Service Director Finance

**Salary**:
**Salary**: £63,510 - £78,827 per annum, plus £10k p.a. Statutory Officer Allowance

**Hours**:
37 hours per week, with some requirement to work evening meetings

**Contract**:
Permanent

**Location**:
Castle House, Newcastle-under-Lyme

**About the job**:
Lead the Financial Future of Newcastle-under-Lyme, a borough with bold ambitions. We’re driving forward an exciting transformation—investing in regeneration, unlocking potential, and building a thriving, sustainable future for our communities. Now, we're seeking a visionary and collaborative finance leader to play a pivotal role in shaping that future.

You will have:

- As our Section 151 Officer and Service Director of Finance, you will be more than a financial steward—you’ll be a strategic partner, innovator, and catalyst for change.
- You’ll lead our finance service, ensure robust governance, and help translate bold political vision into financial reality. From shaping medium-term financial planning to ensuring service excellence and value for money, your impact will ripple across every part of the council’s work.
- Provide expert leadership on all financial matters and statutory S151 responsibilities
- Drive innovation in budgeting, financial strategy, and resource management
- Collaborate with elected members and senior leaders to deliver on priorities
- Champion performance, modernisation, and service improvement
- Be a trusted advisor and dynamic change-maker

**Requirements**:
You’re an inspirational qualified finance professional (CIPFA, ACA, ACCA or equivalent) with a proven track record of strategic leadership in local government or similarly complex settings. You combine robust financial acumen with a flair for collaboration and communication. If you see possibility where others see challenge—and you’re ready to make a lasting difference—this is your stage.

**Why work for us?**:
We’re proud of our history and excited for our future. Join a team that’s ambitious, inclusive, and determined to deliver better outcomes for our residents. In return, we offer a supportive and forward-thinking environment where your ideas are valued, and your career can flourish. Ready to shape a borough that’s going places?

Newcastle-under-Lyme is a borough with big ambitions. We’ve already started our transformation, however, we still need to find better ways of doing things because we are determined to do the very best we can for our communities.

If our vision is to be the best, then we need the best people working for us. Our people are at the heart of what we do and have the freedom to innovate, grow and develop. We recruit people who share our vision and values; people who have the drive to deliver our ambitious Council plan.

Our historic Borough is a place of marked contrasts. We are the home of a world class University at Keele, a leading light known internationally for its research and sustainability record, which stands side by side with former mining communities including some which register amongst the most deprived areas in the country. Our Borough is also a mixture of urban centres, affected by some of the same social issues facing our neighbouring city, Stoke-on-Trent, but also outstanding rural landscapes in our less populated villages. Our plans and priorities aim to address the needs of all our communities.

**Our People Offer**:
We reward our people with a competitive range of benefits including; access to the local government pension scheme, minimum 24 days annual leave plus 5 extra days after 5 years' service, flexible working options and family friendly policies, local and national high street discounts, free car parking, wellbeing support including £12.50 per month Jubilee2 membership, green travel scheme including cycle to work and electric car salary sacrifice, free employee 24 hour employee assistance and counselling services, flu vaccination service and health checks plus development and training opportunities.

**Contact**:
**Closing date**:
Sunday 17 August 2025

**Interview dates**:
First stage interviews to be held week commencing 1 September 2025. Final interviews to be held week commencing 15 September.

Shortlisted applicants will be contacted within two weeks of the closing date.
- Read through the job description and person specification.
- Review our values and behaviours.
- If you have a CV you can cut and paste information easily into the form.
- If you are interested in more than one role, you will need to submit a separate form for each job.