Service: Finance
Reports to: Housing Finance Manager
Grade: I
Salary: £46,731 - £50,788
Working pattern: Hybrid (1 day per week in the office – Tuesdays)

Job Introduction

We’re seeking a good communicator with housing finance experience to join us as Rent and Service Charge Accountant.

We have more than 11,000 council properties and our Housing Finance Team works closely with council housing services in a range of areas, from regeneration to home ownership. This means we get involved with many different projects; for instance, we’re currently building hundreds of new council properties in Bletchley as part of a wider regeneration programme. Every day is different.

As Rent and Service Charge Accountant, you’ll collaborate with colleagues to help ensure that our homes are safe, and costs are fully recovered for the services we provide, so that funds for future investment decisions are secured.

This role is ideal for someone with experience of setting rents and administering service charges in either a local authority or a registered provider and enjoys the challenges it brings.

This role is may suitable for home working, following an assessment. Interviews will be held on 14 May.

Milton Keynes is a modern and friendly place to work. Find out more about working with us here: www.mkcounciljobs.org.uk

Main Responsibility

• Lead on setting rents for Social Housing Tenants, temporary accommodation, and other categories of potential Tenants, ensuring full compliance with government rent setting policies and directions from the Regulator of Social Housing, such as the Rent Standard.
• Lead on and complete the estimated service charge process for tenants, leaseholders and shared owners from the calculation of charges to ensuring correct details are included in notifications to residents and these are printed and posted.
• Lead on and complete the actual service charge procedure, including the issuing of annual certified service charge certificates and statement of affairs for Leaseholders. Understanding of Major Works accounts would be beneficial.
• To be the point of contact for tenants, leaseholder, shared owners, internal and external auditors with any costing queries/audits.
• Actively promote Tenant and Leaseholder engagement around the service delivery and standards of services where the service is funded by way of service charges.
• Be inquisitive and challenging with the ability to apply innovative and creative thinking to service challenges within a fast-paced environment.

The Ideal Candidate

• Experience of setting rents and service charges for a Local Authority or Registered Provider
• Methodical, organised with attention to detail.
• Has good communication skills to engage with residents and colleagues from across the Council.
• Excellent spreadsheet skills and ability to undertake complex financial modelling using a different data sets and systems (financial, case management etc.).
• Qualified accountant (CCAB) or in final year (with a commitment to finish) and evidence of appropriate CPD.
• Experience of housing management IT systems and the ability to work with neighbourhood teams and IT teams to maximise the use and understanding of rent accounting applications.
• Please note, should you be offered the role, as part of the pre-employment checks a Basic DBS will be actioned for you.

Package Description

In addition to your salary, we offer a range of benefits including:

• Great holiday benefits - most roles include 28 days annual leave every year on top of public (bank) holidays, increasing to 32 days after five years. In addition, there is a holiday purchase scheme allowing staff to purchase up to 5 additional days of leave each year.
• Excellent pension – everyone who works for us can join the national Local Government Pension Scheme, widely regarded as one of the best available.
• A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity support and a childcare subsidy.
• Access to an award-winning employee benefits programme that includes a health cash plan, a low-cost bike purchase scheme as well as high street discounts and money off entertainment and travel.
• Salary sacrifice car scheme – low-cost leasing of electric and low emission vehicles.
• Blue Light Card - employees working within social care can qualify for an additional range of discounts from national retailers and local businesses.

Why join us? Along with more on our Benefits, discover why Working at the City Council could be the right move for you here Working at the Council | Milton Keynes

Our roles are either designated ‘site based’ or ‘home based’. ‘Site based’ roles can include up to two days a week working from home whilst ‘home based’ roles are based at home four days a week. Of course, managers designate which category roles are in based on the needs of the service and the circumstances.

About The Organisation Milton Keynes City Council is a large, modern and financially stable employer with around 2,500 people working across our eight areas. Together we provide local residents and businesses with a wide range of important round-the-clock services and aim to make our city a better place to live.

We work hard because of the demands placed on us, like protecting children from harm or preventing homelessness. However, working for the city is always rewarding and everyone has the opportunity to make a real difference.

We’re very proud of our diversity and are committed to having a workforce that reflects the community we serve. Whatever your background, you will be welcome here if you share our values of being dedicated, respectful and collaborative.

We offer great training and support and because of the size and scale of the organisation there are always new opportunities to explore when it’s time for a new role.

