Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) is passionate about providing high-quality services to our communities, residents and businesses. This means we must employ and retain the most talented and dedicated people.
Situated within the heart of the Cambridge-Peterborough Growth Area, Huntingdonshire is a beautiful district that boasts thriving market towns and many attractive villages, each with its own identity. We are an innovative and forward-thinking local authority whose residents are at the heart of our decision-making.
At HDC we want to employ staff who embody our icare values (Inspiring, Collaborative, Accountable, Respectful, Enterprising), all of which support our ultimate purpose of putting our customers first.
As local government continues to evolve, Huntingdonshire District Council is preparing for an exciting period of change through Local Government Reorganisation. While organisational structures may change in the coming years, our commitment to delivering excellent services for our communities remains unchanged.
Joining HDC now gives you a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact today whilst helping to shape the future of local government across our area. We are looking for people who are motivated by public service, embrace innovation, and want to play a part in building the organisation of tomorrow.
Job details
Turn financial information into insight that makes a difference!
Are you an experienced finance professional who enjoys working with people as much as working with numbers?
Do you have the confidence to challenge assumptions, explain complex financial information clearly and help managers make well-informed decisions?
We’re looking for a Finance Business Partner to join our Finance team at Huntingdonshire District Council.
This is an opportunity to work closely with Directors, Heads of Service and budget managers across the Council, providing high-quality financial advice, support and constructive challenge. You’ll help colleagues understand what the numbers are telling them and, importantly, what that means for the decisions they need to make.
About the role
Reporting to the Senior Finance Business Partner, you’ll provide professional financial support across a range of Council services, helping ensure our budgets, forecasts and financial information are accurate, realistic and well understood.
The role covers both revenue and capital finance and gives you exposure to the wider financial cycle, including budget setting, monitoring and forecasting, business cases, financial modelling, year-end accounts, grants and external audit.
Your responsibilities will include:
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Providing financial insight, guidance and constructive challenge to Heads of Service and budget managers
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Supporting the preparation of revenue and capital budgets through the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy process
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Overseeing budget monitoring and forecasting across revenue and capital expenditure
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Working with budget holders to ensure financial plans and forecasts are robust, accurate and realistic
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Helping services develop business cases, including robust financial modelling, scenario analysis and assessment of financial risks and ongoing revenue implications
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Supporting the preparation of relevant elements of the Statement of Accounts and working with external auditors
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Providing specialist financial advice to support compliance with the Council’s Constitution and Code of Financial Management
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Completing financial reconciliations and supporting the integrity of the Council’s financial information
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Overseeing grant claims and statistical returns within agreed external deadlines
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Undertaking financial business appraisals, including appropriate creditor and risk assessments
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Participating in management boards to provide financial guidance and advice
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Helping colleagues make effective use of the Council’s TechnologyOne financial system and supporting the accuracy of financial records.
About you
We’re looking for someone who is self-motivated, analytical and comfortable building relationships with colleagues across an organisation.
You won't just report financial information. You’ll need to understand what sits behind it, ask the right questions and communicate your advice in a way that enables non-finance colleagues to make sound decisions.
You’ll bring:
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Part-qualified CCAB, full AAT or equivalent experience
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Experience of budget monitoring and completing financial reconciliations
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Experience across financial and management accounting
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Experience of working with a financial management system
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Strong communication and interpersonal skills
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The ability to build effective relationships with managers and colleagues and use persuasive and influencing skills where appropriate
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Good organisational and time-management skills
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Confidence working independently as well as collaboratively as part of a team
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A commitment to continuing professional development.
Knowledge of local authority finance and local government services, experience of business partnering in a local government environment and experience of TechnologyOne are desirable rather than essential.
What We Can Offer
At Huntingdonshire District Council, we believe our people are our greatest asset. In return, we offer:
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Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
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Generous annual leave entitlement
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Local Government Pension Scheme
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Employee wellbeing support and benefits
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Opportunities to contribute to exciting projects, transformation programmes and the future of local government services.
Why Join Us?
This is a varied Finance role that gives you the opportunity to develop strong relationships with services while gaining experience across a broad range of financial disciplines.
You’ll be involved in the complete financial cycle, from budget setting and forecasting through to business cases, capital, financial reporting, year-end accounts and audit, while providing advice that directly supports decision-making across the Council.
Importantly, previous local government experience is desirable rather than essential, so we’re interested in hearing from strong finance professionals who can demonstrate the technical, analytical and relationship-building skills needed to become an effective Finance Business Partner.
If you’re looking for a role where you can use your finance expertise to influence decisions, build strong relationships and make a real contribution to the organisation, we’d love to hear from you.
An offer of employment is conditional upon having the right to work in the UK. HDC does not hold a Sponsorship Licence and is unable to provide a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) or take over sponsorship for any role.
View the job description [PDF, 0.2MB]
Apply
The closing date is 9am 22 November 2026 and interviews will be held the week commencing 30 November.
However, this is a rolling campaign and we'll be reviewing applications on an ongoing basis and will close the advert early should we receive suitable applications, so please don't delay in applying!
We recognise that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support their application. While we welcome the use of technology to help present your experience and achievements, we ask that the content of your application remains an accurate reflection of your own skills, knowledge and experience. In particular, we encourage candidates to demonstrate how they meet the criteria for the role by providing specific examples from their own experience. This helps us to better assess your suitability for the position.
For many of our roles, our hybrid work model enables employees to work remotely while allowing for in-office collaboration opportunities across the district, with an expectation of being in the office at least two days a week. However, please note that some positions may require a more consistent presence in the office due to the nature of the work.
Should you have any additional questions regarding submitting an application, please contact the Recruitment Team at recruitment@huntingdonshire.gov.uk.
Please note that the official closing date is as above, and will be the correct date. Some third-party websites may have different dates. Please refer to the HDC website for the official closing date to ensure you do not miss out on applying.
Working for the council
As an employer who values diversity of thought, we seek to employ candidates from a range of backgrounds in order to make our organisation more innovative. We are seeking candidates who are looking for their next career opportunity and are supportive employers, enabling our staff to work in an environment that produces high standards of work in an employee-led environment.
Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our recruitment and along with our values we are committed to creating an inclusive working environment, where diversity is valued and there is equality of opportunity. We therefore welcome applications from all sections of the community and we offer a range of benefits, including flexitime, to encourage a work-life balance.
View our benefits.