Finance Manager | Pensions

Description

Salary: £47,665 - £53,051 per annum | Permanent, Full Time 37 hours per week | Preston/Hybrid

Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

We are seeking a qualified accountant (or equivalent experience) to lead on the provision of high-quality financial services to the Lancashire County Pension Fund.

Lancashire County Pension Fund is the 5th largest of the 86 Local Government Pension Funds in England & Wales. The Fund has assets valued at over £12 billion and provides a pension fund to more than 205,000 scheme members.

This role is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to broaden their experience within a large and complex public-sector organisation.

The Pension Fund provides a pension service to over 350 employers across the county. The Pension Fund will remain unchanged regardless as to any future decision relating to Local Government Reorganisation within Lancashire giving stability to the team and this post.

Based within the Lancashire County Pension Fund Team, you will lead the day-to-day financial operations of the Fund whilst also being responsible for the production of the year-end financial statements of the Fund and respond in a timely manner to audit queries. You will report directly to the Head of the Pension Fund and work closely with a wide range of external stakeholders, including:

• Local Pensions Partnership Investments (pooled investment company)
• Local Pensions Partnership Administration (pensions administration services)
• Local authorities, banking institutions, and the Pension Fund's custodian
• Pension fund employers
• External auditors
• Specialist advisers and service providers

You will play an important role in ensuring the effective flow of financial information, maintaining strong financial controls, and supporting accurate and timely financial reporting.

The position requires strong skills in Microsoft Excel and ledger systems. The Fund relies on an internally developed Pensions Contributions Remittance System (PCR), used to collect membership data and contributions from employers.

• Preparation of monthly and quarterly posting of Oracle journals
• Detailed and regular reconciliation of key items of Fund income and expenditure
• Production of the budget monitoring report and analysing variances.
• leading on the production and publication of the Statement of Accounts.
• Maintenance of Fund Oracle chart of accounts
• Production of cash flow statements
• Respond independently to queries often from outside bodies

• is a qualified accountant e.g. CIPFA, ACCA or equivalent experience
• At least 2 years' experience working as an accountant
• experience of using accounting and finance systems.
• experience using Microsoft packages, including excel with use of formula

• We offer flexible working opportunities.
• Great annual leave entitlement of 26 days per financial year, which increases with length of service. 2 additional days leave are provided the Christmas / New Year period
• As an employee of Lancashire County Council, you will be enrolled into the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) from your first day of employment, giving you access to a high-quality, defined-benefit pension scheme
• Great career development opportunity

For more information about this post or for an informal discussion, please contact Pete George, Head of Pension Fund on

Please ensure you have uploaded and attached your supporting statement to evidence how you meet the criteria outlined in the person specification for this role. The panel may be unable to shortlist you for interview without this evidence.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications.

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