Management Accountant

Package Description

In addition to your salary, we offer a range of benefits including:

• Great holiday benefits - most roles include 28 days annual leave every year on top of public (bank) holidays, increasing to 32 days after five years. In addition, there is a holiday purchase scheme allowing staff to purchase up to 5 additional days of leave each year.
• Excellent pension - everyone who works for us can join the national Local Government Pension Scheme, widely regarded as one of the best available.
• A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity support.
• Access to an award-winning employee benefits programme that includes a health cash plan, a low-cost bike purchase scheme as well as high street discounts and money off entertainment and travel.
• Salary sacrifice car scheme - eligible employees can lease an electric or low-emission vehicle at a reduced cost through salary sacrifice, subject to National Minimum Wage and other eligibility requirements.
• Blue Light Card - employees working within social care can qualify for an additional range of discounts from national retailers and local businesses.

Why join us? Along with more on our Benefits, discover why Working at the City Council could be the right move for you here Working at the Council | Milton Keynes

Roles are either ‘site based’ or ‘home based’.

Site based roles are mainly based at the workplace, with the option to work from home for up to two days a week, depending on service needs.

Home based roles are mainly based at home, with the expectation of attending the workplace up to one day a week.

The working arrangement for each role is set by the manager, based on service requirements.

Job Introduction

We’re recruiting a Management Accountant to join our Finance team and help Milton Keynes City Council make the best use of its resources.

You’ll be the lead accountant supporting either Children’s Services or Adult Social Care, working closely with managers to understand complex budgets, improve financial forecasting and support well-informed decisions.

We’re proud to be a financially sound council, and our Finance colleagues play an important part in this by providing constructive challenge, clear advice and support across the organisation.

You’ll bring strong professional finance expertise, using financial modelling and analysis to help services understand pressures, identify savings and plan ahead.

You’ll also contribute to our Medium Term Financial Plan, financial governance, grant returns and year-end accounts.

We work as One Council, with colleagues across different services working collaboratively to solve problems and deliver the best possible outcomes for Milton Keynes.

Our values are to be dedicated, respectful and collaborative, and we’re looking for someone who will bring these values to their work every day.

This role may be suitable for home working, following an assessment. Home‑based roles require a minimum of one day per week working from the office or site.

Interviews for this role will be held on 15th December 2026

Please note, interviews are held in person.

Find out more about working with us here: www.mkcounciljobs.org.uk

Role Responsibilities

• Lead the financial support for either Children’s Services or Adult Social Care, building effective relationships with managers and providing clear, constructive financial advice and challenge.
• Take responsibility for the quality and accuracy of financial forecasts, helping managers understand budget pressures, manage overspends and develop practical actions in response.
• Support the Medium Term Financial Plan and budget-setting process, including financial modelling, business cases, demand pressures, savings proposals and contractual inflation.
• Help services follow the council’s Financial Regulations and strengthen financial management by providing accessible guidance, advice, assurance and training.
• Provide financial and governance advice to projects and boards, including financial modelling, company financial evaluations, reports and dashboards.
• Support accurate grant claims, statutory financial returns and year-end accounting, maintaining clear evidence and working effectively with internal and external audit.

Ideal Candidate

• A qualified Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies accountant, or someone in the final year of their qualification who is committed to completing it, with evidence of appropriate continuing professional development.
• You’ll bring excellent spreadsheet skills and the ability to turn information from different systems and datasets into robust financial models and useful insight.
• Experience of the budget planning cycle will help you provide confident advice while maintaining strong financial governance and accurately analysing and reporting financial issues.
• Clear communication will be essential, as you’ll need to make complicated financial information understandable to colleagues with different levels of financial knowledge, whether through reports, presentations, financial models or training.
• An inquisitive approach will help you challenge assumptions constructively, explore different solutions and apply creative thinking to complex problems in a fast-paced environment.
• Working in a dedicated, respectful and collaborative way, you’ll build trusted relationships, take ownership and help colleagues make sound financial decisions for the council and the people of Milton Keynes.

About The Organisation

Milton Keynes City Council is a large, modern and financially stable employer with around 2,500 people working across our eight areas. Together we provide local residents and businesses with a wide range of important round-the-clock services and aim to make our city a better place to live.

We work hard because of the demands placed on us, like protecting children from harm or preventing homelessness. However, working for the city is always rewarding and everyone has the opportunity to make a real difference.

We’re very proud of our diversity and are committed to having a workforce that reflects the community we serve. Whatever your background, you will be welcome here if you share our values of being dedicated, respectful and collaborative.

We offer great training and support and because of the size and scale of the organisation there are always new opportunities to explore when it’s time for a new role.

If you’d like to know more about how we do things and what matters to us, take a look at our short booklet What makes us Milton Keynes City Council, see attached.

Please note that this role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must already have an independent and unrestricted right to work in the UK, without the need for employer sponsorship now or in the future.