About Us

Here at West Sussex County Council (WSCC) we have a new opportunity for a Deputy Chief Financial Officer to join us at a challenging but exciting time. Increasing demographic pressures, continuing challenges to provide residents and communities with greater levels of choice and control over services, and the tighter financial constraints placed on the authority mean that the Council needs to continually review the way it operates. Working with elected Members, the leadership team has set out a clear vision of how we will continue to deliver for our residents over the next five years.

The plan we have will provide the vision and direction, as well as the framework for our organisation and our collective partnership working across West Sussex. It is now our job, with our Members, to deliver on these commitments for and on behalf of our residents. Working for us is all about making a positive difference to the people of West Sussex.

You will play a pivotal role of delivering improvements as part of our ongoing journey and supporting the WSCC Reset Plan which helps focus how we spend funds and ensuring that services are improved where they are needed. You will lead the finance team in this journey and have a real position of influence and you will have the chance to shape our new ERP system.

To find out more about our services and what we do please visit our WSCC website.

The plan we have will provide the vision and direction, as well as the framework for our organisation and our collective partnership working across West Sussex. It is now our job, with our Members, to deliver on these commitments for and on behalf of our residents. Working for us is all about making a positive difference to the people of West Sussex.

You will play a pivotal role of delivering improvements as part of our ongoing journey and supporting the WSCC Reset Plan which helps focus how we spend funds and ensuring that services are improved where they are needed. You will lead the finance team in this journey and have a real position of influence and you will have the chance to shape our new ERP system.

To find out more about our services and what we do please visit our WSCC website.

As Deputy Chief Financial Officer and the Council’s Deputy Section 151 Officer, you will lead a professional and proactive finance team delivering effective financial services to the Council. Your remit will cover developing and implementing a medium-term financial strategy ensuring the delivery of services to residents are sustainable. You will lead the strategic financial planning function, a team of finance business partners and the financial reporting function.

In addition you will lead in the provision of financial and commercial advice for the design and implementation of future services and major projects. As part of this you will play a key part in the implementation of the new ERP system. We are looking for someone striving to develop their skills and experience for the potential to progress to the Director of Finance role in the future.

Experience and Skills

You will be able to demonstrate the relevant skills and experience appropriate for this role and you will be someone that provides strong, visible, and collective leadership for colleagues and partners across the Council which inspires people and drives the delivery of the Council’s strategic objectives. You will ideally have experience of working in a similar role in a unitary authority or a county council environment.

You will bring a proactive and innovative approach to influencing, negotiating and working with partners and key stakeholders internally and externally to achieve outcomes within a complex operating environment. In addition you will be able to demonstrate the following skills and experience:

Key Skills:

1. Successful experience of identifying, leading and developing a range of commercially focused service delivery models including partnering, outsourcing and other commercial solutions in a comparable environment.
2. Extensive prior experience of leading a finance team or an affiliated discipline in a large organisation, translating business strategy into effective operational plans.
3. Significant understanding of business principles, economic drivers and sound commercial skills with demonstrable evidence of their application through the development and implementation of business cases to deliver service transformation and major capital investment.

Qualifications and/or experience:

• CCAB or CIMA qualified accountant with full membership of the specified accountancy body.
• Knowledge and experience of Local Government finance frameworks.
• Broad knowledge of public sector services, the macro social and economic context within which local authorities work and the implications of this for delivery of County Council’s aims.

Rewards and Benefits

In addition to 30 days annual leave and a generous pension scheme as an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CRS00461.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Daisy Doyle (Senior Resourcing Advisor) at daisy.doyle@westsussex.gov.uk.

To apply, please click below

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. 

West Sussex County Council is an equal opportunities employer committed to promoting an environment that is inclusive and free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of its people. We actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and take every possible step to ensure that no individual will be disadvantaged.

For information regarding your eligibility to apply for this role under our Disability or Veteran’s Guaranteed Interview Scheme, this can be found on our application help page.  

Note for Recruitment Agencies:  We prefer to hire people directly, but we do have a supplier list for when we need a helping hand. We'll be in touch directly if we need you!