Summary: The Finance Manager role is a short-term contract position based in Chester, focused on providing business partnering support to the Education and Inclusion service within a Local Authority. The successful candidate will leverage their experience in education finance to manage financial activities, support budget processes for schools, and drive service improvement initiatives. This position requires immediate engagement and strategic financial oversight to ensure effective resource management and collaboration across services.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage a specialised area of activity and lead new initiatives to evaluate costs, benefits, and risks.
• Act as the lead finance service contact for special projects, safeguarding the Council’s interests.
• Provide independent analysis of financial and performance information to identify inefficiencies and improve service delivery.
• Interpret and report financial information to senior managers and stakeholders to support informed decision-making.
• Develop innovative business management approaches to enhance performance levels.
• Assess strategic and financial risks and advise officers and Members accordingly.
• Ensure business information requirements are met in management information systems.
• Promote collaborative working with corporate services and external organisations to address shared issues.

Key Skills:

• Experience in finance management within a Local Authority, specifically in education/schools and DSG.
• Strong analytical skills for financial and performance information interpretation.
• Ability to develop and implement innovative business management strategies.
• Excellent communication skills for reporting to senior management and stakeholders.
• Experience in risk assessment and management.
• Collaborative working skills with various corporate and external partners.

Salary (Rate): £30

City: Chester

Country: United Kingdom

Working Arrangements: on-site

IR35 Status: inside IR35

Seniority Level: Mid-Level

Industry: Finance