different work locations and areas as appropriate
• Good communication skills, both verbal and written
• Good IT skills including the use of Microsoft office applications, particularly Excel
• Sound numeracy skills and the ability to work with large data sets
• Good interpersonal skills
• The ability to work within tight deadlines 
• Flexible approach to work demands and team-working
• Ability to respond independently to unexpected problems and situation, and organise your own workload, deciding when and how to carry out the work for which you are responsible.

Knowledge Required

• Have a sound working knowledge of standard IT applications used in an office environment and the use a computerised financial ledger
• Understanding of employees’ responsibility for health and safety.

Experience Required

• Experience of maintaining good working relationships with others
• Experience of working successfully to strict deadlines

Behavioural & other Characteristics required

• To demonstrate the council’s values, behaviours and manager habits in all aspects of your day to day work.
• Positively promote the equalities agenda 
• To carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under the Council’s Health & Safety Policies and Code of Conduct.
• To take ownership of your personal development planning and be willing to actively participate in learning and development activities to ensure up to date knowledge and skills

DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS: It is desirable that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role.  Candidates are not required to meet all the Desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between acceptable candidates. 

Knowledge Required

• Working knowledge of accountancy in a financial service background including budget planning, monitoring and closure of accounts