Principal Accountant - Systems

London, England, United Kingdom

12/17/2024

About The Role

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced, Part-Qualified Systems Accountant to join the team here at Islington Council.

This position is very much a Systems accounting role, which means having knowledge and skillset in Accountancy and IT/ETL development. This is a management level role, leading a team of up to 6 finance system administrators, and you will directly report up to the Strategic Finance Manager – Systems & Banking.

Along with our standard accounting requirements listed in the attached job description, specific key responsibilities for this role include:

• Management of the Finance Systems team
• Ensuring finance systems are governed sufficiently and secure
• Ensuring finance systems processes are robust and as efficient as possible
• Delivering on finance system projects and development of new, improved finance system processes
• Ensuring the Business as Usual (BAU) tasks for the team are completed on time
• Overseeing training delivery on finance systems
• Collaborating with Finance teams and wider council departments on finance system developments
• Ensuring systems are setup to enable our Finance team to action transactional tasks and reporting in accordance with accounting industry standards
• Troubleshooting system issues in line with service desk KPI’s
• Business Intelligence development and data administration
  
  
  

Along with your Accounting knowledge, you will need to have a technical skillset and background working with data feeds, BI report development, advanced Microsoft Office skills and any coding skills you have (VBA, SQL, XML etc.) will be incredibly valuable. We are also looking at different Automation ideas and any skills or experience with the Microsoft Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Forms etc.) will be advantageous. This really is an exciting time to join the Council as we embark on some truly significant and technical finance system projects which you will play a key part in delivering.

Here you’ll be welcomed. We champion diversity and we understand the importance of our people representing the communities and customers we serve. You’ll find an inclusive environment where you can be yourself and where everyone is driven by the same purpose – For a more equal future at Islington.

For further information or for an informal conversation about the post, please contact:

George Langer | Strategic Finance Manager - Systems & Banking

[email protected]

About You

Working for the team, service and our organisation

Islington is a place rich with diversity and culture. As a council our sense of purpose couldn’t be clearer: we serve. It’s in the logo. We are committed to challenging inequality in the borough and as one of the largest employers we know that to look after the place and the planet, we have to look after our people. Together we can change the future.

We are determined to create a more equal Islington, where everyone who lives here has an equal chance to thrive.

To do this, everyone who works at Islington Council lives by a set of values which guide us in everything that we do: collaborative, ambitious, resourceful, and empowering. They spell out ‘CARE’, which is what we think public service is all about.

Watch our video to hear more about our mission and how you can help us achieve it from the Leader of the Council, Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz.

Recruitment information

It is the policy of Islington Council that no user of service, present or future employee or job applicant receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of their sex, perceived or actual sexual orientation, marital status, race, religion or belief, age, creed, colour, nationality, national origin, ethnic origin, or disability, or on the grounds of their association with someone in one of these groups; nor is disadvantaged by any conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justified. We welcome applications from Black and Minority Ethnic candidates and acknowledge our responsibility to mitigate against racial discrimination. 

Islington Council operates a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria and we are committed to providing support to applicants who request reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process and throughout their career with us.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all staff, and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts are subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

The post is subject to a qualifications check and 3 years referencing.

Please note: Priority will be given to those at risk of redundancy within Islington Council. Current employees who are part of the redeployment pool must meet the essential criteria for shortlisting to be prioritised.