Principal Accountant - Blindwells Project

Vacancy Information

Hourly rate of pay: £30.02 - £33.79

Temporary for 23 months.
Days and Hours of Work:
Monday - Friday, 09:00-17:00
Starting and finishing times are flexible, and flexi time is applicable.
To start 3rd of August 2026.

Blindwells New Settlement – Project Team

East Lothian Council has an ambition to deliver and expand Blindwells new settlement, which could become Scotland’s first new town at scale since Irvine in 1966. Our emerging vision for Blindwells is to create an ‘Influential, Innovative, Health and Net Zero Place’ that is a vibrant destination and attractor; we want to create a high-quality place that is of benefit at UK, national, regional and local levels.

Blindwells is one of seven strategic sites supported by the Edinburgh and southeast Scotland City Region Deal. It is in the Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework 4 (2023) and Housing Emergency Action Plan (2025). It is supported by the interim Regional Spatial Strategy for south east Scotland (2020), the Regional Prosperity Framework for South East Scotland (2021) and its Delivery Plan (2023) as well as the Strategic Sites Programme (2025). A Blindwells Prospectus (2026) is also published.

The Council has worked with Scottish and UK Government, Scottish Futures Trust as well as private sector partners and others to develop a Strategic Outline Business Case for Blindwells, which is now approved by Government. We are now preparing an Outline Business Case, working with our private sector partners, Key Agencies and others, with Scottish Government providing investment and support to help achieve this.

The Council is therefore creating a multidisciplinary team, and a number of new full time posts have been created on a temporary basis. The following posts will sit in the Council’s Growth Delivery Team, managed by the current Blindwells Project Manager:

• Developer Contributions Officer
• Principal Accountant
• Senior Project Officer
• Planner

Resources are also to be augmented across the Council more widely to support our associated business objectives across the organisation:

• Project Architect
• Quantity Surveyor
• Solicitor
• Senior Procurement Officer

We invite applications for these posts from suitably qualified candidates to help us realise Blindwells full potential. The relevant Job Outline and Person Specifications for these roles can be accessed via the links above.

The council offers flexible working, flexi time, generous annual leave entitlement and a career average earnings pension scheme.

For an informal discussion on Blindwells, and on how successful candidate will be expected to help us progress the project to the next stage, please contact:

Andrew Stewart, Project Manager, East Lothian Council Tel: 07734 370 825

Home / Hybrid Working Consideration
Applications for home or hybrid working will be considered for this post in accordance with East Lothian Council’s Home Working and Worksmart Policies which can be found here. Home or Hybrid working options can be discussed with candidates invited for interview.

Please Note:
All home/hybrid workers must live in the UK. Where an application for home-working is supported, it will be subject to a satisfactory trial period. Employees will be expected to attend Council offices for the duration of induction, and be on site in East Lothian workplaces, as required. Employees with a hybrid working arrangement in place will be office based and able to work from home, with permission, on an ad hoc basis.

Job Details

As a senior member of the wider Finance Team, the Principal Accountant will be expected to:

In collaboration with the Service Manager operationally manage the provision of professional technical financial advice across the Council identifying and delivering the strategic objectives for the Finance team and wider Finance service.

Oversee the development and training of the Finance Team, ensuring the service has the appropriate skills, demonstrating continuous improvement, and is resourced to support the Council’s wider transformational change agenda.

Play a key role in ensuring Council services are managing their resources as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Please download the Job Outline/Person Specification (available under 'Job Attachments') for the full range of tasks and duties associated with this job. You will need to refer to these in order to complete the application form. You must ensure you meet every 'essential' criteria stated on the Person Specification to be considered for interview.

The ‘East Lothian Way’– values and behaviours we expect our employees to demonstrate in their everyday work. Should you be invited to interview, you may be asked questions based on these behaviours. Please refer to the document via the link to familiarise yourself with them.

Job Requirements

Relevant Qualifications
Qualified accountant with membership of a CCAB (CIPFA/ACCA/ICAS) professional accounting body, combined with substantial experience in a financial management role.
Evidence of Continuing Professional Development.

Level 2 Disclosure Clearance
This role requires Level 2 Disclosure Clearance. ELC will submit a Police Act Disclosure application on behalf of the preferred candidate and receipt of the subsequent certificate will be required prior to commencement.

Please note:
If you have spent more than 3 months working or living out with the UK in the last 5 years then you will also be required to present a copy of an overseas criminal record check. Details of how to apply and contact details can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Additional Information

For additional East Lothian Council employment information please click on the following link:
www.eastlothian.gov.uk/nonteachinginfo

If you have any difficulties creating an account on MyJobScotland or applying for this post please contact the MyJobScotland support team via this link https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/contact-us.

If you require further information about this vacancy, please call 01620 827868, or email us on recruitment@eastlothian.gov.uk

Please note: We do not accept CV's (either electronically or by mail). All our vacancies must be applied for by fully completing the on-line application form. Although there is an ‘import data from my CV’ function on MyJobScotland, this only imports very limited data and should not be relied upon to complete the application form. If, for example, due to a disability, you are unable to complete the on-line application form you can contact us for a paper application via the telephone number or email address above.