Senior Accountant

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Role:

Salary: Band 10 £45,948 - £50,109

The role is agile based between home and Forth Banks Police Station in Newcastle City Centre

Hours/Contract: 12 month fixed term / secondment starting January 2025, full time working 37 hours per week

Working for #TeamNP

Our purpose at Team NP is simple: to keep people safe and to fight crime. But it takes more than officers alone to do the job - and that's where our 2,000-strong team of police staff and 200 volunteers come in.

As one of the largest police forces in England we have a huge variety of departments and specialisms offering you endless opportunities. From mentoring and coaching schemes and online soft skills courses to leadership development programmes; we'll give you the support, training and time to carve out the career you always wanted.

As one of the top 50 UK inclusive employers and a disability confident employer, we promote a culture of respect in the workplace so everyone can feel seen, heard and valued. Whether you're a member of staff or a volunteer, you can also expect first-rate support to manage your health and wellbeing. With year-round events, a 24/7 welfare support hotline and a leading approach to neurodiversity, our initiatives enable you to be at your best.

Above all else, here at Team NP, we can offer you a career that is so much more than just a job, it's a chance to be part of something that really matters.

Learn about our full benefits package

The role

Here at Northumbria Police, we think our region is amazing! It takes a great deal of people from different backgrounds, with diverse skills and experience to serve our force area effectively, think you have what it takes to help us make a difference? This could be the perfect time for you to join us in our Finance Department as a Senior Accountant.

If you're an experienced qualified accountant and you're looking for a role where your skills can really make a difference to more than just the bottom line, this could be the job for you.

We are looking to recruit into a Senior Accountant role to cover a vacancy within the Finance Department. This is an exciting opportunity to join our existing team of finance professionals, gain knowledge and exposure to a wide range of finance and accountancy areas within a dynamic public sector organisation.

As a Senior Accountant with Northumbria Police your role will involve working and supervising the team to provide high quality, comprehensive financial service that meets customer requirements and enables the Force to achieve its strategic objectives. This exciting opportunity will allow you to play a key part in supporting our Officers and Staff across a number of business areas and you will ensure the delivery of an efficient and effective strategic accounting service to all stakeholders.

You will be involved in balance sheet reconciliation, supporting internal and external audit processes, and oversight of the Accounts Payable Accounts Receivable and Finance Systems functions. You will also be responsible for the submission of the monthly VAT returns and managing the debt position of the organisation.

A team player with excellent communication and engagement skills with colleagues and customers at all levels, you must also have experience of management accountancy attending regular meetings with budget/stakeholders to provide advice and discuss performance.

What you'll do

• Provide support to the Finance Lead to ensure the delivery of a responsive, effective and accurate financial management service across the Force, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and identified partnerships.
• Advise senior managers to support decision-making and strategic planning.
• Maintain professional knowledge and ensure compliance with Home Office and CIPFA Codes of Practice.
• Oversee VAT return processes, including compliance checks, balance sheet reconciliations, and amendments as needed.
• Manage daily operations of the Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Financial System Teams.
• Supervise processes for providing advances for out-of-pocket expenses, oversee online expense claims, and calculate allowances for overseas operational visits.
• Control key financial functions, including finance systems, accounts payable, and accounts receivable.
• Produce management reports relating to the organisations debt position and provide KPIs on debt reduction performance.
• Manage Finance Systems change processes, ensuring upgrades and fixes are thoroughly tested before implementation in the Live environment.

Sound interesting? For further information, and to support your application, please view the job description

What you'll bring

• Hold a professional finance qualification - CCAB, CIMA or overseas equivalent with significant post qualification experience in a large complex organisation.
• Theoretical and practical knowledge of financial planning and budget management.
• Strong communication skills, both verbally and written.
• Ability to plan effectively; to manage the delivery of assigned tasks and objectives, setting appropriate deadlines.
• Experience of effectively managing a team.
• Technically competent in the use of Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Experience of using finance IT systems.

We know it's important for you to feel that you're not only part of a great team, but part of a community. We welcome applications from suitably qualified people from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

Harnessing these differences creates a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, and their talents are fully utilised. Appointments are based on merit alone.

Interested to learn more? For further information about the role please contact Laura Burbridge, Finance Lead - Corporate Finance and Governance by email on laura.burbridge@northumbria.police.uk

What we offer

• 26 days' leave (increasing to 30 days for 5 years+ service) plus 8 bank holidays
• NHS Fleet Solutions Car Lease Scheme
• Enhanced maternity, shared parental and adoption leave
• Flexi time - allowing you to fit your working hours around your individual needs
• Flexible working (we are happy to discuss options such as compressed hours)
• Agile working - option to work from home, your team zone, and spaces across the force
• Fantastic market-leading public sector pension scheme with up to 16% employer contribution
• Corporate travel schemes - local rail, bus services and metro discounts
• Access to private healthcare and eye test vouchers
• Discounts on shopping and eating out thanks to the Blue Light Card and Blue Light Tickets
• We've invested in extensive paid sick leave, trained mental health first aiders on-site, an employee advice service for the times you need that additional support
• Access to gyms in some stations
• Sports & Social Club - join our thriving sports scene at Team NP and enjoy further exclusive discounts on days out and travel
• Cycle to work scheme

Just so you know

Our application form will help us understand how your work, education and life experience has prepared you for the role of a Senior Accountant with #TeamNP. To help support your application research what makes us tick here at Northumbria, the role you're applying for and the values and behaviours that contribute.

The recruitment process will consist of the initial application form followed by an assessment and interview. Just so you know, you can save your application and come back to it any time prior to the closing date on the advert.

We are proud members of the Business Disability Forum, with whom we collaborate with to improve the lives of disabled employees. We are also a Disability Confident Employer, therefore if you demonstrate that you meet the minimum criteria for this role as stated in the advert, we will progress your application and offer you an interview.

If you tell us that you have a disability, we can make adjustments to support you through the recruitment process (for example we can arrange extra time for tests or provide a sign language interpreter) You can get in touch with us via careers@northumbria.police.uk for any support regarding the application process.

Please provide us with plenty of notice so we can ensure your visit goes smoothly. If your application is successful, we'll ask you to complete a Management Clearance (MC) and Security Clearance (SC) form, therefore you must be a resident of the UK for a minimum period of 5 years to ensure vetting checks can be successfully performed. A job offer will be dependent upon vetting clearance and medical information.

Terms of appointment

This is a fixed term / secondment role subject to a six-month probationary period.

If you are successful in your application, you will have a 6month probation period with us where you will be unable to apply for any other post advertised internally or externally.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.