Principal Finance Policy Advisor

About Our Client

Our client is a large public sector organisation with significant responsibilities for regional services, infrastructure and long-term investment.

Its work has a tangible impact on communities, and sound funding and financial policy is critical to ensuring services and investment are sustainable, equitable and supported by robust decision-making.

This role sits within a well-established Finance and Risk function, alongside strong finance, accounting, planning, treasury, procurement, risk and assurance capability.

The Role

This is an opportunity for an experienced senior policy professional to take the lead on complex financial policy, funding and strategic advice.

The focus is not traditional accounting. Instead, you will work through challenging questions around how services and activities should be funded, what legislation allows, who benefits, who should pay, and how different approaches affect communities and stakeholders.

Your Portfolio Will Include Areas Such As

• Revenue and financing policy
• Financial strategy
• Rating and funding
• Rates remission and postponement
• Fees and charges
• Alternative funding models
• Borrowing, grants, subsidies and contributions
• Reserves and wider financial policies

A major upcoming programme of work will involve reviewing funding arrangements for a significant regional service. You will assess existing approaches, interpret relevant legislation, investigate alternative funding options and work through their financial and policy implications.

You will then turn that analysis into clear recommendations, lead engagement and workshops, support consultation and help take the resulting policy through the appropriate governance processes.

Importantly, this is not a role where you simply write advice for somebody else to present. As a senior advisor, you will be expected to confidently explain your analysis and recommendations to senior leaders, committees and elected decision-makers.

Alongside major strategic projects, you will help maintain the organisation's wider financial policy framework, monitor legislative and sector developments, support implementation and compliance, and provide guidance across the organisation.

There are no direct reports, but this is a leadership-level position. You will contribute to the wider leadership of the Finance and Risk function through your judgement, influence, technical leadership and willingness to support broader organisational priorities.

Role Requirements

We are particularly interested in hearing from senior policy professionals who are comfortable working at the intersection of policy, legislation, economics and financial decision-making.

Ideally, You Will Bring

• Significant experience developing policy from initial problem definition and analysis through to recommendation, consultation, approval and implementation
• Strong strategic, conceptual and analytical capability
• Financial literacy and experience working with funding, pricing, economics, revenue, rating, investment or similarly financially focused policy
• The ability to interpret legislation and external guidance and translate this into practical policy advice
• Experience developing clear, evidence-based recommendations for complex or ambiguous issues
• Strong written communication skills and the ability to make complicated issues understandable
• Confidence presenting advice and recommendations to senior stakeholders
• Excellent influencing, facilitation and relationship-building skills
• The ability to constructively challenge established approaches and ask whether existing policy remains fit for purpose
• Sound judgement, political awareness and resilience when advice is challenged
• The ability to work collaboratively across different professional and operational groups
• A relevant tertiary qualification, or equivalent experience

Experience within local government would be highly regarded, particularly exposure to revenue and financing policy, rating, funding models or the Local Government Act 2002 and Local Government (Rating) Act 2002.

However, strong candidates from other complex public sector environments should not discount themselves. Genuine policy capability and an ability to understand financial and legislative considerations are more important than being a traditional finance professional.

What's in it for You?

This is a rare opportunity to lead high-impact policy work at the intersection of financial strategy, funding and complex decision-making.

You’ll own significant pieces of work from analysis and options development through to consultation, recommendation and implementation, with direct exposure to senior leaders and elected decision-makers.

For a senior policy professional who enjoys solving complex problems, influencing decisions and seeing their work make a tangible difference, this is an exciting next step.

Contact

All inquiries and applications to Archway Recruitment are treated in the strictest confidence.

For a confidential discussion and to find out more about this opportunity, please contact Katie Oakes at Archway Recruitment on 021884092 or send your CV to katie@archwayrecruitment.com