Financial Controller (Local Government)

Location: Romford, United Kingdom; hybrid working

Salary: £61,476–£66,078 per annum

Company

hirify.global is a local authority delivering public services and responsible for financial governance, reporting, and the Council’s financial resilience.

What you will do

• Lead production of the Council’s annual Statement of Accounts and coordinate the statutory closedown programme.
• Prepare Group Accounts, Collection Fund accounts, and Whole of Government Accounts submissions.
• Manage the statutory external audit process, including audit queries, recommendations, and objections.
• Develop financial controls, reconciliations, governance arrangements, and reporting processes.
• Provide technical advice on accounting standards, financial regulations, VAT, taxation, and complex financial decisions.
• Lead reporting improvements, coach finance colleagues, support trainees, and deputise for the Head of Finance (Financial Control).

Requirements

• Recognised CCAB professional accountancy qualification such as CIPFA, ACA, ACCA, or equivalent, with evidence of continuing professional development.
• Significant experience in statutory financial reporting and producing annual financial statements.
• Experience working in a strong financial control environment and maintaining robust governance arrangements.
• Experience managing interim and year-end audits and working with external auditors.
• Strong technical knowledge of local authority accounting requirements, the CIPFA Code of Practice, IFRS, and relevant legislation.
• Experience providing complex financial and technical advice to senior stakeholders.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and influencing skills, including the ability to explain technical matters to non-financial audiences.
• Commitment to continuous improvement and developing efficient, high-quality financial processes.

Nice to have

• Experience in a large and complex public sector organisation, particularly local government.
• Public-sector VAT and taxation expertise.
• Team leadership and staff development experience.

Culture & Benefits

• Supportive and inclusive working environment guided by ICARE values.
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements.
• Local Government Pension Scheme and generous annual leave, with the option to purchase additional leave.
• Learning, professional development, health, wellbeing, and employee support programmes.
• Equal opportunities commitment; eligible disabled candidates meeting the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview.

Hiring process

• Submit a CV and a supporting statement of no more than two sides of A4 explaining how experience, knowledge, and skills meet the role requirements.
• Remove all personal information from uploaded documents because recruitment is anonymised.
• Assessment may include interviews, presentations, technical assessments, and stakeholder engagement exercises. Applications close on 29 November 2026; quote REF 4293 Financial Controller for recruitment enquiries.