Chief Accountant

At Gloucestershire County Council, we are looking to maximise every pound for the benefit of our communities.

We are focused on achieving our objectives and priorities, and this can only be done through strong financial management and strategic foresight. We are seeking a new Chief Accountant to join our highly skilled technical finance team and make a lasting impact during a period of change, transformation, and opportunity.

This is an exciting time to join Gloucestershire. You will play a pivotal role in planning and preparing for Local Government Reorganisation, including the potential consolidation and/or disaggregation of accounting statements. You will also have the opportunity to influence decisions around our ERP system; optimising it for the current organisation while helping to plan for future ERP implementation across new structures.

Looking ahead, you will help to prepare the organisation for future technical changes affecting Council Tax, Business Rates, and the Dedicated Schools Grant, ensuring we remain compliant, agile, and ready for the next phase of reform. You will be joining an engaging political environment, working alongside an ambitious administration and leadership team, all committed to delivering transformation and high performance across the organisation.
  
About the role
As our new Chief Accountant, you will provide a comprehensive financial service and act as the primary source of technical accounting advice to senior officers. You will lead on the maintenance and closure of accounts, advise senior managers on complex financial matters, and oversee treasury management, VAT and tax advice, and financial policy. You will also lead and manage a team of highly skilled accountants, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. We are passionate about operating to the sector’s highest standards, and your technical expertise and fresh ideas will help modernise our financial systems and practices.

Reporting directly to the Head of Financial Management, the successful candidate will be a key member of the Financial Management Team. You will lead professional development sessions, ensuring our teams are up to date with evolving reporting standards. You will also act as lead officer in interpreting and implementing changes from CIPFA and other external bodies, ensuring Gloucestershire remains at the forefront of sector best practice.
  
About you
We are looking for a technically skilled and strategic finance professional with the expertise to lead our annual closedown process and the production of our accounting statements. You will maintain our strong record of delivering high-quality statements on time, with positive audit outcomes, and will be confident liaising with external auditors.

You will have a proven ability to communicate complex financial matters clearly to non-financial stakeholders, particularly elected members of the Audit & Governance Committee. As a qualified accountant (e.g. CIPFA, ACCA or equivalent) with significant senior experience in a large and complex organisation, ideally within Local Government, you will bring both technical excellence and strong leadership.

Above all, you will be a confident communicator, a collaborative leader, and someone passionate about creating a culture of service excellence and continuous improvement; ready to help shape the future of Gloucestershire’s financial landscape.
  
For more information, please reach out to our retained advisors at Tile Hill: Bella Bennett (bella.bennett@tile-hill.co.uk, 07918 976494) or Dylan Craven (dylan.craven@tile-hill.co.uk, 07442 408861). 
  
Closing date for applications: Midnight, Sunday 11th January 2026
  
To apply:
To apply, please submit an up-to-date copy of your CV (three sides of A4 maximum), along with a supporting statement (three sides of A4 maximum) detailing your experience, and achievements and addressing the key criteria for the role set out on this site and using examples to demonstrate how you meet the requirements. Documents should be uploaded via our website, please include and upload the below information in two documents only. If you experience any issues whilst applying, please contact Abbie.Hamilton-grant@tile-hill.co.uk
 
Applications should include:

• Full contact details;
• Names, positions, organisations and contact details for two referees (we will ask your permission before contacting referees);
• Details of your notice period
• Notification of any dates when you are not available for an interview.

At Tile Hill, we are committed to inclusion and accessibility. We champion and support all individuals to ensure everyone feels valued, listened to and motivated to get the very best out of each recruitment process and that processes are designed to meet the needs of individuals. If you have any specific requests and would like a confidential discussion with the Tile Hill team, then please email inclusion@tile-hill.co.uk.