What is the job role?
Are you passionate about public service? Coventry is forward-thinking and a community-focused City, and we are looking for experienced finance professionals with the technical skills and enthusiasm to take lead roles in our Finance Team.
There are two roles available, the first in our Major Projects Team and the second in our Children’s & Education Services Team.
As a Lead Accountant, you will:
1. Act as a primary financial business link with service leads and provide strategic financial support and advice to enable effective financial planning and management. You collaborate with your service area and the wider Council to explore challenges and identify opportunities, create initiatives that will financially benefit the Council and become a proactive and supportive financial advisor.
2. Support the strategic vision of the One Coventry Plan, through reviewing new proposals and undertaking formal investment appraisals to assess the financial viability of future projects and initiatives.
3. Contribute to the financial management and provision of advice to large projects from both a capital and revenue perspective to support the city’s transformational ambitions.
4. Lead the production of management reports driven by the Annual Financial Cycle, including budget monitoring, final accounts and budget setting whilst ensuring these meet professional standards.
5. In addition, you will be providing expert financial guidance for several strategic initiatives and programme boards.
All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for a fully qualified Chartered Accountant (CCAB or CIMA) with experience of working in a challenging financial environment who can:
6. Work strategically with various stakeholders including directors, service managers, auditors, and external partners to build, maintain and promote effective working relationships.
7. Work effectively under pressure including meeting unpredictable deadlines and dealing with conflicting demands.
8. Develop and interpret complex financial models to inform financial analysis and subsequently present a compelling rationale for the recommended options in the form of reports and presentations.
9. Promote value for money and efficiency throughout all areas of the Council’s operation and to look for commercial opportunities and innovation both in the operation of the finance function and in the activities of relevant service areas / projects.
We value and respect the diversity of our team and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects our diverse communities. Currently, within our middle-management team, people from minority ethnic backgrounds are under-represented, and as a result, we would like to encourage people from minority ethnic backgrounds to apply for this post.
We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process, including the consideration of reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability or who are neurodiverse.
If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our to see how we can assist you.
Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:
10. Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
11. Are currently in care or have previously been in care
12. If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition
For full details on the application process, please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'. If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.
Interview dates: 22nd-23rd October
About Coventry
Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.
We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.
At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.
To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.