Strategic Business Partner (Children and Young People)

We are supporting a London Borough Council with their recruitment of a Strategic Business Partner for Children and Young People to join its Finance function and lead a high-performing accountancy and financial planning team on a permanent basis.

This is an important leadership role, providing trusted financial advice and challenge to senior officers, elected Members and service leaders. You will play a key role in ensuring strong financial management, effective budgetary control and robust financial planning across the Council.

Job responsibilities:

• Leading the delivery of high-quality financial management and accountancy support
• Overseeing revenue and capital budget monitoring, challenging significant variances and supporting corrective action.
• Supporting the Council's medium-term financial and service planning, including the development and challenge of growth and savings proposals.
• Coordinating the production of annual revenue budgets and supporting the development of the capital budget in line with the Council's Capital Strategy.
• Providing clear financial analysis, advice and commentary for senior officers, elected Members and formal Council reports.
• Ensuring robust financial systems, controls and processes comply with legislation, professional standards, the Council's Constitution and relevant reporting requirements.
• Coordinating the closing of accounts process and ensuring statutory and professional deadlines are met.
• Maximising external funding opportunities and overseeing grant claims and returns.
• Supporting partnership working, including with health and other agencies, to facilitate the delivery of integrated services.
• Managing, developing and motivating finance professionals, creating a culture of continuous improvement and high performance.
• Deputising for the Head of Service Finance when required.

About you

We are looking for a CCAB qualified accountant (CIPFA, ACCA or similar) with substantial local government experience, who can combine strong technical expertise with excellent leadership and communication skills.

You will have a proven track record of:

• Children's Services finance experience
• Good DSG / Schools finance knowledge
• Credibility working with Directors and senior stakeholders
• Experience of financial planning, savings and budget management
• Strong leadership and team management skills

You will be commercially aware, solutions-focused and confident enough to challenge constructively. Just as importantly, you'll be able to build strong relationships and communicate financial information in a way that enables non-finance colleagues to make informed decisions.

If you're an experienced local government finance professional looking for a role where your expertise can have a genuine strategic impact, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply now to find out more.