Senior Accountant

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Job Description

• Suffolk County Council
• Address: Endeavour House, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2BX
  , Hybrid working
• Salary: £48,163 per annum (pro rata for part time)
• Hours: 37 hours per week, Flexible working options available
• Contract: Permanent

At Suffolk County Council
, we're reimagining what local government can achieve. As a Senior Accountant, you'll help us to shape Suffolk's future as we enter this period of change.

We are looking for someone who is innovative with a drive for continuous improvement to help us make the best use of our resources.

If you're ready to make a difference, we can use your skills to help deliver positive change across the communities that the Council serves.

Reimagine the possibilities.

Your role and responsibilities

You will be the Finance lead for the support, maintenance and delivery of the Council's financial systems. Using your skills and expertise, you will develop innovative solutions to problems and processes to ensure the most effective use of these systems, with a strong focus on continuous improvement, automation and increased self-service for users.

You will be responsible for the development, testing and implementation of changes to finance systems, making informed recommendations on how the Council can adopt best practice and use systems efficiently. In doing so, you will help the Finance team provide high-quality data to the Council and its partners, utilising and contributing to the development of reporting tools.

You will lead on the management and provision of expert advice in relation to the financial system, applying highly specialised knowledge to develop and implement procedures and controls that mitigate risk and provide the Council with robust, timely and reliable information. You will also act as the escalation point for staff requiring advice and assistance with complex financial systems issues.

The role involves close liaison with other departments on the implementation of projects that impact finance, including responsibility for user acceptance testing and formal sign-off. You will operate within established guidelines and practices, though not always rigidly following set procedures, and will be expected to use your judgement and initiative to make recommendations that support strategic decision‑making.

As a key senior member of the Council's Finance team, you will be prepared to work flexibly across a range of financial accounting and reporting responsibilities to support the delivery of wider team objectives. You will also provide support to the implementation of Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution as required.

What you will need

• CCAB (e.g. CIPFA, ACCA) or CIMA qualified.
• a broad base of financial experience and knowledge, preferably gained from a public sector background.
• to work well as part of a team, mentor and manage staff as required.
• to competently represent the Chief Financial Officer as required.
• to be trustworthy, diligent and motivated, and able to work without close supervision.
• to be adaptable to meet changing requirements and needs.

You can view a full list of requirements in the Job and Person Profile (Word), which you can find in the '

How to apply

' section towards the bottom of this advert.

If you believe you can succeed in this role, apply. Even if you don't meet all requirements, still apply. We would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

The team

This role sits within the Corporate Finance team, a team of twelve responsible for delivering a wide range of effective financial management and reporting activities across the Council.

The postholder will have direct line management responsibility for a member of the team and will play an active role in mentoring and developing staff within Finance and more widely across the Council, particularly as new processes and service changes are implemented. The role reports to the Lead Accountant (Systems, Training & Transformation).

Working closely and collaboratively with colleagues across the wider Finance team is a key part of the role, supporting the achievement of shared…