Hours available: Applications for Full time, Part time, and Term time only, will be considered unless specified otherwise.

We currently have Group Accountant vacancies for a motivated qualified or part-qualified accountant to join our Children & Education and our Growth & Regeneration teams.

Group Accountant – Children & Education

The children and education team are looking for a part time Group Accountant supporting schools in the city.

You will be fully or part-qualified CCAB accountant who is looking to become fully qualified. You will be working with schools across the city and helping to manage a budget of over £500 million. Ideally you will have experience of working in schools or with them and an interest in seeing the process from the side of the council.

This is an interesting time to work in education with the most significant changes in a generation being delivered through the government’s education white paper. Working with budget holders within the council and in schools you will lead on forecasting and reporting budgets in-year as well as setting budgets for future years. You will need to be able to work well with non-financial people while presenting constructive challenge to ensure savings and other commitments are delivered. This will be a job share arrangement working with someone who has returned from maternity leave and will be working c. 20 hours a week.

Group Accountant – Growth & Regeneration

An exciting opportunity has emerged for a new Group Accountant role in the Growth & Regeneration Finance Team, supporting the divisions Economy of Place, and Property, Assets & Infrastructure.

This is an interesting and rewarding area to join and an excellent opportunity for a fully qualified CCAB accountant, or a part-qualified candidate who is looking to work towards full qualification.

Economy of Place covers a wide range of council services, from the city’s museums, to regeneration, planning, economic development and climate change. This part of the role will be working closely with managers delivering services to the public, for whom as well as supporting budget monitoring and forecasting, you will be digging deeply into the numbers, analysing trends and drawing conclusions to make recommendations, along with inputting into business cases with a tangible impact on the city. You will need to be able to both get into the detail and see the bigger picture.

Property, Assets & Infrastructure includes the service areas of Corporate Landlord, Waste and Energy. These are service areas in the midst of growth or transformation which provide key functions supporting the rest of the council and the wider city. The initial focus of the role is expected to be for up to two days per week supporting the Waste service, which includes the client function for the council’s waste collection and disposal services; upcoming transformation projects include improvements to recycling, procurement of a new fleet, depot re-organisation and re-contracting for core service provision. This is an excellent opportunity for the postholder to support the council in securing value for money for these services.

For both roles you will be the trusted advisor to senior members of the Council on financial matters. That includes setting annual budgets as well as ensuring short, medium and long term forecasts are robust. You will identify, analyse and report on the financial implications of new initiatives in your area of responsibility. At year end you will support the preparation of annual statements.

To be successful in these roles you will need to build strong relationships with stakeholders in your area and across the Council. That will allow you to challenge and advise. A commitment to continual improvement is key and you will need to consistently offer ideas to improve current practice and find efficiencies. There will be opportunities to work on cross-cutting projects that address issues across the Council.

What do I need to apply?

This role is ideal for a qualified or part-qualified accountant. You will hold a CCAB (or equivalent) qualification or be studying for it, have experience of analysing, interpreting and presenting financial management and establish excellent working relationships with colleagues and customers.

Why Bristol City Council?

We provide hundreds of day-to-day services, from being a landlord, providing social care to running our museums and parks. We deliver a diverse range of services and have ambitious capital and investment programmes for the city and to support people who live, work and visit in Bristol.

At Bristol City Council, we go that extra mile for our people; we offer a work environment which is fast moving and supportive, giving you the chance to use your skills and develop new ones within a high profile organisation.

Join us and you’ll receive a generous rewards package including flexible working arrangements, flexi-time and membership of the Local Government Pension scheme. In addition, you’ll be working in a supportive environment where you’ll have the chance to make Bristol a better place and contribute to its future.

Additional Information

You can find additional information on the specific opportunities we have on the microsite HERE.

If you have any job specific queries then please contact Finance_Recruitment@bristol.gov.uk

How do I apply?

To apply please submit your CV to Finance_Recruitment@bristol.gov.uk This should be no more than two sides of A4, along with a Supporting Statement (with a maximum of 1,000 words) which demonstrates by practical example how you meet the following:

Full or Part CCAB or equivalent qualification. If part qualified you'll need to commit to completing the qualification whilst in the role
Experience of analysing, interpreting and presenting financial management to people who manage budgets
Ability to establish excellent working relationships with colleagues and customers

These roles will be considered on a full time, part time or term time only basis unless specified. Please include your preference in the application.

Please indicate which of the Group Accountant roles you wish to be considered for in particular.

Please note that these roles are subject to a Standard DBS Check.

No agencies please

At Bristol City Council, we value having a workforce as diverse as the City we serve. We therefore welcome, develop and promote people from all sections of the community, and we particularly encourage applicants from women, Black and racially minoritised, Disabled and LGBTQ+ candidates who are currently under-represented within our service area. Appointments will be made on merit.