The Role

An exciting development opportunity has arisen to appoint a Senior Accountant in Richmond and Wandsworth Council’s central Accountancy Team. This role would suit prospective candidates who are actively studying, part qualified or who may have recently qualified as a CCAB or equivalent accountant, and who have an interest in corporate and technical accounting.

The appointed Senior Accountant will likely start a specialism (and be trained) in capital accounting with other accounting responsibilities where needed. The Senior Accountant for capital co-leads with the Principal Accountant on the production of the Council’s capital programmes, capital strategy and committee reporting, in-year budget monitoring, and submission of government returns.

The Accountancy Team primary task is to close the accounts for both Wandsworth and Richmond Councils, including the production of the Statement of Accounts and leading the relationship with the external auditors. The team also has the day-to-day responsibility for capital as detailed above; the Collection Fund; a large investment portfolio, treasury and cashflow management; banking administration, asset accounting, financial accounting, and VAT. 

As an active member of this technical team, you will have an analytical mind, be a well-developed communicator, be self-motivated and be committed to providing good customer care. We pride ourselves in producing an excellent statement of accounts (and clean audit) each year alongside being a high class technical knowledge hub. This post provides an invaluable opportunity for a talented and ambitious professional to gain experience of working for two Councils, in a single role, within the successful Shared Staffing Arrangement of Richmond and Wandsworth Councils.

The Senior Accountant will work closely with other senior accountants (6 in total), the Principal Accountants and Head of Accountancy in providing high quality technical work all year-round and in the day-to-day development of a multi skilled hub achieved by rotating the specialisms detailed above. The post will also support the Chief Accountant in the continuous improvement of the wider Accountancy and Financial Management Services through project work, and the planning and implementation of quality initiatives.

Although not essential, ideally you will have knowledge of statutory financial reporting requirements and financial regulations combined with some experience of local authority financial or capital accounting.

Our offices are in the Grade II listed building of Wandsworth Town Hall which is centrally located in the heart of vibrant Wandsworth Town. The offices are a 10 minute bus journey from Clapham Junction, or under a 10 minute walk to Wandsworth Town Station where direct trains are 15 minutes to London Waterloo. The Accountancy Service is currently working between home locations and the office.  

If you have any questions or would like to speak to someone about the roles, please contact Lizzie McGrath at Elizabeth.McGrath@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk or Oliver Johnson at Oliver.Johnson@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk.

At Richmond and Wandsworth Councils, we care more about how you work and what you achieve, rather than where you work on any given day. The difference you can make to our local communities is what really matters most to us, service delivery must always come first. We have carefully considered agile ways of working to provide the best experience for residents, stakeholders and our staff. Our agile working strategy actively supports and encourages a dynamic work environment and daily working experience. Agile working helps put the needs of our staff at the centre of everything we do, so if specific flexible working arrangements helps you with this, feel free to let us know.

Your wellbeing and the flexible way in which you can work is and will remain a key priority for Richmond and Wandsworth Councils. We want you to thrive and feel empowered in your work!

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working including, working from home, compressed or part-time hours, term time only, job shares and other arrangements. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore. We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 39 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities.

In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline:

Closing date: Sunday 20^th November 2022 

Interview date: Thursday 24^th November 2022 (at Wandsworth Town Hall - applicants will be informed if they have been shortlisted on 21^st November 2022) 

Useful Information:

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please note that the advertised dates for interviews may change due to the current Covid-19 situation. If they do, we will let you know as soon as possible. Your health and wellbeing is our top priority. Should you become unwell due to Covid-19 during the recruitment process we would very much appreciate receiving an update from you as soon as possible.

We particularly welcome applications from all sections of the community. Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Important Information:

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

 Richmond and Wandsworth Councils 

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils