Job Description

Finance Team Leader – Transactions

Lead the team that keeps Nottingham's finances moving. Build the foundation for better outcomes.

📍 Nottingham / Hybrid

💰 Salary: £58,602 - £62,109 per annum (pro rata for part time)

🏢 Finance & Resources Directorate

A leadership opportunity at the heart of one of the country's most ambitious finance improvements.

Nottingham City Council has changed significantly in the last twelve months through a programme of modernisation and re-organisation. The new leadership team is revitalising the focus on outcomes and effectiveness whilst building financial sustainability. The Team Lead for Transactions is key to the onward progression and embedding of this change.

At Nottingham City Council, finance isn't just about numbers – it's about making decisions that shape services, support communities, and deliver real change for 331,077 residents. As our Finance Team Leader for Transactions, you'll be at the operational heart of that mission – ensuring the council's financial transactions are accurate, timely, and compliant, so that senior leaders can make informed decisions with confidence.

This is a role for someone who wants to lead a team, drive process improvement, and make a tangible impact on how the council manages its financial operations.

About the Role

You'll manage and continually develop the transactional finance teams responsible for end-to-end processes across the transactional accounting function – including Income and Banking, Procure to Pay, and suspense clearance and reconciliation of relevant control accounts.

You'll ensure the provision of an efficient and fit-for-purpose service which meets the needs of customers and all key performance indicators. You'll be the client lead for East Midlands Shared Services (EMSS) for operational issues relating to in-scope payables and receivables financial transactions in line with the service level agreement.

The reality of the role: The transactions your team processes are the foundation on which everything else is built. The data used by others in Finance – including the Accounting, Strategy and Business Partnering teams – must be reliable. You'll specify and maintain the processes and standards needed to maximise the integrity and accuracy of that data. You'll ensure transactions are completed in line with the month-end timetable and reporting requirements (internal and statutory). And you'll work constructively with EMSS to ensure performance standards are met and any issues or concerns raised by business partners are addressed.

In a council that has set a balanced budget for 2026/27 with a forecast surplus of £1.063m, delivered a £20.4m net underspend in 2025/26, and reduced debt from £827m to £292m in six years, the accuracy and timeliness of transactional data is not a back-office concern – it is essential to maintaining the financial discipline that has restored credibility.

Your Influence and Responsibility

• Team leadership: You'll lead and motivate the transactional finance teams, providing coaching, mentoring, training, and appropriate performance management.
• Operational excellence: You'll ensure transactions are completed in line with month-end timetables and reporting requirements, and that reporting against KPIs and critical success factors is kept up to date.
• Process improvement: You'll identify and implement opportunities to ensure processes are lean and efficient, supporting the finance service to provide an excellent service to the business.
• Compliance and control: You'll ensure financial policies, procedures and controls within your sphere of influence are compliant with all relevant legislation, codes, regulations, guidelines, standards and best practice.
• Partnership working: You'll build and maintain a constructive relationship with EMSS to ensure performance standards are met.

What You'll Lead and Influence

• The day-to-day management and development of the transactional finance teams
• The reliability and accuracy of data used by the wider Finance function
• The month-end timetable and reporting requirements for transactional processes
• Payment collections, reminders, and customer debt collection – carried out ethically in accordance with council policy and applicable legislation
• The development and motivation of a team of finance professionals
• Continuous improvement of end-to-end processes

Who We're Looking For

You're an experienced finance professional who combines operational expertise with the ability to lead, motivate, and develop a team. You thrive on getting things right, you're curious about how processes can be improved, and you understand that accurate transactions are the bedrock of sound financial management.

You'll bring:

• Proven leadership capability – you've built and developed high-performing teams preferably finance transactional services
• Experience of process improvement specifically within organisation-wide Procure to Pay (P2P) and Order to Cash (OTC) or equivalent processes
• Significant experience in transactional services
• CCAB qualified Accountant or equivalent experience at a management level

You'll also bring the behaviours that make a great local government finance leader:

• A methodical, detail-oriented mindset – you take personal pride in the accuracy of financial transactions and the reliability of the data your team produces
• A risk-aware, not risk-averse approach – you instinctively spot financial risks and control weaknesses early, but focus on managing those risks rather than shutting down progress entirely
• The ability to lead under pressure – you remain calm during high-stakes situations like month-end closures or external audits, and you have a natural instinct to mentor and coach those around you
• A pragmatic, innovative approach – you don't rely on "the way things have always been done"; you proactively look for ways to automate, simplify, and optimise transactional processes
• Political astuteness – you understand how transactional finance supports the wider council priorities, and you have the confidence to constructively challenge when required
• A mission-driven, public service orientation – you're genuinely motivated by stewardship and the assurance that every pound of taxpayer money is properly accounted for and maximised to best serve the community

Why Nottingham, Why Now?

Few councils have undergone a change of this scale. Having rebuilt financial resilience and restored confidence, we're now focused on long-term excellence.

Nottingham's financial recovery has been remarkable. In November 2023, the council issued a Section 114 notice. By early 2026, the government confirmed its intention to scale back intervention – acknowledging the significant progress made. The council delivered a £20.4m net underspend in 2025/26, did not require Exceptional Financial Support, and set a balanced budget for 2026/27.

But the next phase requires discipline at every level – including transactions. The council must continue to deliver savings while investing in services. It must manage the financial implications of Local Government Reorganisation – with £28m set aside for preparation costs – while maintaining day-to-day financial control. It must ensure that every pound is directed to where it can make the most difference for Nottingham's residents.

Nottingham is a city of 331,077 residents, with a notably young population – 69.7% aged between 16 and 64. It is the 18th most deprived lower-tier authority out of 296, with life expectancy in the most deprived areas up to 10 years lower than the city average. The council supports 569 children in care, 779 children in need, and around 7,010 individuals in adult social care. These are not abstract figures – they are the reality of the services that depend on the financial transactions your team processes every day.

This is a role for someone who understands that in local government, every payment you process, every account you reconcile, and every control you maintain supports a frontline service.

We offer:

• Local Government Pension Scheme – one of the most generous in the country
• Hybrid working – flexibility to balance office and home
• Flexible working arrangements
• Ongoing learning and development
• A supportive, inclusive culture
• Up to 26 days annual leave, plus bank holidays increasing with time served
• Employee wellbeing support

Our Commitment to Inclusion

We are proud to be an inclusive employer where everyone is valued and respected. We want our workforce to reflect the communities we serve.

We particularly welcome applications from:

• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities
• LGBT+ communities
• Disabled people

♿ Disability Confident Employer – guaranteed interview scheme available- please let us know if you would like to apply under this

🎖️Armed Forces Covenant signatory

Ready to lead the team that keeps Nottingham's finances moving?

If you're an experienced finance professional who thrives on challenge and wants to make a tangible impact, we want to hear from you.

👉 Apply now and shape the future of Nottingham.

For informal enquiries, please contact:

Larry Seymour, Finance Transformation Lead

larry.seymour@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

You can find the job description for this post here.

Shape the future of public finance. Lead here.

At Nottingham City Council we believe that work is what you do, not where you do it. We offer different working arrangements, depending on the role, including hybrid working. Further information on Worker Types and what these mean in terms of how and where you work can be found on the additional information for applicants page.

Closing Date: 8th November 2026

Please note there may be occasions where we close the advert before the closing date and we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Interviews will be held: TBC

If you have any technical issues when completing your application, please contact our Employee Service Centre: https://emss.org.uk/support

By applying to this job, you agree to our Terms & Conditions.

Thank you for your interest in working for Nottingham City Council. As one of the largest employers in Nottingham we offer a wide range of roles across a range of services. In return for your skill, drive and commitment to serving the people of Nottingham, we can help you to develop an exciting and rewarding career, with access to the following benefits.

In addition to working within a great team and a competitive salary you will have access to:

• 26 days annual leave (rising to 33 days after 5 years’ service) + bank holidays with the ability to buy additional leave annually
• Access to a generous, defined benefit pension scheme offering 17.9%
• Smart Working – to support your work life balance
• Health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounted membership at selected local sports and fitness centres, cinema, shopping and much more!

Nottingham City Council is committed to recruiting a talented workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We are a fair, inclusive and Disability Confident Employer, welcoming applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and abilities. We recruit for diversity and value difference.

If you are a disabled candidate and wish to be considered under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this within your application. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and employment journey.

We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and welcome applications from serving personnel, veterans, reservists and military families.

We particularly want to hear from you if you are from Minority Ethnic communities, identify within the LGBTQ+ community, or are disabled. These groups are currently underrepresented in our workforce, and we are committed to better reflecting the communities we serve.

We are supportive of flexible working arrangements wherever possible and encourage candidates to discuss this with us during the recruitment process.