London Borough of Tower Hamlets - Finance Director

Director of Finance (Deputy Section 151 Officer)

We are looking for an exceptional Director of Finance to play a crucial role in delivering one of the most ambitious agendas in local government.

Tower Hamlets is like a city within a city. Our workforce of over 7,000 people serve more than 320,000 residents in the most densely populated and fastest growing place in the UK.

Millions of visitors come to our borough from across the world to see our iconic destinations. We deliver the third largest economic output in the UK with areas such as Canary Wharf and our borough borders The City, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the River Thames.

Our population is one of the most diverse in the UK, and we face the challenges of significant contrasts in wealth and poverty across the borough.

As Director of Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer, you will provide strategic financial leadership at the heart of one of London's most dynamic local authorities.

Reporting to the Corporate Director of Resources, you will lead the Council's finance function and play a pivotal role in ensuring financial sustainability, strong governance and effective stewardship of public resources leading a diverse range of financial services to deliver high-quality financial advice and support across the organisation.

This role includes:

• Strategic financial leadership – helping to shape and deliver the Council's financial strategy, ensuring resilience, sustainability and robust financial governance.

• Deputy Section 151 responsibilities – supporting the Corporate Director of Resources in assuring the adequacy of reserves, robustness of budgets and long-term financial planning.

• Financial improvement and transformation – driving innovation, modernisation and continuous improvement across financial systems, processes and reporting.

• Corporate influence and challenge – providing authoritative financial advice, insight and challenge to senior leaders, Members and stakeholders to support effective decision-making.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an ambitious finance leader to make a significant impact within a high-profile and complex organisation. You will play a critical role in supporting the Council's improvement journey while helping to shape its long-term financial future.

About You

We are seeking an experienced and professionally qualified finance leader with:

• A recognised finance qualification and membership of a CCAB professional body, ideally CIPFA.

• Significant senior leadership experience within a large and complex public sector or local government environment.

• Deep expertise in financial planning, budget strategy, treasury management, capital finance, governance and statutory reporting.

• A proven track record of delivering financial recovery, improvement and transformation programmes in challenging environments.

• Strong political awareness and the ability to provide credible advice, support and challenge at the most senior levels.

• Outstanding leadership, communication and relationship management skills, with the ability to influence, engage and build confidence across a wide range of stakeholders.

You will be a collaborative and resilient leader with the professional credibility, commercial acumen and strategic outlook needed to help shape the future of Tower Hamlets.

Our council is a beacon for diversity and inclusion. We want a borough where everyone feels valued and included, and we want a council that collaborates to deliver excellence.

That's why we look for people with our TOWER values of Together, Open, Willing, Excellent and Respectful.

For more information or a confidential discussion, please contact our retained consultants at Penna:

Julie Towers – 07764 791736

Andrew Tromans – 07805 226301

Kelly Ridley – 07709 512415

Closing date: 11:59pm, Friday 24^th July

How to Apply

1. Upload your CV under “Please select one of the options below.”
2. Complete the short mandatory fields on the next page.
3. Use ‘Add Attachments’ to upload your Supporting Statement and any other documents.
4. Please ensure that the file name of your CV and supporting statement includes your full name.
5. Ensure both CV and Supporting Statement are uploaded before submitting your application.
6. If you have a long-term health condition or disability and would like your application to be considered in accordance with a Disability Confident Scheme, please email: execapplications@penna.com to inform the Penna team.