Head of Finance - Business Partnering

Permanent

Grade 7 - £66,627 - £85,845 Consultation grade - subject to formal evaluation under the Pay Equity Review

Working 36.5 hours per week

Sponsorship is not available for this post. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK that does not require employer sponsorship for the duration of the appointment.

Lead Strategic Financial Decision-Making at Birmingham City Council

Are you an experienced finance leader who can combine strategic insight with strong commercial acumen? Birmingham City Council is seeking three exceptional Heads of Finance – Business Partnering to play a pivotal role in supporting senior leaders, driving financial sustainability and shaping the future of services for Birmingham's residents.

As a key member of the Finance leadership team, you will act as the senior finance representative for designated directorates, providing expert financial advice, challenge and support across revenue, capital and balance sheet management. You will lead high-performing teams, influence strategic decision-making and help deliver the Council's ambitious transformation agenda.

The Opportunities

We are recruiting to three distinct portfolios, each offering the opportunity to shape services that have a direct impact on Birmingham's residents, communities and future growth:

Children and Young People

Providing strategic financial leadership across one of the Council's most significant service areas, including:

Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) funding and financial sustainability.
Oversight of the Birmingham Children's Trust contractual arrangements.
Long-term financial support for schools and Schools Financial Services.
Supporting improved outcomes for children, young people and families across the city.

Place, Prosperity and Sustainability

Supporting the delivery of Birmingham's growth and regeneration ambitions, including:

International and domestic investment programmes.
Economic development and inclusive growth initiatives.
Transport, connectivity and infrastructure investment.
Planning, property and place-shaping services that support the city's future prosperity.

City Housing

Providing financial leadership across critical housing services, including:

Homelessness prevention and housing solutions.
Rough sleeping services and support programmes.
The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and long-term housing investment.
Supporting the delivery of safe, sustainable and affordable housing services.

About you

We're looking for an accomplished finance professional who can operate confidently at a senior leadership level and influence decision-making across a large and complex organisation.

What you'll be doing

Acting as the senior finance lead and trusted adviser to Directorate leadership teams, supporting strategic and operational decision-making.
Leading financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, monitoring and year-end reporting across complex service areas.
Driving financial sustainability through robust financial management, savings delivery and commercial insight.
Providing leadership on major transformation programmes, business cases and investment decisions.
Supporting the Section 151 Officer and Finance Leadership Team in delivering corporate financial objectives.
Building strong relationships with Members, senior stakeholders, partners and external organisations.
Leading, developing and motivating finance professionals to deliver excellent services and continuous improvement.

You will bring:

CCAB (or equivalent) professional accountancy qualification.
Significant experience leading finance teams within a large, complex organisation.
A strong track record of providing strategic financial advice to senior leaders and stakeholders.
Excellent financial planning, budget management and business partnering expertise.
Experience developing business cases, financial models and supporting major transformation programmes.
Strong commercial awareness with the ability to identify opportunities, efficiencies and innovative funding solutions.
Knowledge of the local government financial, statutory and political environment, or the ability to quickly apply relevant experience from a similarly complex sector.

Why join us?

Take on a senior leadership role at one of the largest local authorities in Europe.
Influence decisions that affect over one million residents and the future of Birmingham.
Lead financial strategy across high-profile, complex and politically significant services.
Work closely with senior leaders, elected members, government bodies and strategic partners.
Drive transformation, innovation and service improvement at scale.
Develop your career within a large, ambitious and evolving Finance Directorate.
Help build a financially sustainable council that delivers better outcomes for Birmingham's communities.

Shape Birmingham's Future

Whether your expertise lies in children's services, economic growth and regeneration, or housing and homelessness, these roles offer a unique opportunity to provide strategic financial leadership at the heart of one of the UK's most important cities. Join us and help shape the future of Birmingham.

Please upload your up-to-date CV via the attachments part of your application, this is required for shortlisting. Unfortunately, we cannot consider any applications without a CV attached

We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the communities we serve. Our data tells us that for this level of role, ethnic minorities are underrepresented and therefore we will use positive action to support us to achieve diverse shortlists. This may mean that recruitment times are a little longer, but we think this is worth it to achieve our aim.

Birmingham City Council is an accredited Disability Confident Leader employer, and we are committed to employing, retaining and developing all of our people.

We want to ensure your recruitment journey with us is a positive and equitable one, so please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments, additional support, accessibility needs, or if there is any way in which we can support you through your application.

For any informal enquires please contact: Resourcing@birmingham.gov.uk

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be undertaken.

Proof of Right to work in the UK will be required for all applicants in accordance with UK Home Office requirements, before any employment offer can be confirmed.

Job Description and Person Specification - Head of Finance - Business Partner - JD (2).docx

This is an exciting time to join Birmingham City Council. To learn more about the Finance Directorate, our transformation journey and the impact you could make, please see our Senior finance recruitment pack 2.pdf