Senior Finance Assistant (2 Posts)

Salary details: £ - £

Senior Finance Assistant (Grade 8)
2 Posts: 1 Full Time, Permanent, 1 Part-Time (18.5 hours), Permanent.

Exchequer Financial Services controls the council’s main income and expenditure streams and acts as a key internal control.  The Exchequer section includes transactional functions such as childcare provider agreements and payments, supplier payments, banking, debt recovery, purchasing and financial processing. 

We are looking for a highly motivated, efficient individual with experience of working in a fast-paced financial and administrative environment.  Candidates will have excellent ICT skills and the proven ability to use their initiative and judgement to resolve problems. 
The role provides a varied and challenging opportunity to work across the county with early years providers and parents on issues relating to the government’s free entitlement funding. 

The successful candidate will need to be forward thinking and creative and work in collaboration with a range of internal and external partners, including schools and private and voluntary sector early year’s education providers, parents and carers.  

The post is based at County Hall, Matlock but, due to current restrictions, and in anticipation of possible future working practices, postholders will be required to work flexibly which may involve working from home as well as in the office, dependent of the needs of the service.

What will I be doing?

•    Contributing to the successful delivery of monthly payments of Early Years Funding to providers including the recovery of any over payments.
•    Contributing to the effective management of the Early Years Funding Contract, ensuring that it reflects statutory guidance provided by Government and local authority financial regulations.
•    Supporting the Finance Officer in the continual development and successful completion of funding compliance checks with providers.
•    Delivering training and support on the Early Years Funding Portal for both maintained and non-maintained settings.
•    Producing regular updates for Early Years providers, including bulletins, emails and social media on finance-related matters.
•    Working collaboratively with Children’s Services to ensure successful return of Early Years Census data

Skills and experience we are looking for:

•    Considerable experience of working within a specialist finance area and producing accurate financial information 
•    Working in a customer focused environment
•    Working with computerised financial systems, including Microsoft packages
•    Working in a fast-paced, pressurised environment
•    Experience of meeting performance targets and deadlines
•    Excellent numeracy, literacy and accuracy skills
•    Excellent communication skills to include verbal, written and listening skills
•    Excellent knowledge of IT systems
•    Use initiative to resolve outstanding issues
•    Knowledge and understanding of the operating environment, technical financial processes and systems 
•    Analytical and problem solving skills
•    Part AAT Qualified or equivalent Level 3 qualification in finance related field and/or equivalent substantial experience.

What we can offer:
•    Local Government Pension Scheme
•    Generous annual leave and flexi time scheme
•    Discount on leisure centre memberships
•    Free eye tests for employees who regularly use a computer
•    Supportive management and team
•    Training and development opportunities to help you achieve your goals

If you require any further information or an informal chat please contact;

karen.bowling@derbyshire.gov.uk – 01629 539483
adam.addis@derbyshire.gov.uk – 01629 536410

Provisional Interview Date: week commencing 13th October 2025

Apply now and take the first step towards a fulfilling career with us! By joining Derbyshire County Council you will have access to a range of amazing rewards and employee benefits, including our generous annual leave scheme, excellent local government pension and fantastic employee discounts. To discover more detail about the rewards and benefits available to you, click here

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Important: Derbyshire County Council holds a sponsorship licence, but this role does not offer visa sponsorship. Please apply only if you already have the right to work in the UK without sponsorship, as applications that do not meet this requirement will be rejected.

We welcome applications from individuals who share our values — being Collaborative, Innovative, Empowered and Accountable. These values describe who we are and what we stand for as a council. They help shape our culture, encourage consistent behaviour and guide how we work together to make a positive difference for both our employees and the residents we serve.