Service Charge Finance Officer
As a Service Charge Finance Officer, you’ll play a key role in ensuring our service charge budgets, accounts, and reporting are accurate, compliant, and well-managed. You’ll work closely with budget holders and contract managers, providing financial insight, analysis, and support to help us deliver fair, transparent, and high-quality services for our customers. We welcome candidates with all levels of experience—whether you’ve worked directly with service charges or have relevant experience in housing, your skills could be a great fit.
What you’ll be doing
* Supporting budget holders in the annual setting of service charges, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
* Producing annual accounts for both audited and non-audited schemes in line with the group timetable.
* Conducting monthly variance analysis of service charge income and expenditure by scheme, ensuring costs are correctly allocated.
* Regularly meeting with and supporting budget holders and contract managers by providing analysis and scheme performance insights, identifying overspends and financial risks.
* Preparing routine journals to ensure service charge accounts accurately report income, expenditure, assets, and liabilities.
* Using monthly variance analysis to support the production of Directorate Packs, analysing in-month and year-to-date variances, forecasting year-end impacts, and informing future budgets.
* Advising and training budget holders on financial management, service charges, and budget control.
* Providing information for the annual service charge audit, responding to auditor queries to ensure a smooth and compliant audit process.
What you’ll need
* An ability to identify discrepancies, spot patterns, and resolve issues effectively.
* The ability to adapt quickly in a reactive role, handling challenges and changing priorities with confidence.
* An understanding of service charge legislation is beneficial, you will actively stay up to date with relevant changes.
* Exceptional attention to detail, ensuring accuracy in financial reporting and data analysis
* Experience in cross-organisational collaboration, engaging stakeholders effectively.
* Proficiency in data analysis, interpreting financial data to drive informed decisions.
* Strong working knowledge of the full Microsoft Office suite including basic excel skills.
What we need from you
* A commitment to understand the challenges and opportunities that exist in the communities in which we work. We particularly value lived experience in social housing
* A passion to advocate on behalf of people and communities
* A commitment to work in partnership with others for the benefit of Great Places
* To be professional and work with integrity, inclusivity and respect for diversity
* You will be required to attend a number of face to face training sessions as well as virtual sessions and e-learning this part of your role is vital and of equal importance as the day to day aspects
What we give you in return for your hard work and commitment
* Pension ¦ DC scheme (up to 10% contribution from both colleagues and Great Places)
* WPA ¦ Healthcare scheme starts at no contribution level with £1250 of savings available per year (option to increase & add family members)
* Ways of Working¦ We offer some hybrid and flexible working
* Annual leave ¦Start at 26 days annual leave, increasing up to 30 days within 5 years + Bank Holidays
* Reward & Recognition ¦ You Count Rewards are individual reward’s for going ‘above & beyond’
* Professional fees ¦ The business pays the cost of one professional role related membership fee for each colleague
* The Market Place ¦high street, restaurant & supermarket discounts, gym memberships, cycle to work, smart tech loans and much more
* Wage Stream ¦ You can access savings opportunities and early access to wages
* Health and Wellbeing Initiatives ¦ Our colleagues enjoy wellbeing campaigns throughout the year, with activities designed around our four pillars of wellbeing, these include career wellbeing, mental wellbeing, physical wellbeing and financial wellbeing
At Great Places we believe the wellbeing of our colleagues is vital to enable them to deliver to great services, all your benefits can be used inside and outside of work.