Senior Accountant - Finance Business Partner

"YOU COULD MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE"

Primary Work Location: Wyong NSW 

• Join a team of experts to provide financial partnering services to Council's Executive and Leadership team
• Work/Life Balance - 9 day fortnight with flexible/hybrid working arrangements available
• Permanent Full Time

Central Coast Council is committed to the goals of equal opportunity employment. We aim to provide a work environment for our employees that fosters equity, diversity and respect.

Council is committed to providing safe environments that protect the physical, emotional, cultural and social wellbeing of children on the Central Coast.

Ideally located on the northern fringe of Sydney and just an hour's drive from Newcastle, the Central Coast offers one of the best places in Australia to live and work. 

Today the Central Coast is one of the fastest growing regions in NSW, with the third largest Local Government Area (LGA) in NSW and the 6th Largest LGA in Australia.

In this position you will undertake financial partnering with internal stakeholders and provide advice on financial performance and will look for opportunities to educate and support business units on financial acumen and financial outcomes. You will also contribute to the development of Council's operating and financial plans and provide guidance on long-term revenue and expenditure requirements for the organisation.

This position is required to provide quality customer service and create value for the community.

Council will also be creating an eligibility list from this recruitment process and may utilise this eligibility list to fill other Senior Accountant vacancies, should they become available.

Key activities of this role include:

• Contribute to the development of Council's operating plan and four year strategic financial plan. Strive for continuous improvement and accuracy in budgeting and assist in moving the organisation to zero based budgeting methodology, and a longer term planning horizon through education of stakeholders across the organisation. Ensure that financial forecasts and budgets are aligned to action plans
• Deliver legislative reporting, monthly reporting and financial analysis
• Deliver financial analysis to produce key metrics and insights to enable informed financial decisions
• Assist with the ongoing formal and informal education program across all areas of Council in order to increase awareness and understanding of financial concepts.

About you:

• Degree qualifications in Finance or Accounting, or equivalent relevant experience
• Demonstrated experience in a similar role working in a large organisation using complex integrated financial systems e.g. Oracle, Civica or equivalent and extensive experience using Microsoft Excel at an advanced level
• Demonstrated experience in financial modelling and analysis and the proven ability to interpret financial information into recommendations
• Extensive experience, knowledge and understanding of the legislative and reporting framework for Local Government which includes but is not limited to Australian Accounting Standards, Local Government Act 1993, Local Government (General) Regulation 2005, Local Government Code of Accounting Practice and Financial Reporting, OLG Guidelines, Ministers Orders and Circulars, Public Finance and Audit Act 1983, Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and Water Management Act 2000
• Extensive experience in delivering timely and accurate financial reporting, variance analysis, investigations, recommendations and sustainable solutions for the organisation. High level capacity to plan and prioritise, time manage, organise workloads and demonstrate ownership and accountability for own work performance in order to meet changing priorities, organisation goals and legislative timeframes
• Extensive experience working in a team environment and with staff at all levels of the organisation and an ability to provide timely, accurate and effective financial advice and support and demonstrate ownership and accountability for own work performance and outcomes.
• Demonstrated proficiency in providing technical expertise, coaching and advice to relevant staff to allow them to effectively undertake their responsibilities and duties; with proven ability to assess and interpret information to formulate recommendations and provide specialist advice to enable the organisation to achieve quality outcomes
• Demonstrated ability to build strong, credible relationships and influence, persuade or negotiate outcomes that add value to the organisation
• You enjoy sharing your knowledge and expertise, while also learning from others
• Having a work/life balance is important to you

About us:

• We are a large organisation delivering a wide variety of services to our local community
• You will be joining a team of finance professionals who excel at what they do
• We offer a supportive work environment with opportunities for career development
• We provide opportunities to collaborate with subject matter experts from a variety of areas across the organisation
• We offer an attractive range of benefits to our employees. 

Please refer to the position description for detailed information on the position and required skills and experience.

This role provides a commencing salary range of between $96.3k to $113.2k per annum dependent on skills and experience + 11% superannuation. 

A 9 day fortnight work-cycle currently applies to this role with flexible/hybrid working arrangements available.

Enquiries: Michelle Best, Section Manager Financial Accounting and Assets on ph: 0419 811 010

If you are deaf, hearing or speech impaired, you can contact us through the National Relay Service TTY call 133 677 or Speak & Listen 1300 555 727.

Closing Date:  Applications close at midnight on Sunday 28 April 2024. 

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HOW TO APPLY

Thank you for your interest in the position.

For more information on applying for a role with Central Coast Council please click on the following link: https://www.centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/council/about-council/careers-and-volunteering/applying-position

Apply now using our fast, easy to use on-line application process. 

Don't have access to a computer or electronic device? Applications can be lodged at any of Council's Library locations. Pre-book a free 1 hour computer timeslot by contacting your nearest library https://www.centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/libraries/our-branches or ask at the enquiry counter.

Please note that you do not need a "password" to use our on-line application system.

You will have the ability to save your application as you go using the 'Save Application' button. You can start an application and return to it later via the automatic follow-up email once you have the time and required information at hand to finally submit your application.  

** We recommend that you use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge for best System performance.

To lodge your application, please follow the below steps:

Step 1:  Answer the on-line questions shown below. Please ensure that you provide as much detail as possible in response to the questions asked.

Step 2:  Attach your resume 

Step 3:  Attach your qualifications and licences

Once your application is successfully lodged you will receive an automated response sent to your e-mail address. If a response is not received this means that your application has not been successfully submitted and you will need to lodge another application.

IMPORTANT: If you require assistance to lodge your application please contact our Talent Acquisition team by emailing recruit@centralcoast.nsw.gov.au to discuss what reasonable adjustments you may need.

Applicants who are selected for interview will be contacted by phone or e-mail.  Please be advised, in order to ensure you receive all email communications from Central Coast Council, please whitelist 'recruit@centralcoast.nsw.gov.au' in your preferred email client.   For further instructions please click here. 

 PLEASE NOTE: By completing and submitting this online application you confirm that any information provided by yourself in this application is true & correct and acknowledge that any offer of employment may be withdrawn should the information that you have provided in support of your application be shown to be false.  You also consent to employment screening checks being conducted where appropriate.  This may include associated checks (Referee check, Working With Children Check, Entitlement to Work in Australia, Employment History and an Australian Federal Police Check) as well as substantiation of educational qualifications, industry memberships, previous Central Coast Council employment history and association with professional bodies.

I also acknowledge that I will be required to provide proof of eligibility (including photo identification) to work in Australia if selected for an interview.

PLEASE NOTE: We will not accept unsolicited resumes or applications being presented by recruitment agencies.