Job Description

Senior Business Analyst

Permanent - Hybrid Working

Grade D - £45,091 – £53,460

Consultation grade - subject to formal evaluation under the Pay Equity Review

Working 36.5 hours per week

Birmingham City Council has faced unprecedented challenges in recent years in addition to being Europe’s largest local authority. However, the Council is now on stable financial footing and about to embark on a programme of change. This includes a reconfigured ERP system and the recruitment of talented finance professionals to build a leading Finance service to drive forward the Council’s priorities to deliver high quality services to residents.

Birmingham City Council are looking to appoint a number of Finance Senior Business Analysts on a permanent basis to fill vacancies across the Finance Team. The Finance Team consists of circa 240 staff with varying roles supporting our key services of Children Services, Adult and Health Services, City Operations, City Housing and Central Services, as well as Corporate Finance Teams supporting the budget setting and final accounts processes.

The Finance Senior Business Analyst role offers an excellent opportunity to develop your career and gain experience in our Finance Business Partnering or Corporate Finance Teams.

Finance Business Partnering is at the heart of our approach to financial management, and is the collaboration between our finance teams, operational services and external partners.

Corporate Finance will need to oversee these large-scale changes whilst ensuring the overall sound financial management and governance of the Council’s finances through statutory budget setting, closing of accounts, facilitating a sound external audit and maintaining relationships with a range of stakeholders including Members.

As a Senior Business Analyst, you will undertake general accounting duties within the Finance team, provide budgetary support to Budget Holders, support and guidance to Finance colleagues, and contribute to the delivery of the Council’s annual Statement of Accounts to a high quality and in accordance with the statutory requirements and deadlines. You will ensure the relevant accounting systems and records support the production and reporting of accurate and timely financial accounting information.

Tasks will include:

• Posting monthly journals
• Preparing month end reconciliations
• Preparing budget monitoring reports and meeting with budget holders
• Preparing statutory reports to reconciliation stage, including the Quarterly Revenue Outturn report, and the annual Revenue Outturn and Revenue Analysis reports
• Advising project teams and colleagues on process changes through testing
• Reviewing and administering material transactions such as pensions payments
• Liaising with Finance Business Partners to oversee the timely completion of statutory returns and critical information for budget setting
• Supporting the accounting and analysis of the Collection Fund
• Acting as a first line of support to finance and non-finance colleagues to support the timing closing of accounts and publication of statutory Statement of Accounts

Please upload an up-to-date CV and Supporting Statement via the attachments part of your application. The Supporting Statement should outline how you meet the criteria for the role through your personal qualities, skills and experience and include your motivation for applying to the post. Note the Personal Statement should be no more than 1500 words. Unfortunately, we cannot consider any applications without a CV and Personal Statement attached

You will report to a Finance Manager and will be supporting that Finance Manager to provide robust and regular forecasts of outturn, future budget requirements for the relevant service groupings or Corporate Leadership Team and Cabinet, support closedown activities, and carry out ad hoc financial analysis and modelling work

Birmingham City Council is an accredited Disability Confident Leader employer, and we are committed to employing, retaining and developing all of our people.

We want to ensure your recruitment journey with us is a positive and equitable one, so please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments, additional support, accessibility needs, or if there is any way in which we can support you through your application.

For any informal enquires please contact: Resourcing@birmingham.gov.uk

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be undertaken.

Proof of Right to work in the UK will be required for all applicants in accordance with UK Home Office requirements, before any employment offer can be confirmed.

Birmingham City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our citizens and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. You can view our Corporate Safeguarding Policy | Birmingham City Council here.

and Person Specification

We are a disability confident employer and we encourage applicants with disabilities to apply. We also welcome applications from people with caring responsibilities and flexible working options will be considered.

Proof of Right to work in the UK will be required for all applicants in accordance with UK Home Office requirements, before any employment offer can be confirmed. Non-UK applicants (excluding Ireland) may need to apply for a visa from the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and may require a Certificate of Sponsorship from Birmingham City Council for a skilled worker visa (if the job is eligible).