Job Opportunity: Service Director Finance (S151)
Salary
Salary: £63,510 - £78,827 per annum, plus £10k p.a. Statutory Officer Allowance
Hours
37 hours per week, with some requirement to work evening meetings
Contract
Permanent
Location
Castle House, Newcastle-under-Lyme
About the job
Lead the Financial Future of Newcastle-under-Lyme, a borough with bold ambitions. We’re driving forward an exciting transformation—investing in regeneration, unlocking potential, and building a thriving, sustainable future for our communities. Now, we're seeking a visionary and collaborative finance leader to play a pivotal role in shaping that future.
You will have:
- As our Section 151 Officer and Service Director of Finance, you will be more than a financial steward—you’ll be a strategic partner, innovator, and catalyst for change.
- You’ll lead our finance service, ensure robust governance, and help translate bold political vision into financial reality. From shaping medium-term financial planning to ensuring service excellence and value for money, your impact will ripple across every part of the council’s work.
- Provide expert leadership on all financial matters and statutory S151 responsibilities
- Drive innovation in budgeting, financial strategy, and resource management
- Collaborate with elected members and senior leaders to deliver on priorities
- Champion performance, modernisation, and service improvement
- Be a trusted advisor and dynamic change-maker
Requirements
You’re an inspirational qualified finance professional (CIPFA, ACA, ACCA or equivalent) with a proven track record of strategic leadership in local government or similarly complex settings. You combine robust financial acumen with a flair for collaboration and communication. If you see possibility where others see challenge—and you’re ready to make a lasting difference—this is your stage.
Why work for us?
We’re proud of our history and excited for our future. Join a team that’s ambitious, inclusive, and determined to deliver better outcomes for our residents. In return, we offer a supportive and forward-thinking environment where your ideas are valued, and your career can flourish. Ready to shape a borough that’s going places?
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a borough with big ambitions. We’ve already started our transformation, however, we still need to find better ways of doing things because we are determined to do the very best we can for our communities.
If our vision is to be the best, then we need the best people working for us. Our people are at the heart of what we do and have the freedom to innovate, grow and develop. We recruit people who share our vision and values; people who have the drive to deliver our ambitious Council plan.
Our historic Borough is a place of marked contrasts. We are the home of a world class University at Keele, a leading light known internationally for its research and sustainability record, which stands side by side with former mining communities including some which register amongst the most deprived areas in the country. Our Borough is also a mixture of urban centres, affected by some of the same social issues facing our neighbouring city, Stoke-on-Trent, but also outstanding rural landscapes in our less populated villages. Our plans and priorities aim to address the needs of all our communities.
Our People Offer
We reward our people with a competitive range of benefits including; access to the local government pension scheme, minimum 24 days annual leave plus 5 extra days after 5 years' service, flexible working options and family friendly policies, local and national high street discounts, free car parking, wellbeing support including £12.50 per month Jubilee2 membership , green travel scheme including cycle to work and electric car salary sacrifice, free employee 24 hour employee assistance and counselling services, flu vaccination service and health checks plus development and training opportunities.
Contact
For an informal discussion about the role please contact Gordon Mole, Chief Executive at gordon.mole@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk
Closing date
Sunday 17 August 2025
Interview dates
First stage interviews to be held week commencing 1 September 2025. Final interviews to be held week commencing 15 September.
Should we receive a large number of applications, then this post could close sooner than the date stated.
Shortlisted applicants will be contacted within two weeks of the closing date.
Supporting documents and information
Download the job description and person specification
We are committed to making our recruitment process as accessible as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments or changes for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions. If you would like us to do anything differently during the interview or assessment process please contact our People team (humanresources@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk)
Need help completing the online application form?
Our application form has recently been updated to make it easier to apply, please be aware that you are not able to save your application part way through so please ensure you have all information to hand:
- Make a note of the details of the post you are applying for.
- Read through the job description and person specification.
- Review our values and behaviours.
- Ensure that you have relevant job application information to hand i.e. employment details, qualifications and training, professional memberships (if applicable) and the details of two referees.
- If you have a CV you can cut and paste information easily into the form.
- The supporting information section of the application is your opportunity to share with us your key achievements and highlight any relevant experience. We’d like you to tell us; who you are, your values and strengths, why you feel you are suitable for the role and finally, your career goals.
- We’d suggest typing your supporting information firstly to a Word document and then copy and paste to the supporting information section of the online application. This way you won’t lose valuable information if the page times out.
- At the end of the form you can choose to save a copy of your application, we advise doing this.
- If you are interested in more than one role, you will need to submit a separate form for each job.
Contact our People team if you have any questions regarding the online application form or require further support (humanresources@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk)