Interim Children's Social Care Accountant

Job Opportunity – Interim Children's Social Care Accountant – North West England

A local authority client of mine is currently seeking an Interim Children's Social Care Accountant to join their Finance team on an initial contract basis. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced local government finance professional to provide financial support and business partnering across Children's Services.

Job Title: Interim Children's Social Care Accountant

Location: North West England

Contract Duration: 6-12 Months

Rate: DOE

IR35 Status: Inside IR35

Working Arrangement: Hybrid working available, with attendance on-site required for key meetings

Days: 5 Days Per Week

Start Date: ASAP

Key Responsibilities

• Financial Management & Reporting

• Providing financial support to Children's Social Care budgets, including Looked After Children, Placements, Safeguarding and Early Help services.
• Supporting budget monitoring processes and producing monthly budget reports.
• Identifying financial risks, pressures and opportunities and reporting findings to senior stakeholders.
• Assisting with year-end accounts, accruals and financial statements.
• Supporting the completion of budget forecasts and medium-term financial planning activities.
• Analysing expenditure trends and investigating significant budget variances.

• Business Partnering

• Acting as a trusted finance business partner to Children's Services budget holders and senior managers.
• Providing robust financial advice to support operational decision-making.
• Challenging and supporting service managers on budget forecasts and spending decisions.
• Attending departmental meetings and presenting financial information to non-finance stakeholders.
• Supporting savings initiatives and transformation projects across Children's Services.

• Financial Analysis

• Reviewing high-cost placement expenditure and identifying cost drivers.
• Producing financial models and scenario analysis to support service planning.
• Analysing large datasets relating to placements, staffing and service demand.
• Ensuring financial information is accurate, timely and compliant with local authority regulations.

Candidate Requirements:

• Must have specific local authority experience working in children’s social care finance.
• Do not necessarily need to be a fully qualified accountant for this position.

The client will be interviewing throughout next week therefore if you match the above criteria and are interested then please don't hesitate to reach out and send your CV or call me on (phone number removed).