Finance Business Partner (Adults)

About us

If you’re familiar with North Somerset, you’ll know that we have high ambitions and are always striving to make North Somerset and even more fulfilling and prosperous place in which to work and live.

We have strengthened the resources in our core Finance Service and now have separate teams to support Childrens and Adults social care services and so this role offers an exciting opportunity to join an ambitious and high-performing team who provide quality financial services and advice through a well-respected Business Partnering approach. We are looking to appoint an experienced senior finance professional who will contribute towards achieving the best financial outcomes for the Council, both for today and also into the medium term.

The Finance Business Partner will support by providing high quality strategic and operational advice to the Director of Adult Social Services & Housing, the senior leadership team and other heads of services delivering in those critical, but challenging areas. In this role you will be able to pre-empt financial risks and issues and devise mitigations and solutions to support effective decision-making. The Finance Business Partner will also play a key role in supporting the Head of Finance in the development of Council’s ongoing financial monitoring, Medium Term Financial Planning and preparation of statutory accounts.

Our new system of hybrid working means that although your work base will be the Town Hall, Weston-super-Mare, you will be able to work from home and only expected in the office one or two days a month.

About you

The ideal candidate will need to be a fully qualified CCAB accountant and have experience of working in and understand the financial arrangements and challenges of local government and also the governance and political context supporting this, as well as the preparation of year end statutory and management accounts.

 You will be comfortable in supporting the strategic leadership of the Council and liaising with chief officers and with partner organisations. However, you will also be able to operate at the granular level of detail as work requires, working autonomously and with others as necessary to get the job done, therefore you will need the financial expertise to provide high quality, timely, accurate financial information, advice, and guidance that will contribute to the effectiveness of the decision-making process.

As a strategic leader yourself, you will have you will have extensive Business Partnering experience and be able to demonstrate that you can build effective relationships at all levels and to manage both your own and your team’s workload as well as having excellent communication skills and being a flexible team player and proactive problem solver.

You will be an innovative self-starter, with an aptitude for interpreting, explaining and applying accounting standards and policies, and an analytic approach in evaluating business proposals.

We invite applications from candidates who ideally will have had previous experience of working in Adult Social Care finance but more importantly who are passionate about the services they support and want to make a difference to the people who access our services and live and work within our communities.

 About us

The post sits within the Corporate Services Directorate although provides services to the Adult Social Care & Housing Directorate who are responsible for ensuring and overseeing the effective delivery of services for younger adults through to older people through both the core revenue budget as well as the Better Care Fund.  We provide a diverse and broad range of services with the well-being of adults central to what we do. Throughout North Somerset we aim to deliver better outcomes for adults helping them to maximise their independence wherever possible. 

Our vision

Our council vision is ‘an open, fairer, greener North Somerset’ and we have four key ambitions:

• Our children and young people are cared for, safe, supported, and are given equality of opportunity to thrive
• Our communities are caring, healthy and safe, where people help each other to live well
• Our towns and villages are thriving and sustainable places to live, work and visit
• Our council delivers consistently good services and value for money to support our community.

Our values

Our organisational values are important. They help guide us in how we work and provide services for our residents. Our people produced our values in collaboration with elected members. They provide a strong ethos and help us to deliver our ambitious agenda, working in partnership across the council and beyond:

• We act with integrity
• We respect each other
• We innovate
• We care
• We collaborate.

Our Benefits

We offer:

• A competitive salary,
• A pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection,
• Opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential through formal and on-the-job training,
• Agile and flexible working arrangements to help you enjoy a healthy work-life balance and family leave options (mobile working status with limited time in the office),
• Generous leave entitlement (29 days, rising to 34 days) pro rata and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days,
• Discounts on shopping, days out, travel and gym memberships,
• 24/7 access to our Employee Assistance Programme. 

Further details of our excellent rewards package can be found in our Benefits booklet.

Want to know more and apply?

For an informal discussion, please contact: Melanie Watts, Head of Finance & Deputy S151 Officer on 01934 634618 or contact by email melanie.watts@n-somerset.gov.uk.

Anticipated interview dates: Monday 22 July 2024 & Wednesday 24 July 2024.

At North Somerset Council we want all our employees to feel valued and appreciated.  We aim to ensure equality of opportunity and prevent discrimination irrespective of your sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or belief, race, age, disability, including neurodiversity, if you are married or in a civil partnership or are pregnant.  We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work. 

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

North Somerset Council – Open, Fairer, Greener. 

Please note: We are currently only accepting applications from candidates who have full permission to work in the UK.