Assistant Accountant

Overview

Are you an excellent communicator with a great eye for detail?

An excellent opportunity has arisen for an Assistant Accountant to join Education Scotland at an exciting time.

This role sits within our finance team, with the main focus to ensure that financial records are maintained and reported accurately, and to provide reliable and timely information to management on performance against budgets.

Education Scotland is Scotland's national improvement agency for education. Our role is to provide assurance and promote improvement, from the early years to adult learning. We are committed to embedding our values of excellence, creativity, integrity and respect in everything we do.

This role can be based out of one of our Education Scotland office locations in Glasgow, Livingston, Inverness, Dundee or Aberdeen.

Responsibilities

• Line management of the Finance Manager and countersigning officer for two finance administrators. Deal with staffing issues as they arise and ensure that appraisals and reviews are carried out effectively and within the required deadlines. Monitor staff development and training needs.

• Ensure all monthly reconciliations are up to date, covering both preparation and review of reconciliations completed by others. Review the trial balance and other system reports each month and journal corrections as required. Review the fixed asset register and make adjustments as needed. Provide ad hoc guidance and advice as required.

• Update the monthly budget monitoring workbook and prepare monthly budget monitoring returns. Respond to any queries.

• Support the completion of Education Scotland’s annual accounts and respond to internal and external audit enquiries.

• Assist with finance training across the organisation.

• Assist in the annual review of finance processes.

Competencies

Self Awareness

Communications and Engagement

Improving Performance

Analysis and Use of Evidence

Financial Management

Essential Criteria & Qualifications

Currently working towards/or already have a full accounting qualification from a recognised Consultative Committee of Accountancy Body (CCAB) including CIMA.

Essential Criteria

1. Evidence of working knowledge of financial systems and Excel spreadsheets, with a focus on producing monthly financial management information for both internal and external stakeholders.

2. Evidence of strong analytical and reconciliation skills in a comparable finance or accountancy position.

3. Strong organisational skills including the ability to prioritise workloads for yourself and your team, work on own initiative, identify key issues and deliver a range of tasks within strict timelines.

4. Demonstrable experience in communicating financial information effectively with internal and external stakeholders through a variety of methods.

Provisional Interview Dates

To be confirmed. 

Additional Information

For further information on this vacancy please download and review the “Person Specification” which you will find below.

Person_Specification_Band_B

To apply, you must fully complete and submit an online application via this website before the closing date using evidence based examples to demonstrate your knowledge/skills (300 words). Remember, your answers should be clear, concise and reflect what actions you undertook. You may want to use the STAR(R) approach to respond to each criterion.

To learn more about this opportunity, please contact Katy Petrie until 08/02/23 at katy.petrie@educationscotland.gov.scot and Andrew Duncan from 09/02/23 at andrew.duncan@educationscotland.gov.scot

The Scottish Government is a diverse and inclusive workplace and we want to help you demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. If you require any adjustments to our recruitment process, please let us know via ScottishGovernmentrecruitment@gov.scot

As part of any recruitment process, Scottish Government and associated public bodies collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants and applicants for public appointments.

Personal information you provide in the recruitment process will be made available to Scottish Government and our additional data processors.