Principal Accountant Corporate

Job Description

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: PO6 £54,267 - £57,402

Contract Type: Full time Permanent

Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: 31/03/26

Proposed Interview Date(s): w/c 13/04/2026

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

About the role:

The Principal Accountant will work with the assigned service to provide high quality financial management information to support effective decision-making. The post holder will be required to:

• prepare budgets in line with the budget setting process and support the monitoring as part of the monthly financial monitoring and year end process;
• manage the provision of financial information to stakeholders across the organisation;
• support the year end close down process for the external audit; and
• provide technical advice and financial input across the organisation.

The post holder must be a technically capable Principal Accountant, who can lead and develop the financial accounting capabilities of the service and also possess the technical skills to support the evaluation of capital schemes and projects. This will also include the identification of any financial accounting implications. They must have sufficient technical expertise to ensure that the Finance service has the capacity to provide high quality advice to members, Senior Leadership Team. This role supports Resources, Chief Executive and Stronger Communities Directorates.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

Key Responsibilities:

• Leading, coordinating and being accountable for the provision of customer-focused accountancy and financial management services.
• Providing support for the annual budget setting and medium-term financial planning processes.
• Assisting with the preparation of detailed revenue and capital expenditure and income budgets that meet corporate and departmental objectives.
• Developing appropriate financial models and analytics to determine the financial impact of future service demands, changes in legislation and other factors affecting resource requirements.
• Instigating, developing and supporting the delivery of alternative sources of funding that contribute towards identified funding gaps.
• Supporting the efficient and effective provision of a comprehensive financial management function, including all aspects of the annual estimates process, budget maintenance, monitoring and control.
• Supporting the preparation, analysis and provision of accurate financial management information, including budget monitoring reports and forecasts, promptly highlighting any risks and trends, in line with the Council’s policies and procedures.
• Promoting a culture which empowers budget holders and supports the delivery of value for money services and knowledge of key cost drivers.
• Preparing journals and the supporting documentation as required.
• Proactively seeking and taking responsibility for implementing internal process improvements, demonstrating the business case for change and benefits achieved.
• Acting as a key financial advisor, providing strategic support, expert advice and constructive challenge through informed discussion and effective negotiation.
• Assisting with the efficient and timely completion of specific tasks within the annual closing of accounts process and ensuring that information presented in the financial statements complies with the CIPFA Code of Practice and reporting standards.

Qualifications and Requirements:

Fully qualified or part qualified accountant (CIPFA, ACA, ACCA, CIMA) or equivalent experience

Evidence of post-qualification continuing professional development

Terms and conditions:

• Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
• Satisfactory declaration of interest;
• Satisfactory DBS check;
• Continued professional body registration;

• This post is politically restricted therefore the post holder is disqualified from undertaking certain political activities under the Local Government Officers (Political Restrictions) Regulations 1990.
• As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Emma Morgan, Head of Finance Business Partnering at Emma.Morgan@walthamforest.gov.uk

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.