Job info	Job info details
Job title	Director of Finance
Strategic team/Directorate	Finance
Responsible to (day to day issues)	Chief Executive
Accountable to (line manager)	Chief Executive
Salary grade	£110,000 to £114,999

1. Key purpose of job

• To provide Strategic leadership and management across the Finance Directorate, leading the Council’s future financial and budgetary strategies; ensuring that creative and innovative solutions are deployed to improve the use of resources and achieve value for money across the Council.
• To fulfil the role of statutory Chief Financial Officer of the Council, in accordance with s.151 Local Government Act 1972, ensuring robust arrangements for the proper administration of the Council’s financial affairs are in operation and comply with all relevant legal, professional and regulatory standards.
• As a Member of the Senior Leadership Team this role takes collective and shared responsibility for the effective leadership and corporate management of the Council’s services and delivery of improved outcomes.
• To positively promote and represent the Council, supporting the Chief Executive and other senior leaders to manage the Council – driving performance, effectiveness, and efficiency.

2. Anticipated outcomes of post

• To develop and lead the Council’s future financial and budgetary strategies in an integrated manner, aligned to the Council’s Community and Corporate plan and strategies, ensuring the short-term achievability, affordability and cost effectiveness of the Council’s overall revenue budget and capital programme as well as ensuring its medium and long term stability and sustainability.
• To be the Council’s lead financial advisor and ensure provision of timely and pragmatic financial advice which is solutions driven and incorporates a thorough understanding and assessment of risk.
• The provision of clear professional advice, support and critical challenge to enable the strategic development of a more commercial focus across the Council.
• Ensuring that the Council’s interests are protected in companies over which the Council has a controlling or shareholding interest, through appropriate corporate governance arrangements.
• The role will identify opportunities to deliver the Council’s strategic agenda and find means of realising the full value of those opportunities through direct action, securing the necessary resources, adapting policy, commissioning, and community and partner action.
• The Director will play a lead role, with the Chief Executive, in ensuring that the Council is an active partner in the Southwest, and will be engaged in all initiatives and opportunities that emerge from regional and national collaboration.
• As a Senior Leader in the Council, the role will support the continued improvement of our cultural aspirations, role modelling and embedding our values, driving engagement and innovation, and promoting diversity and inclusion.
• Providing support for the Chief Executive in providing strategic advice to Members and ensuring the efficient and effective Finance Directorate operations of the Council.

3. List key duties and accountabilities of the post

Leadership

• To contribute towards the corporate management and leadership of the Council as a member of the Senior Leadership Team, actively understanding the challenges and proactively and effectively support colleagues in ensuring policy objectives are achieved and services planned, commissioned and delivered in an effective and efficient way.
• To ensure delivery of the Council’s budget priorities and the effective use of the Council’s resources.
• To act as lead Director on corporate areas of activity, policy and organisational development as required.
• Contribution to a high performance culture by providing strong and motivational leadership to drive continuous improvement and efficiency savings.
• To develop a culture of collaborative working relationships with partners and communities to ensure the effective delivery of services and management of resources.

Strategic

• Provide strategic leadership of the Council’s financial position, in collaboration with Senior Leadership Team colleagues.
• To be the Council’s lead financial advisor and ensure the provision of timely and pragmatic financial advice which is solutions driven and incorporates a thorough understanding and assessment of risk.
• Provide strategic leadership to ensure the development, design and delivery of a robust procurement strategy, ensuring that this enables the achievement of the Council’s priorities, robust commissioning and contract management arrangements.
• Lead conceptualisation and delivery of the strategic vision as it relates to the future of Torbay, creating and delivering strategic and effective regeneration programmes to drive progress.
• Embed appropriate governance, programme management and stewardship for delivery of services in the Directorate and capital programmes.
• Ensure partnerships are created, developed and maintained across Torbay, regionally and nationally in order to generate resources and opportunities.
• Build a cohesive management team and Directorate that supports and delivers the Council’s Community and Corporate Plan.

Service

• Provide clear leadership and management direction to achieve the efficient and effective operational delivery within services in the Directorate including:
  • Ultimate accountability for the finance function; budgeting, treasury and investments, financial analysis, VAT, external finance and funding, audit, etc
  • Procurement, Commissioning and Contract Management Team
  • Integrated Debt Recovery function
  • Tax collection function
• Provide guidance and support to Elected Members to help them translate their political priorities into initiatives that deliver the intended outcomes for residents.
• Develop comprehensive service plans for each area that will underpin and support the achievement of the Corporate Plan, with appropriate governance procedures, clear objectives and performance monitoring.
• Deliver excellent client, management and contract oversight of all external service providers, ensuring delivery standards are met.
• Actively engaging with all parts of the community – individuals, community groups, businesses, and public sector partners in ensuring the delivery of services in the Directorate.
• As an Employee of Torbay Council all roles are expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures. The Designated Senior Lead for Safeguarding is the Chief Executive and Director of Children’s Services.

