Head of Finance - Place

Salary: £64,844 - £68,987 per annum

Hours per week: 37 hours

Interview date: To be confirmed following shortlisting

Do you thrive on solving complex challenges, influencing strategic decisions, and driving organisational change? As Head of Finance – Place, you will provide strategic leadership to a high-performing finance business partnering team, helping shape services, deliver value for money, and support the Council's long-term financial sustainability.

This is a highly visible management accounting role, focused on financial planning, business partnering, transformation, and decision support rather than statutory financial accounting. You will lead and develop the Place Finance team, overseeing recruitment, performance management, and professional development, while playing a key role as a member of both the Finance Senior Leadership Team and the Place Services Senior Management Team.

Working closely with senior leaders, Members, HR, and external partners, you will provide strategic financial advice, challenge, and insight on complex business cases, major programmes, and high-value procurement activity. As the lead Finance Business Partner for Place, you will support large-scale projects including depot strategy development, major contract procurements and mobilisations, and other transformational initiatives.

You will champion continuous improvement across the finance service, leading change projects, driving efficiencies, delivering training, and supporting the implementation of innovative systems and processes, including the rollout of a new Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) system. You will also lead on establishment control and workforce financial planning, working collaboratively with HR to develop position-level budgeting and reporting.

Leading the financial planning process for a portfolio exceeding £100m, you will oversee in-year budgeting and forecasting, provide reporting and commentary to senior managers and Cabinet, and play a pivotal role in the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), assessing demand and inflation pressures, identifying savings opportunities, and developing income and fees-and-charges proposals to support sustainable service delivery. 

This is an opportunity to make a significant impact, influencing strategic decisions, leading organisational change, and helping secure the Council's long-term financial sustainability. If you're ready to lead and make a difference, we'd love to hear from you.

Contact Details

Sarah Higgins, Director of Finance and Procurement [email protected] 

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Application Criteria

Please download and read the role description and person specification carefully before you apply

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We are firmly committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and to the principles of inclusion and diversity in both employment and the delivery of services. 

Statement of commitment to equality and inclusion

Disability Confident Employer

Application process

Wiltshire Council does not accept unsolicited CVs or candidate details from recruitment agencies that are not appointed under a current, valid contract or approved supplier arrangement (including through our neutral vendor, Comensura).

Submission of unsolicited CVs or candidate details to the Council, whether directly or to individual employees, will not be considered as an introduction and will not create any obligation on the Council to pay any fees. If a candidate whose details have been submitted speculatively is subsequently appointed through a compliant route, no agency fee will be payable in respect of the unsolicited submission.

Agencies wishing to work with the Council must do so only via our approved procurement processes and neutral vendor arrangements.