Senior Commercial Finance Business Partner

This role has a salary range of £66,774 to £73,583 per annum, based on a 36-hour working week.

The Commercial Support Team are excited to be hiring a commercial Business Partner role that combines professional accounting skills with internal consultancy for commercial aspects of the Council's activities. The role is hybrid, with office days typically being a minimum of 2 days per week in the Council's Reigate or Weybridge offices.

This is a 12 to 18 month fixed term contract, TBC dependent on start date.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

About the Team

The team sit in the Council's finance function and liaise with colleagues across internal Directorates to provide support on commercial matters. This role will also provide a link to the Commercial Transformation Programme team in the short-term. The Council's chargeable services are aligned to priorities which support residents and businesses in Surrey, whilst also providing an income to recover costs of providing those services. Investments in subsidiaries also provide an income that contributes to overall financial resilience.

About the Role

The management accounting element of the role will include preparation of monthly or quarterly accounts for the subsidiary Board, cash flow, tax management, and year end audit liaison.

The commercial support element will include performance and risk oversight for chargeable services provided by various Directorates across the Council, management of the commercial framework for the Council (tools, resources, networks of expertise), and providing advice and consultancy to colleagues in respect of existing services and proposals for new chargeable services. For example, this might involve helping create a business case for a new idea or reviewing an existing chargeable service with consideration to pricing, costs, process efficiency, product margins, CRM, and marketing. The post-holder does not need to be an expert in all of these aspects but will need be inquisitive and collaborative.

Additionally, the post-holder will carry out financial appraisals for ad-hoc investments, disposals and development opportunities.

The post-holder will report to the Strategic Finance Business Partner for Commercial Finance. There will be one direct report into the post.

Shortlisting Criteria

To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application will clearly evidence the following:

• You are a fully qualified accountant (CIMA, ACCA, CIPFA, ICAEW).
• Experience in commercial support, business management or consultancy experience.
• An ability to demonstrate problem solving, achieved through understanding and supporting various business functions.
• Excellent communication skills with senior management experience, an ability to build relationships, challenge and influence.
• Experience of financial modelling in Excel and an awareness of developments in system automation and reporting.

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 25/02/2024 with interviews planned for the start of March.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.