Part Time Finance Officer - Working for Essex

About the role

Part Time Finance Officer

Fixed Term, Part Time

£25,081 to £27,653 per annum, full time equivalent

Location: Chelmsford

Closing Date: Sunday 31st August 2025 at 11.59pm

Please note that this is a Fixed Term Contract / Secondment opportunity for a period of 12 months and is a part time role, offering 25 hours per week, working Monday to Friday 9.30am till 2.30pm.

This position is an Anywhere Worker role with the expectation the successful worker will attend County Hall, Chelmsford one day per week.

The pro rata salary will be £16,946.63 up to £18,684.46 per annum.

The Role

The Suppliers team are responsible for setting up and maintaining all ECC's payee records. It’s data entry of the highest quality, requiring excellent attention to detail. Payee and company information must be gathered, verified and entered accurately to ensure ECC makes payments to its suppliers and vulnerable residents in a timely manner. Company information like address, VAT number and bank details must be sourced and checked for validity. We are a busy Accounts Payable team maintaining some 30,000 payee records.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Corporate Services and Transformation

The Opportunity

Purchase to Pay (P2P) aims to provide a comprehensive financial transactional and support service, maximising new and innovative technology to provide excellent customer service using a multi skilled workforce.

Finance Officers in Purchase to Pay (P2P) will contribute to the delivery of the business plan for financial transaction processing, by ensuring data or income is accurately maintained and managed within policy and legislation standards. Responding to more complex customer queries and supporting changes in technology to streamline the customer experience.

Educated to Level 3, with knowledge of P2P/Income systems and demonstrable accounts payable, accounts receivable, purchase to pay and e-invoicing experience. The role requires good interpersonal and communication skills to deliver excellent customer service.

Accountabilities

Provides financial support in relation to ECC’s payments to both internal and external customers, contributing towards delivery of the business plan for financial transactions, in support of the wider organisational vision.
Contribute to data management of payee records, adding, amending and archiving data in line with GDPR.
Provides technical support to team members and customers answering more complex queries in a professional manner in accordance with financial procedures. Acts as the subject matter expert for P2P processes.
Contribute to the identification and clarification of customer needs, to deliver process and technology changes, which drive efficiency and value for money.
Contribute to improving financial awareness and capability across the organisation, to promote the culture of empowering budget holders in line with financial regulations.
Carries out data analysis to produce reports for P2P and external customers, to support the management of organisational performance, maximise income and ensure compliance to Financial Regulations and audit requirements.
Contributes to service improvement projects/programmes to achieve best practice and organisational efficiency by recommending process improvements and redesign.
Contributes to maintaining currency on legislation changes and translating these into local policy and procedure, to identify and review potential changes in technology.
Working collaboratively and flexibly across teams within P2P to deliver a high level of service to all functions.
Contribute to identifying risks and supporting the resolution, to minimise financial impact and loss to the organisation.
Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

Educated to RQF level 3 (A level) including English and Mathematics, or equivalent by experience.
Commitment to continued personal development within a working environment.
Knowledge of P2P/Income systems and demonstrable accounts payable, accounts receivable, purchase to pay and e-invoicing experience.
Good interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written
Aptitude and willingness to work flexibly in multi skilled Operational Teams.
Level of good competency using Microsoft office packages including, Outlook, Word and Excel
Ability to interpret varied information for supporting continuous improvements in service delivery.
Ability to build effective working relationships with internal and external customers, suppliers and partners.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email daniel.warner@essex.gov.uk

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