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Head of Finance opportunity
Colchester Borough Homes
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HEAD (CSS)

Welcome

Welcome

Dear Candidate,

 

Welcome to Colchester Borough Homes

Thank you for your interest in a career with Colchester Borough Homes (CBH). This is an exciting opportunity to join our new Corporate Management Team as the Head of Finance and to provide operational leadership and management of the Company’s finance service.

CBH is a wholly-owned subsidiary company of Colchester Borough Council, set up in 2003. We are an Investors in People Gold organisation, employing over 200 people, providing housing management and property services to around 7,000 residential, commercial and public buildings in the local area, including the Council’s housing stock, Colchester Castle and Colchester Town Hall. We aim to be the trusted choice for local housing, property and community services.

I am looking for someone who wants to be part of a team that is passionate about making a difference in the lives of our customers, someone with a strong social conscience but a business mind. You are not required to have a social housing or public sector background and I would welcome applicants from the third sector. Colchester is a fantastic place to live and work. It’s a busy and vibrant Borough, one of the fastest growing places in the UK with a proud heritage, a diverse arts and cultural offer, good schools, affordable housing and with areas of outstanding natural beauty.

I hope this introduction has motivated you to consider Colchester as a place to live and work and I would welcome your application to work for this great organisation.

Gareth Mitchell

Gareth Mitchell
Chief Executive Officer

About us

About us

Colchester Borough Homes (CBH) is a company set up by Colchester Borough Council. As part of the local business community since 2003, we are an award-winning organisation providing management and maintenance services to around 7,000 residential, commercial and public buildings in the local area, including the Council’s housing stock, Colchester Castle and Colchester Town Hall. We aim to be the trusted choice for local housing, property and community services.

We offer a range of services to the private, public and non-profit sectors, including:

  • Buildings maintenance, renovations, refurbishments and repairs

  • Lettings, tenancy management and income collection

  • Housing options and advice

  • Asset management

  • Facilities management

  • Health and safety

  • Construction projects

  • Energy efficiency

castle

We are an ambitious organisation focused on delivering great value services that make a difference. We work closely with the Council and residents to make Colchester a better place to live and work. We employ over 200 people in and around Colchester as well as using a trusted network of suppliers.

CBH’s overall ambition is to be the trusted choice for local housing, property and community services. We plan to do this by delivering services that are valued by our customers and serving our communities. Getting the best from our people is essential in enabling us to achieve this ambition.

We are a people focussed organisation and seek to ensure that we enable our staff to perform and do the best job possible and to make CBH a great place to work. As a result of this focus, we have been awarded the prestigious Gold Investors in People award again in 2018.

The organisational behaviours are central to the culture of CBH and are outlined below:

Respect

Treating everyone as they would wish to be treated, so they feel valued and their needs respected in the most appropriate way. Diversity is an asset to the team and the organisation.

Consistency

A consistent approach is taken when we make decisions or give advice within the boundaries of current legislation and guidance, ensuring equity.

Ownership and Empowerment

Taking responsibility for your work from start to finish. Management give staff at all levels the freedom to make decisions when appropriate and able to do so, supporting them through the process. Whenever possible, communication is with the most appropriate person to take forward the task.

Honesty and Integrity

Building trust within our organisation and the community in which we work, through honest and open communication.

Organisational Loyalty

Understanding that we are all ambassadors of Colchester Borough Homes and it is our responsibility to act with professionalism at all times.

Self Development

Taking the initiative to access learning and development opportunities and keeping up to date with new legislation, rules and processes to ensure we provide correct and appropriate information to our customers and colleagues.

Colchester Town Hall

Our Equality Statement

Colchester Borough Homes is committed to treating people with fairness and respect, and appropriately to their needs.

We strive to meet in full our responsibilities under the Public Sector Equality Duty, and to do more.

We are committed to opposing all forms of discrimination and unfair treatment on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

We aim to advance equality of opportunity, and equality of access to our services, for all groups.

We involve our tenants and leaseholders, and we work with partners in our community to tackle prejudice and advance understanding.

We seek to embed equality into the day-to-day business of our organisation.

Our Equality Objectives are driven and monitored through our strategic plan and its delivery plans, and our approach and progress is scrutinised by our Board.

We are committed to openness and transparency and we publish policies and strategies, along with their ‘Equality Impact Assessments’, which help to ensure fair treatment towards all groups.

We aim to be a leader within our Community.

A commitment to Equality is central to our Values and Organisational

The opportunity

Matt Armstrong

Matt Armstrong
Director of Business Improvement

I joined Colchester Borough Homes in April 2009 as the Asset Manager. Having spent 13 years as an Army Officer and completing 2 tours of Afghanistan I became a management consultant, working predominantly in the public sector for Councils, the Police and the Fire Service. As much as I enjoyed consultancy, I was looking for a job where I felt I could make a real difference in people’s lives and working in social housing was the answer.

