London Borough of Waltham Forest
Finance Business Partner – SEND Reform
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Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest
Salary: PO10 £68,784 to £72,399
Contract Type: Full-time/Permanent
Working hours per week: 36
Application Deadline: 16/09/2026
Proposed Interview Date(s): w/c 21/09/2026 (TBC)
Reference: 2297
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.
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.
About the Role
Finance Business Partners are responsible for implementing the business partnering function for the assigned service area, in this case Special Education Needs (SEND), supporting delivery of the SEND reforms. The role is pivotal in providing strategic support in all aspects of financial advice for the service across the organisation. They act as partners with the service leadership teams to develop, constructively challenge, and support service plans and project delivery and take responsibility for managing and reporting on operational performance for the business partnering team. The post holder will be required to:
- Control the deployment and allocation of service resources within the overall corporate and legislative framework and be accountable for the performance of the service area against agreed objectives;
- Support the development of the budget for the relevant service area and contribute to wider service planning; and
- Be professionally accountable for interventions within their area of responsibility.
The post holder will be required to assess situations from a commercial, business or finance perspective and provide appropriate financial advice to support complex business decisions. They will work closely with relevant stakeholders to ensure best use of limited financial resources, providing the strategic financial insight, intelligence and support required. They will produce high-quality financial analysis and provide robust assessment of financial risk to support decision-making.
As well as being an excellent technical accountant, the post holder will think strategically and support the organisation to achieve its objectives, being aware of the political and commercial context. They will think innovatively, focus on key priorities, and make clear decisions.
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We are a Home Office–licensed sponsor; however, for this specific role we are not able to provide Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. To be considered, you must already hold a form of UK work authorisation that does not require sponsorship.
[Click here to download the Role Profile](https://fs-filestore-eu.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Waltham_Forest/govRoleProfiles/Role Profile - Finance Business Partner 2297.pdf)
Key Responsibilities
- Act as lead finance business partner for the SEND Reforms and associated transformation programmes, providing strategic financial advice to programme boards and senior leadership.
- Monitor and report SEND budgets, forecasts, risks, and mitigations.
- Support delivery of SEND improvement plans, deficit management plans, or transformation programmes.
- Analysing SEND cost drivers and identifying sustainable financial solutions, including developing financial models for long term impacts and scenario modelling.
- Reviewing SEND system and business processes for improvement opportunities.
- Working closely with SEND and Transformation colleagues to implement fully rounded financial and operational SEND Reform plans.
- Be the technical expert and have experience and detailed knowledge of all financial aspects of SEND and High Needs.
Qualifications and Requirements
- Fully qualified accountant (CIPFA, ACA, ACCA, CIMA) or part qualified with a demonstrable plan to achieve full qualification within 9 months
- Evidence of post-qualification continuing professional development
Terms and Conditions
The below terms and conditions apply to this role:
- Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
- Satisfactory declaration of interest;
- Satisfactory DBS check;
- Continued professional body registration;
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.
Please upload a copy of your CV as part of your submission.
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:
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- 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 Jordan McDougall, Head of Finance - Children's and Education at jordan.mcdougall@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.
Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.
Fraud Awareness Notice
The London Borough of Waltham Forest only advertises vacancies via our official website and approved recruitment platforms (e.g. Jobsgopublic).
We will never ask for payment or request sensitive personal or financial information as part of our recruitment process.
If you are contacted by a third party claiming to represent the Council, please verify the vacancy via our official careers website before sharing any information.
If you have concerns about a job advert or communication, please report it to: fraud@walthamforest.gov.uk.
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