Systems and Finance Officer WCC615708

Job Details:

Salary range: £40,005 - £43,824 per annum
Work location: Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London W8 7NX
Hours per week: 36
Contract type: Permanent 
Closing date: 4 August 2024
Interview date: 15 August 2024 
Contact details for an Informal Discussion: Mandy Goodall, Practice Manager MANDY.GOODALL@RBKC.GOV.UK

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE CARRICK YARD INVESTMENT 

The Finance Team in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories, where we go above and beyond for our residents – in all sorts of pioneering ways. Our work has the ability to have profound impact on residents’ lives. By being smart and courageous with the council’s finances we can achieve more for our residents. 

Take the Carrick Yard housing development in Luton Street. When a big international building firm couldn’t find a sales partner, we stepped in to create a joint venture partnership and underwrite any unsold units to protect our investment. Then when we felt a big banking partner would be overcharging the venture for financing the development, we decided to finance it ourselves. The result? 171 homes are now under construction, leading the redevelopment of the Church Street area, whilst the council is projecting a potential return on investment of almost 14% – far in excess of anything that can be achieved on cash deposits in current market conditions. 

And why does this success matter? Because it allows us to invest even more in public services that are the lifeblood of our communities. 

Please view the extraordinary story of the Carrick Yard Investment here.

The Role:

As a Finance and Systems Officer working across Westminster and our neighbouring borough of Kensington & Chelsea, you can make your own powerful contribution to local communities. 

Reporting to our Legal Services Practice Manager, you’ll maintain close management of our legal finances and so play a vital role is making us a stronger, more effective council. 

This is a great opportunity to develop your financial skills in a business environment, collating and interpreting the information that informs key decision-making by our Legal Management Team. Tasks can range from billing, reconciliation and time recording across our legal services ‘trading accounts to producing reports or implementing financial controls – anything that improves the control and smooth running of our finances. 

You’ll be free to create your own ways of working and there are plenty of opportunities to learn on the job, pick up new skills and develop your current skillset. You’ll need to build strong working relationships with our clients and suppliers, and work closely with our fee earners to ensure they can use our case management system properly. 

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

You’ll bring a sound understanding of corporate finances and systems, as well as a working knowledge of legal case management systems and their purpose in a legal trading account. Excellent IT literacy is important, including a good knowledge of Excel. 

You should also have some experience in running reports from a case management system for internal and external clients, and know how to liaise with clients and meet demands for budget and finance information from the legal service. You’ll be a team-player and a problem-solver with a positive can-do attitude. Strong communication skills are vital.

The ideal candidate should illustrate the points indicated in the Experience and Skills sections of the job description.  

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. 

Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties

As a forward thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.

The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application , we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.