4. Budgetary/Financial Responsibilities of the post

• Oversight of the whole of the Council’s annual gross income and expenditure of circa £500m.
• Oversight of the Council’s investment portfolio approx. £200m
• Management of the Council’s £400m borrowing portfolio.

5. Supervision/Line Management Responsibilities of the post

Direct reports

• Deputy Head of Finance
• Head of Procurement
• Finance Manager – Systems
• Finance Manager – Technical & Budgets
• Finance Manager – Debt and Collection Fund
• Finance Manager – Subsidiary Companies

Supervisory reports

• Devon Audit Partnership
• Personal Assistant

6. Working environment and conditions of the post

• Office based with flexibility for homeworking on a hybrid basis
• Occasional weekend and evening work is required

7. Physical demands of the post

• Normal physical effort

9. Key contacts and relationships

External

Central Government, other Local Authorities, other public sector organisations, the Council’s auditors, borrowing and investment counterparties, private and voluntary organisations and employers, community and voluntary sector.

Internal

Chief Executive / Senior Leadership Team, Leader of the Council and Executive Members, senior staff across the Council, Trades Unions, and employees at all levels across the Council.

10. Other duties

To undertake additional duties as required, commensurate with the level of the job.

Other Information

N/A

Person Specification

Note for Candidate

All Candidates

The supporting statement on your application form will be used to assess ability to meet the essential requirements of the role, so you should explain how you meet each of the numbered essential requirements within your supporting statement. In a competitive situation, the desirable criteria may be taken into consideration, so you are encouraged to show how you also meet each of the desirable criteria.

Candidates who consider that they have a disability

Reasonable adjustments will be made to the job, job requirements or recruitment process for candidates with a disability.

If you consider yourself to have a disability you should indicate this on your application form, providing any information you would like us to take into account with regard to your disability in order to offer a fair selection interview.

Where ever possible and reasonable we will make adjustments and offer alternatives to help you through the application and selection process.

If you have indicated that you have a disability on your application form you will be guaranteed an interview if you clearly demonstrate in your supporting evidence how you broadly meet the essential requirements of the role.

Job info	Job info details
Job Title	Director of Finance
Strategic team/Directorate	Finance

Skills and effectiveness

Essential skills and effectiveness

• Demonstrable financial management skills, implementing strategies and processes to ensure that budgets and financial targets are met.
• Excellent leadership skills, able to provide clarity to teams on the vision and purpose of their work.
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to interpret and deploy complex data and translate complex information.
• Strong track record of building and nurturing productive working relationships, able to influence at the most senior levels both inside and outside the Council.
• Ability to provide insight and strategic understanding around the current and future landscape that aids understanding across the organisation.
• Highly effective communication skills, able to influence others with impact and professional credibility.
• Ability to work with and manage demands of elected members and their priorities.
• Ability to deliver creative and innovative solutions to improve the use of resources and achieve value for money across the Council.
• Commercially aware, with an understanding of how to maximise opportunities for growth and investment.
• Experience of managing and improving processes and frameworks within a complex work environment.
• Experience of building high performing teams and providing inspirational leadership to the wider organisation that drives a high performance culture.
• As this post meets the requirements of the Immigration Act 2016 (part 7), the ability to converse at ease with

Desirable skills and effectiveness

• Demonstrable experience of undertaking a similar role in the public sector.
• Experience of working with Elected Members and of dealing with politically sensitive issues

Knowledge

Essential knowledge

• Significant knowledge and understanding of the current legislation relating to Local Authority Accounting.
• Demonstrable and significant knowledge and understanding of local government finance systems
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of the current Local Government landscape and the challenges facing Local Authorities.

Desirable knowledge

• Understanding of the wider social and economic environment within Torbay.

Experience and achievements

Essential experience and achievements

• Proven and significant experience of annual closure of accounts in a large organisation.
• Proven experience of delivering complex annual budgets.
• Highly motivated senior leader, able to act as a role model to team members and peers.
• An inspiring leader, able to engage team members to deliver exceptional performance in a challenging environment.
• An inspiring leader, able to engage partners and communities for the benefit of the Council.
• Adaptable and flexible to meet a variety of challenges.
• Innovative, change champion, who is happy to challenge the status quo.
• A passionate role model of the values of the Council.

Desirable experience and achievements

N/A

Qualifications/professional memberships

Essential qualifications/professional memberships

• Fully qualified CCAB accountant and a member of one of the major accounting bodies.
• A relevant qualification to degree level (or equivalent).
• Commitment to continued personal and professional development.

Desirable qualifications/professional memberships

• Project Management
• Professional management qualification.

Other requirements

Other requirements of the job role

• Demonstrates a commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people
• Ability to travel efficiently around the Bay/South West/UK in order to carry out duties
• Ability to accommodate unsociable hours
• Ability to accommodate on-call working
• Ability to accommodate occasional/permanent home-working