Job Description

How you'll make a difference:

As an Accountant, you will be responsible for providing a range of strategic advice and operational financial support. Working as part of the Finance Management Accounts Team, you will help to ensure the council manages its resources effectively and efficiently by offering financial advice specifically for internal functions including HR, ITD, Property, Legal and Finance.
What you will be doing:
You will monitor and assess financial management accounts and ensure funding resources are used to maximum efficiency, expenditure and that budgets are in line. Daily, you will provide all aspects of financial support and management with complex revenue, capital and organisational accounting, in line with the council's corporate priorities. Quarterly, you will take ownership of and collate the initial draft of the departmental financial position using both Excel and our FPA tool. Acting as a point of contact for financial support, advice and guidance, you will support the development and production of the annual budget, medium term financial plan and statement of accounts. Supporting projects, you will determine shape and implement service strategy and contribute to council-wide strategy, identifying opportunities for innovation and be aware of current trends.

What we need from you:
We require you to be AAT qualified with relevant professional accountancy work experience, however it is desirable that you to hold a recognised CCAB qualification, preferably CIPFA. You will have considerable post qualification experience covering the key financial processes of the capital programme or treasury management, borrowing, lending and banking function. Given the elements of the role, you must be able to analyse complex data and provide solutions and recommendations to achieve appropriate outcomes and communicate this effectively at all levels. You need to be able to deliver a quality and cost-effective financial service, with the skills to build relationships and engage successfully with customers and teams. You will have strong knowledge in Excel and be comfortable working with Power Query and other GTL tools. It is essential that you have knowledge of current local government finance systems and changes, ideally in Dynamics 365 and Civica Financials.

What you need to know:
This is a Limited Term Contract / Secondment opportunity until 31/03/2025. We offer Hybrid working, meaning that you can work remotely or in our offices. Interviews are to be held week commencing 18th August 2025.

How a career at South Gloucestershire Council is different:
We know our team work best when they have balance in their lives and we offer genuine flexibility to help them achieve that work/life balance. We value our staff as individuals, investing in their careers and we are recognised for the quality, breadth and depth of our

training and development

offer, which helps make the greatest long-term difference in work. We recognise that our

diverse team

of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.


Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here.

We're building and shaping communities which people are proud of. We're working with the most vulnerable in our community to help them achieve what they want in life. We're investing in our schools to ensure every child and young person in South Gloucestershire achieves their full potential.

We've achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference.

We're making a difference, be part of it!

To view the full job description, please click this link: Accountant job description