Although I had a limited knowledge of property services my initial years at CBH were spent rebuilding the property services team which had previously been outsourced to a private contractor. During that time the stock investment programme went from a very limited budget to the Government freeing up resources and having a programme 3 times the size, only to be cut again a few years later. I worked hard to maximise the budget we had and built a team of reliable professionals. One of my key roles was building a closer relationship with our parent organisation, Colchester Borough Council.

My role transferred into a Head of Service role after five years and I took on additional responsibilities such as the Sheltered Housing Refurbishment programme and a large scale energy efficiency programme, resulting in two £4m plus refurbishment projects and installing solar PV on 45% of the housing stock. This is in additional to delivering the capital investment programme and various corporate projects.

When the opportunity of a Director role came about I was excited at both the challenge and the chance to remain at CBH. I was successful in gaining the role of Director of Business Improvement in August 2019 and look forward to the new challenges it will bring.

If you want a job that is challenging but equally rewarding with good career opportunities, then I would thoroughly recommend working for Colchester Borough Homes.

The opportunity

Role:

Head of Finance

Salary:

Up to £56,000 (DOE) plus excellent benefits, including Local Government Pension Scheme

Permanent opportunity

 

Location:

Colchester, Essex

‘LEAD AND DELIVER AMBITIOUS PLANS’

 

Hays Senior Finance is proud to be working in partnership with Colchester Borough Homes who due to a recent management review are looking to appoint a Head of Finance to join their team which is a newly created and pivotal role to the organisation.

Colchester Borough Homes (CBH) is a company set up and wholly owned by Colchester Borough Council. As part of the local business community since 2003, they are an award-winning organisation providing management and maintenance services to around 7,000 residential, commercial and public buildings in the local area, including the Council’s housing stock, Colchester Castle and Colchester Town Hall.

They are an ambitious organisation focused on delivering great value services that make a difference, working closely with the Council and residents to make Colchester a better place to live and work.

The Head of Finance is a key role which will provide operational leadership and management of the company’s Finance service, resulting in the delivery of great value services that make a difference for their customers and their communities. You will ensure resources are in place for the effective operation of the Finance team, which will involve business partnering with the responsible Heads of Service. You will advise the Director of Business Improvement on all financial matters and ensure business decisions are aligned with the financial strategy and work to enhance financial culture and performance.

The ideal candidate will be a finance professional and be ACCA, CIPFA, CIMA qualified or equivalent, with previous experience of managing a finance team. You will have gravitas, drive and ambition with a degree of commercial acumen and the ability to liaise with high level key stakeholders and create insightful financial information that will drive business performance. You will be a strong team manager and be able to communicate effectively at all levels within the organisation.

You will drive achievement of their medium term delivery plan and lead on the delivery of allocated strategic delivery plan objectives. You will lead and coordinate the budget compilation process for the organisation ensuring sound monitoring and controls are in place. You will also lead on the implementation of a new financial system to support these aims.

Colchester Borough Homes has a hands-on, problem solving, team culture so it is essential that you have the ability to roll up your sleeves and be involved in the day to day operations as well as coaching and influencing others to continue to innovate and improve their financial processes.

This is an exciting time to join Colchester Borough Homes and if you feel you have the drive and the passion to help them to achieve their mission and vision, then they can offer you a role that is not only hugely satisfying but brings great benefits and a stimulating and supportive working environment.

In return CBH are offering a competitive salary, including excellent benefits such as; Local Government Pension Scheme 16.6% employer contributions, 34 days annual leave (inclusive of bank holidays) and free car parking.

In addition to this you also receive an additional 2 days leave (pro-rata) known as stat days when the office is closed during the Christmas period. You may also be entitled to purchase up to a weeks’ annual leave every year. CBH also offer all staff 1 days paid volunteering leave to allow for volunteering within the local community. Flexible working arrangements including part time hours and working from home for the right candidate will also be considered.

All third party & direct applicants will be forwarded directly to Senan Pierce at Hays Senior Finance to be screened as part of the recruitment process.
 

How to apply

How to apply

We want to make the process of applying for this role as straight forward as possible.To this end, we ask that your application consists of the following:

  • A covering letter, no more than 1 page in length which addresses and provides evidence against the criteria, set out in the Person Specification. The covering letter provides you with the opportunity to explain your motivation for applying, as well as highlighting how your experience and achievements fit with the requirements of the role. As such, it is an important part of the application process.

  • A copy of your most recent and up to date curriculum vitae.

Once you have completed your CV and covering letter, please upload them by clicking on the Apply button. (Above)

Recruitment timetable

Closing date for all applications: Sunday 20th October

Interviews will take place on: Monday 4th November

For an informal conversation about Colchester Borough Homes and the role please contact Senan Pierce on M: + 44 (0) 7738 752 785 or email senan.pierce@hays.com

Key documents

Location

Location

Rowan House
33 Sheepen Road
Colchester, Essex CO3 3WG

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