Job title: Finance Officer

Attributes

Experience

Essential:

• Minimum of two years relevant financial experience.
• Demonstrable successful track record in a similar role.
• Experience of working with internal and external contacts at all levels.

Desirable:

• Experience of working in a public sector environment
• Oracle financial systems experience including developing financial statements.

Education, qualifications and training

Essential:

• Finance qualification eg HNC / Association of Accounting Technician (AAT) qualification.
• Candidates without minimum qualification criteria who have significant experience may be considered.

Desirable:

• Degree in a relevant discipline.

Skills and knowledge

Essential:

• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office suite, particularly Excel and Word.
• A thorough knowledge of integrated financial accounting systems.
• Understanding of financial controls and financial environment.
• Able to work collaboratively.
• Experience of supporting budget managers in the development and management of their budgets.
• Uses systematic approach to make efficient use of time and manage workload, prioritising own work effectively to meet deadlines and objectives.
• Excellent negotiation and influencing skills. § Good judgement and decision-making skills.
• Ability to analyse numerical and written information and present results in a clear and concise format.
• Ability to understand the limits of their knowledge and experience and knowing when decisions need to be referred to others.

Desirable:

• Analytical experience of providing statistical data.
• Awareness of sustainability and climate change.

Key performance outcomes

Effective communication

Essential:

• Demonstrate clear and concise verbal and written communication skills.
• Selects appropriate communication style and methods depending on the needs and abilities of the audience.
• Portrays a positive image of the organisation when communicating both inside the organisation and externally.
• Ability to explain complex financial information to a range of audiences including non-specialists.
• Listens to feedback and ideas from others and takes appropriate and considered action.

Impact and influence

Essential:

• Demonstrates ability to influence at all levels.
• Ability to give realistic advice, based on relevant, up to date and verifiable information.
• Evidence of building positive relationships, engaging and collaborating effectively with others internally and externally.

Improvement focus

Essential:

• Identifies gaps in process and performance and makes appropriate suggestions for improvements.
• Aware of trends and changes and maintains professional knowledge and skills.
• Uses knowledge and experience to gather and consolidate information in order to make appropriate changes and improvements.

Objective decision-making

Essential:

• Demonstrates analytical and systematic approach to problem solving.
• Ability to make appropriate and realistic judgments, based on professional expertise, relevant, up to date and verifiable information.
• Ability to analyse complex information.

Planning and organising

Essential:

• Involves others where appropriate and optimises resources to achieve desired results.
• Regularly reviews joint goals and targets and reprioritises where necessary.
• Recognises the need to be flexible in order to meet changing priorities.

Team working

Essential:

• Contributes to and supports the work and decisions of the team.
• Contributes to the shared vision and purpose and shares this effectively.
• Able to work independently as well as collaboratively with a wide range of teams across the Care Inspectorate.
• Develops good working relationships at all levels.

Please note – these are key performance outcomes to be used to recruit into the role.

Job title: Finance Officer

Responsible to: Accountant

Principal working contacts

• Head of Finance and Corporate Governance
• Finance & Procurement Manager
• Senior Accountant
• Accountant
• Budget holders
• Transactions Manager
• Procurement Officer
• Care Inspectorate finance staff
• External stakeholders

Job purpose

Support the Accountant, Senior Accountant and the Finance and Procurement Manager to deliver a comprehensive finance service to the Care Inspectorate in line with Care Inspectorate policies and procedures.

Key responsibilities

Accounting and other tasks

• Help prepare the annual Care Inspectorate budget.
• Support budget holders with the management of their budgets by holding monthly monitoring meetings, providing budget monitoring information, variance analysis, financial advice, costing information and guidance in line with financial regulations and other financial processes to make sure the operational requirements of the Care Inspectorate are met.
• Provide financial training to budget holders and support staff to make sure they comply with financial processes and procedures.
• Perform monthly reconciliations for suspense accounts, control accounts, bank accounts and monthly fees, investigating and reporting discrepancies as required.
• Prepare and post journals into Oracle Cloud.
• Help produce the Care Inspectorate’s statutory annual accounts and notes, supported by comprehensive working papers and in accordance with the approved timetable, and liaising with auditors providing information and evidence as required.
• Liaise with internal and external audit as required.
• Develop and update procedures for tasks carried out in the role.
• Participate in compliance and best value reviews.
• Assist in the development of new financial and other initiatives from a financial viewpoint.
• Gather financial information for Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, sustainability reporting, Scottish Government returns, VAT returns, statistical returns, performance and benchmarking data.
• Participate in supporting achievement of the Care Inspectorate’s sustainability objectives.

Relationship management

• Model corporate behaviour and demonstrate commitment to organisation values.
• Develop and maintain constructive and co-operative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders to ensure effective and efficient directorate support.
• Ensure effective working protocols in accordance with the Care Inspectorate’s Communications, Human Resources, Finance, IT and Operations function.
• Promote the principles of collaborative working throughout the organisation and in all working practices in accordance with the Partnership Agreements with the trade unions.
• Project a professional image for the Care Inspectorate when dealing with colleagues and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrate a commitment to the Care Inspectorate’s aims, vision and values and to the Care Inspectorate’s overall objective of improving care in Scotland.

Other duties

This job profile is a broad picture of the post at the date of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all possible duties, and it is recognised that jobs change and evolve over time. Consequently, the post holder will be required to carry out any other duties to the equivalent level that are necessary to fulfil the purpose of the job, and to respond positively to changing business needs.