About The Role Contract: Permanent Salary: £85,558 - £90,128 Hours: 37 Location: Hereford Closing Date: 26/05/2025 Join Herefordshire Council as Head of Strategic Finance (Deputy S151 Officer) and play a vital role in supporting the long-term financial sustainability of the council. Reporting to the Director of Finance (S151 Officer), you’ll work closely with elected Members and the council’s Leadership Group to oversee the development of the budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and manage the final accounts planning and closedown processes. This is a key opportunity to lead an award-winning finance function and deliver high-quality services to safeguard the council’s resources. We are looking for an exceptional finance professional: a qualified accountant with a track record of leading a finance function, with strong technical skills, political awareness and a solution focussed approach. The council is in a strong and resilient position to respond to and withstand future financial pressures. Our statutory accounts and audit process is fully up to date and a sustainable financial strategy has been developed for 2025/26 and onwards, to ensure the council can achieve an ambitious programme of innovation and improvement to deliver the best for Herefordshire. The Role As the Head of Strategic Finance (Deputy S151 Officer), you will work collaboratively across Directorates providing strategic and innovative financial advice and insight, highlighting risks and identifying opportunities to support the council’s financial resilience and sustainability. The primary responsibilities include: Development of the annual budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy. Internal and external financial reporting: including monthly budget monitoring and the annual statutory accounts and audit process. Monitoring of the Capital Programme and major projects. Delivery of the Treasury Management Strategy, ensuring short and long-term liquidity and borrowing requirements are managed effectively. About You The role profile attached to this advert provides a description of our expectations around skills, experience and qualifications. As an overview, you will be: A qualified accountant (e.g., ACCA, CIMA, ACA) with a track record in leading a financial function. Able to demonstrate strong organisational/’political’ awareness and experience of successful service delivery. Have a proven ability to work collaboratively and drive improvement. Showcase strong leadership and team management skills. Have extensive experience of leading multi-functional, high performing teams. We Offer A competitive salary, holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes: Salary of £85,558 - £90,127 per annum Pension Scheme Enrolment in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Annual Leave: 31 days’ annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum. Flexible working: hybrid working with a balance of days onsite and working remotely. Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling Payment of professional membership fees for one professional body Pick your perks – our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts. About Us Herefordshire Council is a financially stable, well-run unitary council in one of England’s most beautiful counties. Our cathedral city, historic market towns and iconic landscapes are positioned on the border with Wales with links into both the West Midlands and South West. The Council Plan 2024 – 2028 is attached to this advert and sets out how the council will make its contribution to achieving a better and more successful Herefordshire. We want to deliver the best for Herefordshire in everything we do. We want children to have the best start in life. We will work to increase prosperity, protect the environment and provide those services that people need. Our priorities are focused on: People : We will enable residents to realise their potential, to be healthy and to be part of great communities who support each other. We want all children to have the best start in life. Place : We will protect and enhance our environment and ensure that Herefordshire is a great place to live. We will support the right housing in the right place, we will support access to green spaces and we will do everything we can to recover the health of our rivers. Growth : We will create the conditions to deliver sustainable growth across the county; attracting inward investment, building business confidence, creating jobs, enabling housing development along with providing the right infrastructure. Transformation : We will be an efficient council that embraces best practice, delivers innovation through technology and demonstrates value for money. Reasonable Adjustments Our recruitment process runs in partnership with Hoople Resourcing. If you require any reasonable adjustments or alternative methods for the online application process, please contact the resourcing team by email: enquiries@hoopleresourcing.co.uk. Creating an inclusive workplace Employee Network Groups play an important role in strengthening the voices of employees at Herefordshire Council. Embedded in the Council's values is a commitment to listen to people's views and needs. Employee Network Groups are a collective of colleagues who often share identities, life experiences or cultures and who come together to initiate positive change in their work place. Our groups include: Black and Asian Staff Networking Group, LGBTQ, Parents & Carers, Climate and Nature, Diff-abilities and Armed Forces, VOICE and Early Career Connections. For more information about what it means to live, work and thrive in Herefordshire, please view our dedicated recruitment website: www.spiritofherefordshire.com. How to apply To apply for this opportunity, please complete the online application form demonstrating your experience, skills and abilities for the role. For more information, please contact Rachael Sanders, Director of Finance (S151 Officer): Rachael.Sanders@herefordshire.gov.uk. Closing date: 26 May 2025