Finance Officer

**About The Role**:
Are you seeking an accountancy role with a difference? Join Dorset Council’s finance team, and you’ll become a valued and supported member of our team.

We are seeking an individual to work closely with our maintained Schools and Children’s Services colleagues, providing outstanding financial support, to make sure every child in Dorset thrives. You will be working in partnership with the wider schools finance team to support maintained schools with all areas of their finances and funding.

**What you can expect to be doing**:

- Deal with maintained schools queries relating to funding, VAT returns and banking services and offer advice and guidance or obtain a suitable response.
- Reconcile and allocate grant funding to schools
- Assist with processing termly Special Educational Needs top-up payments to maintained schools and academies
- Publish a monthly newsletter confirming when reports are available and summarising the main developments affecting school reports
- Monthly cash advances to fully cash funded schools
- Produce and distribute monthly financial reports to schools
- Provide Bankline administration to allow Schools to view bank statements online
- Provide financial advice on funding arrangements for schools, including the impact of Government and Local Authority policy.
- Provide advice and guidance on the production and interpretation of financial reports
- Supporting the wider Children’s finance team in budget monitoring and budget building activities
- Assisting in closing down the accounts for maintained schools at year end
- Any other duties or activities required to support maintained schools and the Dorset Council finance team.

There are significant challenges currently facing schools within the county of Dorset and this role will help to support them with tasks such as budget setting, VAT returns and funding challenges. This post will also help in supporting Corporate Directors, Heads of Service, Senior Managers and Budget Holders in the preparation, building, setting, monitoring and management of their budgets, in addition to the ongoing business transformation programme that is being undertaken.

The post holder will be expected to develop solid working relationships with maintained schools, assisting them with funding enquiries and ensuring that grants are allocated to them accurately and in a timely manner. Routine tasks will also include processing of SEN top-ups and payments to schools as well as assisting and supporting the accountants and/or Senior Accountant with budget preparation, budget monitoring, the preparation and processing of journals and virements, inputting into the preparation of government returns and grant claims, and the closure of the accounts.

The work of the post holder is seen as a vital role in delivering an improved financial advice and management service to all managers in the Directorate, which means a good proportion of time spent working within the Directorate and less time based in the accountancy office.

**About you**:
The post holder will have membership of, and be working towards a qualification from the Association of Accounting Technicians (or equivalent qualification), and can demonstrate the following:

- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Ability to work with conflicting demands, priorities and timescales. You will need to be robust
- Excellent numeracy and literacy skills
- A commitment to CPD
- Ability to present information clearly and concisely
- Ability to communicate financial matters clearly and effectively to operational managers and other interested parties

Dorset Council are committed to growing and developing colleagues. In this role, if required, the post holder will be supported throughout their AAT qualification journey.

**Further Information**:
This vacancy is being advertised internally to:

- our employees
- agency workers currently working for us
- casual workers currently working for us
- Employees working within a school are not considered internal applicants.

We use generic job descriptions and person specifications. This means the job title on any attachments may differ from the job title in the advert. We may provide specific information in a context statement if relevant.

Find out more about how to apply.

**About Us**:
Dorset Council: A great place to work

We’re passionate about making Dorset a great place to live, work and visit. Working for us should be no exception.

At Dorset Council we:

- provide more than 450 services to over 300,000 residents
- have ambitious aspirations
- are excited about our future
- care about Dorset and all the people who live here
- know that all roles make a difference and that our employees are key to our success

You will:

- have access to a range of employee benefits
- be part of an organisation that supports each other to grow and succeed
- have access to range of training opportunities which will help with your personal development and career progr