If you’d like to know more about how we do things and what matters to us, take a look at our short booklet What makes us Milton Keynes City Council.

The Process

Milton Keynes City Council are working in partnership with Hammond Clarke in the recruitment of this role. for further information please contact Chris Macdonald on cm@hc- exec.co.uk or 0203 762 2207.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets

• Service: Finance Audit & Procurement
• Salary: £52,674 - £55,710
• Hybrid working
• Closing date: 24th February

Located in the heart of East London, Tower Hamlets is a vibrant and dynamic borough that is home to a rich tapestry of cultures, histories and opportunities. With iconic landmarks such as the Tower of London, Canary Wharf and Brick Lane, this bustling area offers a unique blend of historic charm and cutting-edge development. Tower Hamlets boasts a thriving community with excellent transport links, diverse neighbourhoods and a commitment to sustainability and inclusive growth.

Joining the Tower Hamlets finance team means contributing to the economic vitality and financial health of a borough that is passionate about creating a brighter future for all its residents.

About The Role

As an Accountant Treasury, you will be responsible for completing all treasury-related notes for the financial statements. In collaboration with the Senior Accountant and the treasury team, you will play a pivotal role in providing advice and support across the organisation on treasury accounting matters. You will manage the Council’s cash flow which feeds into the treasury management strategy. In addition, you will support the wider finance team on capital expenditure.

You work seamlessly with financial and management accounting colleagues to streamline and improve the efficiency of treasury activity recording, ensuring adherence to all regulatory standards.

About You

You are a qualified or part qualified CCAB or CIMA professional with experience in working in the treasury accounting function of a large and complex organisation.

Your background includes delivering published financial statements with precision and working effectively with external auditors. You have a proven track record of implementing substantial improvements to finance systems and processes, ensuring efficiency and compliance.

Application Process

Join us and be a part of a team dedicated to fostering financial excellence and supporting the diverse communities of Tower Hamlets.

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets are working in partnership with Hammond Clarke for the successful recruitment of these positions. As part of your application, please include a supporting statement alongside your CV outlining your experience and skillset in relation to this position.

For any additional information or an informal conversation, please contact Hammond Clarke on the contact details below:

Chris Macdonald, Head of Permanent Recruitment - cm@hc-exec.co.uk

Haben Solomon, Director - hs@hc-exec.co.uk

Closing date: 24th February
Link to full job description:

Deputy Chief Accountant MM2 

This role, working alongside the existing Deputy Chief Accountant, is to deliver the Council’s annual Statement of Accounts, ensure effective accounting controls and liaise with the Council’s external auditors.  You will be expected to support the Chief Accountant in any aspect of corporate finance and provide resilience across the team, whilst specifically supporting and guiding in the areas of Technical Accounting, Fixed Assets and Taxation.  

The Deputy Chief Accountant will report to the Chief Accountant and will support on a range of areas within Corporate Accountancy team:

• Supporting on specific financial accounting areas such as Financial Statements, Fixed Assets, Balance Sheet Reconciliations & Monitoring, reviewing and challenging financial controls and associated processes, and providing financial guidance and support to services across the Council. 

• Liaising with council’s external auditors and maintaining the relationship between auditors and wider finance team. 

• Taking ownership of specific finance processes to ensure all officers are appropriately trained able to carry out these processes in a consistent and efficient manner. 

• Ensure that the areas of the Accounts for which the officer is responsible for is accounted for in line with Internal Financing Reporting Standards and CIPFA’s Code of Practice for Local Government Accounting. 

• Pro-Actively seek opportunities to improve the financial support the service provides to the Council. 

This role will offer an opportunity to gain valuable experience and a sound understanding of the Council’s technical accounting processes and procedures, leading to effective financial controls and the production of the Statement of Accounts. This is an excellent role for an ambitious individual who likes challenges, is self-motivated and wants to use their financial skills to add value. 

The successful candidate would need to be a fully qualified CCAB or CIMA accountant with strong Excel and analytical skills.  They would need to be experienced in the closure of accounts, audit and have sound technical accounting skills.  Excellent written and verbal communication skills are also essential in order to deal with staff at all levels both within the Council and from outside organisations. 

To apply for the role please upload CV and supporting document by clicking the apply button below. The supporting document should be no more than 2 sides of A4, setting out how your skills and experience meet the requirements set out in the job description and person specification, and explaining what you could bring to the post. 

For further information regarding this role please contact Chris Macdonald (Head of Permanent Recruitment) - cm@hc-exec.co.uk