Finance Assistant at Surrey County Council, Woking, Surrey

The starting salary for this position is £16.87 per hour + £2.53 per hour annual leave allowance.

We are excited to be recruiting a new Finance Assistant to join our Children's Finance team based at Victoria Gate in Woking. This role is offered as a bank contract, joining our current pool of bank workers.

Our team offers a flexible, hybrid working style, with a combination of office and home working depending on business needs. We will ensure you receive a full induction and training, with regular guidance, support and performance conversations with your Senior Finance Team Leader. We want you to feel confident and capable in your role.

Our Offer to You

• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Annual leave allowance
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About the Role

The Children's Finance team provides coordinated and comprehensive financial support across the Directorate, in line with Council and Directorate financial procedures. We are a transactional finance team that works collaboratively to deliver a high-quality and efficient finance service. We support the Directorate's budget planning and monitoring activities, helping to enable the delivery of cost-effective services for the communities we support.

We are now offering a great opportunity for people looking to develop their career in a supportive finance environment. If you have excellent customer service skills, strong organisational ability and some experience in administration and finance, we would love to hear from you.

As a Finance Assistant you will join our dedicated Finance Team, supporting the efficient and effective delivery of financial services across Children's Services. Working closely with service managers, social care teams, schools, providers and other partners, you will undertake a wide range of financial and administrative processes. You will provide accurate financial information, guidance and support to colleagues and stakeholders, responding to enquiries promptly and in line with Council financial procedures and statutory requirements.

Your key responsibilities as a Finance Assistant will include:

• Maintaining robust financial processes, adhering to audit standards
• Completing a variety of clerical and transactional duties tasks that are essential to the smooth running of the finance function
• Processing financial transactions and data within agreed timescales
• Assisting with the accountancy cycle, using systems such as EYES, LIFT, Unit4, ContrOCC and Excel
• Responding confidently and accurately to phone and email queries, helping to ensure excellent customer service is delivered to all stakeholders
• Supporting directorates across a wide range of business support functions, including managing calls and emails, attending panel meetings, processing transactional finance invoices, and undertaking a variety of additional responsibilities beyond those outlined in the job description.

Day-to-day activities will vary, so flexibility and responsiveness are key. You will work collaboratively to identify improvements, support consistency across the service and contribute to a high-quality finance support function that helps deliver better outcomes for children and families.

Your Application

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

• Excellent organisational, analytical and administrative ability, with some experience in transactional finance or similar financial processes
• Exceptional attention to detail, to ensure accuracy across all financial data, records, and correspondence
• Strong IT skills, including proficiency in Microsoft applications, with the ability to learn new systems
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills that demonstrate professionalism and diplomacy
• Commitment to high‑quality customer service, supporting a variety of internal and external stakeholders including colleagues, families, and external partners
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a busy team
• Awareness of the importance of confidentiality and data protection, particularly when handling sensitive information related to children and families

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description and our Life at Surrey Handbook to get an insight into working at Surrey.

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 11/10/2026 with interviews planned to follow shortly after.

A Basic DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check (formerly known as CRB) will be required for this role.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation and will move to new authorities in April 2027. This role is currently employed by Surrey County Council and will remain so until then. If you are employed by Surrey County Council on 1 April 2027, your employment will transfer under TUPE arrangements to one of the new councils, with your current terms and conditions protected. The provisional allocation for this post is West Surrey, subject to final confirmation through the wider transition process later this year. Please see more information on our website.

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum shortlisting criteria as displayed on the advert, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we're committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.