The Role

Our Graduate Trainee Accountant roles are a great way to kickstart your career.  This isn’t any Trainee role; you’ll be working for the unique shared staffing arrangement of two London boroughs.

You will study to become a Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) qualified accountant with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). The CIPFA Professional Accountancy Qualification (PAQ) training takes two to three years to complete, and you will be fully supported through a levy-funded apprenticeship to become a qualified CIPFA Member. CIPFA is a Level 7 Apprenticeship (equivalent to a master’s degree) and is the professional body for people in public finance.

Our Graduate Trainee Accountants undertake a series of work placements on rotation in relevant sections of the finance teams, with a planned programme of work that takes into account CIPFA and the apprenticeship’s requirements relating to each stage of the professional qualification.

Our roles enable you to study, train and gain broad professional exposure to launch your public finance management career and be the future of public finance.

This is a scheme for graduates who are driven to lead and succeed, who are not afraid of taking on new challenges, and who have a genuine desire to make a difference to communities. To qualify for the scheme, you must have:

•          Minimum 2:1 degree in any subject (expected or achieved)

•          GCSE Maths and English or equivalent (Level 4 or above)

•          Excellent communication and presentation skills

•          Strong numeracy and computer literacy

•          Willingness to study for a professional qualification while working full time

Please note: our graduate roles are politically restricted under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. We are therefore unable to accept applications from candidates currently involved with political activity, both during and outside of election periods.

Information

Our Graduate Trainee Accountants are rotated on a six-monthly basis across up to six different placements within the Council’s Resources Directorate reporting to the Head of Service for each section. The placements offer insights into each team’s purpose and function and the opportunity to gain the skills, knowledge and experience to meet the attributes required by CIPFA and to become a highly sought-after qualified accountant

Work based placement opportunities include Accountancy – Financial Accounts, Accountancy – Capital, Financial Control, Fraud & Internal Audit, Transactional Services, Treasury

Working in each section will give you the opportunity to identify potential future career paths that suit your skills and interests and to develop positive working relationships with team members and Heads of Service for each section. There are no specific permanent roles that are ring fenced for graduating Trainee Accountants, but opportunities continuously arise and excellent candidates that are successfully progressing through the CIPFA qualification are encouraged to apply. 

The Organisation

Our workforce from the Chief Executive down is shared across the two separate Councils of Richmond and Wandsworth under a Shared Staffing Arrangement (SSA). Both Councils have a strong track record of delivering high quality services at low cost, with high levels of resident satisfaction.

You will be working in the Resources department at a unique organisation that focuses on creative service design and new ways of working in a positive and supportive working culture. We work together across services and Borough boundaries to deliver vital public services that serves the distinct and diverse populations of each Borough.

The Resources department is a workforce of 1,200 staff delivering services and financial support and advice to the 7,500 SSA staff who provide services to the 136,000 Wandsworth residents and 89,000 Richmond residents.

The work we do is varied and different jobs require different skills, but whatever your role your work will be influenced by our commitment to our values and behaviours:

Being open – We share views openly, honestly and in a thoughtful way. We encourage new ideas and ways of doing things. We appreciate and listen to feedback from each other.

Being supportive - We drive the success of the organisation by making sure that our colleagues are successful. We encourage others and take account of the challenges they face. We help each other to do our jobs.

Being positive and helpful - We keep our goals in mind and look for ways to achieve them. We listen constructively and help others see opportunities and the way forward. We have a ‘can do’ attitude and are continuously looking for ways to help each other improve.

At Wandsworth: You could be involved in the financing arrangements for Nine Elms on the South Bank – this is Central London’s newest district on the banks of the Thames, and includes an extension to London Undergrounds Northern Line, a new US Embassy, New Covent Garden Market and Battersea Power Station redevelopment. Utilising multi million-pound developer contributions for the regeneration and provision of infrastructure of central London’s last remaining industrial district.

At Richmond:  You could be involved in the financing arrangements for the redevelopment of Twickenham Riverside, a large site due for redevelopment connecting the town centre to the riverbank or administering Village Planning fund finances delivering improvements into to the Borough’s town and village centres.

Relevant Links:

https://richmond.gov.uk/

https://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/

https://www.ccab.org.uk/

https://www.cipfa.org/

https://www.cipfa.org/qualifications/professional-accountancy-qualification

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 hours 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 18^th September 2022

Shortlisting Date: W/C Monday 19^th September 2022

Interview Date: W/C Monday 26^th September 2022

Useful Information:

All internal applicants for this secondment must seek permission from their current line manager before applying. Failure to do so may result in the secondment not being authorised.

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.

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.

The application process for this campaign will be anonymised.

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