Please note that interviews will take place on the 25th August 2020

Essex County Council (ECC) is one of the largest and most dynamic local authorities in the UK, serving a population of 2 million residents, and has a very successful track record of delivering transformational change. ECC anticipated change was needed in the public sector and has worked to deliver better quality at lower cost. We have an ambitious transformation agenda - one with the scope to reach every part of the council. We are changing the way we think, the way we work, and the ways in which we deliver our services. We are committed to becoming a place where individuals, partners and communities feel proud to play their role and genuinely want to belong. We're immensely proud of our flexible working options.

Job Purpose

The Senior Applications & Financial Analyst role is located within Transactional Service Division of the Finance Directorate. This is a key role in unlocking the power of data to help us better understand our customers and improve our approach to debt collection. You will be expected to have highly developed analytical skills, keep abreast of new techniques and deploy innovative analytical tools, assist in the design and delivery of system upgrades over the coming years as ECC adopts new and innovative technology.

Success in this role will require collaborative working with a wide range of stakeholders & the interrogation of financial data from a number of applications. This role will support & enable senior leaders to take evidence-based decisions on the effectiveness of debt collection approaches for key service areas, projects and business strategies. You will have expert technical ability in evaluation and impact analysis methodologies, liaising with senior colleagues to ensure business intelligence questions are addressed.

Service/Functional Accountabilities

* Accountable for managing the production of performance metrics and provision of management reports on income collection for senior managers and a range of stakeholders Design operational and strategic reports and performance dashboards ensuring business and stakeholder requirements are met and information is visualised effectively
* Support the Service Manager (Income & Assessments) in the development and delivery of both the Annual Business Plan for Income & Assessments and ECC's Income Collection and Debt Recovery Strategy
* Work closely with Team Managers within Finance Transactional Services and key stakeholders from other functions across ECC to produce suitable performance and/or assurance reporting
* Build effective working relationships across the Council and external contacts, maintaining an awareness of industry standards and key performance metrics on income collection with the ability to network and benchmark
* Requires highly developed organisational skills, self- managing with minimal supervision. Ability to work under time pressure and manage competing priorities. Accuracy and an eye for detail. Be a problem solver
* Complete tasks, that are complex due to the level of knowledge required and business criticality, to meet required Service and Operational Performance Levels, necessary to optimise application usage to enable effective business operations.
* Responsible for assuming the Accountabilities of the Service Manager in periods of absence to ensure continuation of effective management in support of business operations
* Support the Head of Finance Transactional Services and the Service Manager (Income & Assessments) to report to Committees and Boards by providing timely and accurate statistical data to support assurance and performance reporting
* Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

* Educated to RQF level 6 (Bachelor's degree) or equivalent by experience.
* Evidence of continuing professional development to keep pace with technical and business changes that meet defined competencies.
* Qualifications or high level of demonstrable capability with relevant vendor business applications and advanced working knowledge of business applications and databases.
* Experience of analysing complex financial data and the ability to interrogate such data and present trends and key messages in a range of formats for a varied audience and using it to drive continuous improvement with demonstrable results
* Excellent IT skills including use of Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio, Business Objects (or similar). Ability to use Visual basic and SQL is desirable.
* Data Collation skills and the ability to interrogate a range of large data bases, translating this into detailed and accurate statistical reports and present them in a visually engaging format.
* High level of commercial awareness, with the ability to build effective working relationships at senior level, with a range of internal stakeholders
* Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build and maintain relationships across all levels and departments & experience of managing projects.