Job title: Finance Assistant

Salary: B3 £26,403 - £28,142 (pay award pending)

Hours: 37 per week

Contract: Permanent

Location: York Road Depot, 225a York Road, LS9 7QQ

An opportunity has arisen for a Finance Assistant to join our Fleet Services team based at Leeds City Council’s York Road Depot (Leeds 9).

As Finance Assistant your role will provide the service with comprehensive financial administration to support business needs.

Fleet Services are responsible for the essential maintenance and repair of the corporate vehicle fleet, which is currently made up of over 1,200 vehicles. Based at Torre Road Depot (Leeds 9), this role will join our small but busy service to support the whole authority.

The post holder will provide routine financial support such as responding to queries from non finance staff; colleagues within the service and across other partner services, will assist with financial reconciliation, raise orders and process payments. In addition the post holder will assist with the preparation of financial information and support the processing of virements, internal recharges, journals and other financial transactions. The role also assists with banking, reconciliation of payments and monitoring of specific budgets. Strong digital skills are needed, especially in the use of excel.

Being professional, friendly, helpful with an eye for detail are essential to be successful in this role.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you

As our Finance Assistant you will bring to the role:

Good communicator, both verbally and in writing
Methodical approach to work tasks
Skills to develop robust processes for all administrative tasks
Strong numeracy and organisational skills

About the role

This key role is integral to the work of Fleet Services in relation to ensuring the corporate mixed fleet of over 1,200 vehicles is well maintained and working in line with agreed standards. This post will play a part in ensuring that all finances processes are undertaken to keep the corporate fleet moving and operational.

You should have a methodical and organised approach to work and be able to use your own initiative to problem-solve and meet deadlines. You should take pride in your work and always strive to deliver high quality standards.

Applicants should hold:

English and Mathematics GCSE at grade C or above.

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply

Apply for this job online. Please complete the online application form and upload your CV.

Read our guidance for further advice. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application.

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job Purpose: Working as part of a team providing comprehensive financial administration support to Fleet Services.

Responsibilities for Grade:

Respond to routine financial queries from non-finance staff in relation to their use of the financial management system.
Assist with the reconciliation of financial information held to other financial systems.
Raising ad-hoc orders for the financial management system.
Assist the manager in the preparation of financial information.
Support the processing of virements and internal recharges, journals and other financial transactions.
Explaining financial matters or to provide basic training to financial and other staff, using well developed communication skills to undertake this clearly and understandably.
Assist the manager in monitoring specific budgets and the provision and collation of information contributing to revenue and capital budget reporting.
Assist the manager with annual financial processes including the preparation of budgets and year end accounts.
Assist in the banking and reconciliation of manual payments.
Improve own practice through observation, evaluation, discussion with colleagues and development programmes.
To work collaboratively with colleagues, knowing when to seek help and advice.
Contribute to the overall ethos, work, and aims of the service by attending relevant meetings, training days/events as requested.
Become a Quality, Environmental and Health & Safety Assessor and undertake audits as requested.
Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures e.g. child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person
Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding and promoting the values, standards and equal opportunities of Leeds City Council.
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment or victimisation and any form of abuse of equal opportunities, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and procedures.
The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol, and this role will be expected to work within these parameters.
The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.

Qualifications

Educated to a minimum of GCSE level including English and Mathematics at grade C or above.

Essential requirements: Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that

they meet all the following essential requirements.

Good communication skills, both verbal and written
Good IT skills including the use of Microsoft office applications, particularly Excel and the use a computerised financial ledger
Sound numeracy skills and the ability to work with large data sets
Good interpersonal skills
Experience and approaches to effectively work within tight deadlines
Knowledge of Financial Regulations and Contract Standing Orders
Flexible approach to work demands and team-working
Ability to respond independently to unexpected problems and situation, and organise your own workload, deciding when and how to carry out the work for which you are responsible.
Working knowledge of accountancy in a financial service background including budget planning, monitoring and closure of accounts
Experience of the annual financial cycle
Experience of maintaining good working relationships in the delivery of financial services
Understanding of employees’ responsibility for health and safety.

Essential behavioural and other characteristics

Understand and embrace Leeds City Council values and behaviours and codes of conduct
Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Leeds Ambitions of health and wellbeing, inclusive growth, thriving strong communities, and a resilient sustainable city
Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council policies and procedures
Carry out duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Participate in appraisal, training and development activities to ensure up, to date knowledge and skills
Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding equality and diversity of Leeds City Council
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person
Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters

Desirable requirements: Candidates are not required to meet all the following desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between candidates.

Experience of working in a transport environment