Job Description

Joining us, you get to work for not just one high performing London Borough, but two.

Sutton and Kingston councils have a number of shared services serving both authorities, with some teams and roles more focussed on one Council than the other, but the majority are shared across both, meaning you get multiple opportunities to learn from a wider pool of activities and two different political bodies.

We work flexibly in both Sutton and Kingston offices, and support working at home or flexible working patterns that enable you to tailor your working and personal life. We provide the equipment and tools to enable you to work flexibly, and in return ask you to use that flexibility to be creative and ambitious in the services we deliver.

There are some really exciting things happening in both Sutton and Kingston. We are developing the London Cancer Hub, a world leading cancer research and treatment hub that will bring together professionals from across different sectors to identify and test new treatments and therapies. We are undertaking the largest housing regeneration programme ever delivered in Kingston, building new energy efficient housing that will transform some of our oldest Council owned housing. Both boroughs have publicly committed to doing what they can to tackle the climate emergency and are investing in new technologies and societal change that will help bring carbon emissions down and improve our climate impact.

You should choose Sutton and Kingston if you are looking for an opportunity that will challenge you to deliver more, support you to achieve personal ambitions, and expect you to put borough residents at the heart of what you do.

Sutton is a well connected attractive part of London that has a reputation for excellent schools, green and leafy open spaces, and a history that drives a thriving heritage and culture offer through our museums and libraries. The Council is controlled by a long established Liberal Democrat Administration and has high ambitions set out in its corporate plan \xe2\x80\x9cAmbitious for Sutton\xe2\x80\x9d, that will ensure Sutton remains a great place to live, work and raise a family. The Council plays a leading role in a number of local partnerships and places great emphasis on engaging effectively with its residents, listening to local voices and making their message heard across London Government.

Kingston is a beautiful Royal borough with a historic setting on the banks of the Thames with excellent schools and a bustling retail centre, all surrounded by open green spaces such as Richmond Park and Bushey Park, former recreation grounds for Tudor Kings and Queens. The Council is controlled by a Liberal Democrat Administration and has a council plan \xe2\x80\x9cGreener, Fairer, Safer, Together\xe2\x80\x9d, that sets out a vision to be a vibrant, diverse and inclusive borough where residents are active, empowered, engaged and able to remain independent and resilient. The Council engages with residents through a number of forums and events through the year, and like Sutton plays a leading role in developing the South West Region of London.

About the Role

The purpose of the job is to provide support to the Financial Reporting & Control Managers across both Sutton and Kingston Councils. This involves assisting with all financial reporting and control requirements.

The successful candidate will be involved with:

• Helping the Financial Reporting and Control Managers to produce the Statement of Accounts and assist with answering subsequent audit queries. For example, taking responsibility for certain Notes to the statements, such as: Debtors and Creditors, External Audit Fees, Officer Remuneration, Provisions etc....
• Producing high quality working papers for the above and working across other teams to bring the accounts together.
• Navigating Unit 4 Business World (the ledger) for information and extracting reports from the finance system
• Effective in-year monitoring, such as helping with balance sheet monitoring, reserves monitoring and maintaining the grants register.
• Compiling government returns such as the QRO, RO, WGA returns.

There is opportunity to get involved with a range of different tasks in the Financial Reporting and Control team and this will provide an excellent learning environment for the successful candidate, helping them to really understand how a Finance department functions.

You will be required to be in the office at least twice a week (but there is some flexibility to this rule and it is possible to discuss other hybrid arrangements).

About Us

The Shared Finance Service (SFS) across Kingston and Sutton Councils aims to add value by harnessing the shared benefits of collaborative working across the two London Boroughs. Many Councils do the same things differently whereas the Shared Finance Service aims to do the same things similarly. Pooling expertise, a shared approach, helps to deliver savings and improve outcomes. The Financial Reporting and Control team aims to produce accurate, concise, timely information in line with internal and external deadlines, regulations and accounting standards, aided by a strong set of internal controls. The SFS works to the values of Sutton Council, with the acronym PRIDE - people focused, responsible, innovative, diverse and enterprising; and also to the values of Kingston Council, with the acronym STAR - Supportive, Transparent, Appreciative and Respectful.

About You

In summary, you will need to have excellent data analysis and numeracy skills, coupled with a methodical, proactive and problem-solving mindset. Excellent communication skills are also required to discuss and present financial matters to a range of audiences internally. The ability to be flexible is a must, along with being able to manage multiple priorities. Automation is always sought where effective to do so and hence an innovative mindset is encouraged. The postholder must have the ability to develop strong working relationships with a range of stakeholders.

Essential Knowledge and/or Experience

• Experience of providing a high quality finance service in a large organisation
• Experience of working in a customer-focused environment and achieving successful outcomes in the delivery of services that meet customer needs
• Proven experience of using IT in a business environment, including, Google applications, Word, Powerpoint and software packages to record and manipulate data.

Desirable Knowledge and Experience

• Studying towards relevant professional qualification (e.g. AAT, CIPFA, CIMA, etc) or demonstrable equivalent experience of operating at that level.
• Knowledge & experience of closing the financial accounts, including liaison with Internal and External Auditors or setting a financial strategy for a large Local Authority
• Experience of leading or providing financial support to change programmes and business improvement initiatives.

Our Offer To You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we\'re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We\'re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across - however big or small - will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Flexi-time (Please note, this applies to roles at grades 1-9 only)
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Car parking scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Application Process

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Additional Information

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve - the key highlights from our recent Equalities Workforce Report can be seen We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. As part of our Disability Confident Committed status, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the for right to work guidance.

Sutton Council