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Chief Accountant
| Posting date: | 16 May 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £61,520 per year |
| Additional salary information: | a reviewable Market Force Supplement up to £10,000 |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 28 May 2025 |
| Location: | Colchester, Essex |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 2 days per week |
| Company: | Colchester City Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | COLREQ01455 |
Summary
Contract Type: Permanent
Working Hours: 37 hours per week
Interviews will take place on the 12 or 13 June 2025
This is a politically restricted post
Colchester City Council is committed to delivering high-quality and accessible services to residents, visitors and businesses. We are a local government authority providing a diverse range of public and commercial services across Colchester, the second largest district in Essex.
This is a fantastic opportunity to play a key leadership role in shaping the financial future of a forward-thinking, ambitious Council. You will work within a collaborative and supportive environment, where your expertise and leadership will be truly valued and where you can make a real and lasting impact.
About the Role
We are seeking an exceptional Chief Accountant to lead and direct our Technical Team with a strong focus on delivering economic, efficient, effective, and customer-focused financial services, in line with the Council strategic objectives and values.
Duties of the role
In this pivotal role, you will provide expert financial advice, information, and support to Council projects, ensuring that all financial implications are fully considered within budgets and forecasts. You will lead the Council financial accounting and reporting functions, ensuring robust financial management and full compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.
As Chief Accountant, you will manage the production of the Council annual accounts, maintain the day-to-day relationship with external auditors, support budget planning and monitoring, uphold effective financial controls, and contribute significantly to the provision of high-quality financial advice and insight across the organisation.
Qualifications and skills required
We are looking for a forward-thinking finance professional with full membership of a CCAB-recognised professional body (CIPFA, ACA, ACCA, CIMA) and proven experience operating at a senior level within finance. You will have sound knowledge of local government finance, with strong treasury management knowledge or experience.
A strategic mindset with exceptional financial and business acumen and an understanding of financial systems and an appreciation of risk management is essential.
To succeed you will also have outstanding leadership skills, with the ability to inspire, empower, and develop teams and have the ability to deliver under pressure and be committed to continuous improvement in the delivery of the service.
What we offer
The Council encourages all employees to maximise their potential. You will be entitled to join an attractive pension scheme and will receive a generous annual leave entitlement, including two extra company holidays during the Christmas period.
Other benefits include:
Flexible and home working as well as working from Civic offices
Gym, travel and online retail discounts
Excellent training, development and progression opportunities
If you are ready to lead, inspire, and drive excellence in financial management, we would love to hear from you.
Working Hours: 37 hours per week
Interviews will take place on the 12 or 13 June 2025
This is a politically restricted post
Colchester City Council is committed to delivering high-quality and accessible services to residents, visitors and businesses. We are a local government authority providing a diverse range of public and commercial services across Colchester, the second largest district in Essex.
This is a fantastic opportunity to play a key leadership role in shaping the financial future of a forward-thinking, ambitious Council. You will work within a collaborative and supportive environment, where your expertise and leadership will be truly valued and where you can make a real and lasting impact.
About the Role
We are seeking an exceptional Chief Accountant to lead and direct our Technical Team with a strong focus on delivering economic, efficient, effective, and customer-focused financial services, in line with the Council strategic objectives and values.
Duties of the role
In this pivotal role, you will provide expert financial advice, information, and support to Council projects, ensuring that all financial implications are fully considered within budgets and forecasts. You will lead the Council financial accounting and reporting functions, ensuring robust financial management and full compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.
As Chief Accountant, you will manage the production of the Council annual accounts, maintain the day-to-day relationship with external auditors, support budget planning and monitoring, uphold effective financial controls, and contribute significantly to the provision of high-quality financial advice and insight across the organisation.
Qualifications and skills required
We are looking for a forward-thinking finance professional with full membership of a CCAB-recognised professional body (CIPFA, ACA, ACCA, CIMA) and proven experience operating at a senior level within finance. You will have sound knowledge of local government finance, with strong treasury management knowledge or experience.
A strategic mindset with exceptional financial and business acumen and an understanding of financial systems and an appreciation of risk management is essential.
To succeed you will also have outstanding leadership skills, with the ability to inspire, empower, and develop teams and have the ability to deliver under pressure and be committed to continuous improvement in the delivery of the service.
What we offer
The Council encourages all employees to maximise their potential. You will be entitled to join an attractive pension scheme and will receive a generous annual leave entitlement, including two extra company holidays during the Christmas period.
Other benefits include:
Flexible and home working as well as working from Civic offices
Gym, travel and online retail discounts
Excellent training, development and progression opportunities
If you are ready to lead, inspire, and drive excellence in financial management, we would love to hear from you.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.