Senior Financial Analyst

Job Details

Why East Renfrewshire Council?

Help us change the way we use finance, data and insight

We are looking for an ambitious Senior Financial Analyst to join our Finance team and help shape the next stage of how East Renfrewshire Council uses financial information to support better decisions.

This is not a traditional finance role.

We want someone who can combine strong financial understanding with excellent analytical and digital skills to help us modernise financial reporting, improve our use of data and develop smarter ways of working.

You will work across Finance and the wider Council, turning complex financial and operational data into clear insight that helps senior managers understand financial performance, identify emerging pressures and make informed decisions.

A key part of the role will be exploring how we can make better use of data, automation, business intelligence and modern analytical tools. You will help develop dashboards, analytical models and reporting solutions, reduce manual processes and improve the quality, accessibility and consistency of our financial information.

You will also work closely with our Digital, Data and Business Intelligence colleagues, helping translate financial requirements into practical and scalable solutions.

What you'll be doing

You will have the opportunity to:

- develop financial dashboards, management information and analytical models that influence real decisions;

- analyse financial and operational information to identify trends, risks, opportunities and emerging pressures;

- undertake scenario modelling, benchmarking and options appraisal to support financial planning and service change;

- identify opportunities to automate and streamline reporting and financial processes;

- improve the quality, accessibility and integrity of financial data;

- work with Finance, Digital and other services to develop better reporting and business intelligence solutions;

- explore the practical application of emerging analytical technologies within Finance; and

- help colleagues make better use of financial data through guidance, training and knowledge sharing.

Who we're looking for

You might already work in finance, financial analysis, data analytics, business intelligence or a related field.

More important than coming from a particular sector is your ability to understand complex information, challenge how things are currently done and turn data into something useful.

You should have strong analytical skills, advanced Excel capability and experience of developing management information, analytical models, dashboards or reports.

Experience with tools such as Power BI, SQL or Power Query would be particularly valuable, although we are equally interested in people who can demonstrate strong analytical capability using comparable technologies.

You'll also need to be comfortable working with senior stakeholders and able to explain complex financial or technical information clearly to people who may not have a finance or data background.

Experience in local government is welcome, but it isn't essential. If you have strong transferable skills from another sector and are excited by the opportunity to help transform how a public organisation uses finance and data, we would particularly encourage you to apply.

A professional accountancy qualification is desirable rather than essential, so this opportunity is also open to talented analysts and finance professionals from a broader range of backgrounds.

Why this role?

East Renfrewshire Council is looking at how Finance can move beyond producing financial information towards providing greater insight, challenge and decision support.

This role will be at the heart of that change.

You'll have the opportunity to develop new approaches, work across professional boundaries and influence how financial analysis and technology are used across the organisation.

If you enjoy asking "how could we do this better?", turning complex data into clear insight and using technology to solve real business problems, we'd like to hear from you.

*Hybrid employees are considered workplace based first, but they will have a level of flexibility to work from home up to 40% of their working week, if it is not to the detriment of their current tasks, team requirements or service needs. 

This post is subject to a Level 1 Disclosure Check.

Recruitment Dates and Additional Information

Closing date for applications: midnight on Sunday 29 November 2026

Shortleet date:  02 or 03 December 2026

Interview date:  Date to be confirmed between 10 - 17 December 2026

If you would like an informal discussion about the post, please contact Mike Docherty, Finance Business Partnering Manager, at mike.docherty@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk (No agencies please)

For details of our employment policies and terms and conditions, please visit our Council Careers page https://eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/careers

Please note – all applicants will be asked to provide proof of their right to work in the UK, and any offer of employment will be conditional upon verifying documentary evidence before employment commences. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-work

Please note – East Renfrewshire Council does not provide Visa sponsorship.

References – during your application form completion you must provide details of a minimum of 2 referees, 1 of which should be your most recent or current employer. It is also a requirement that the referees are your previous/current managers and are not the details of work colleagues operating at the same level as you or personal referees. Please note only work email addresses for referees will be accepted. Please contact hrdirect@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk with any questions.

Employability Support – Work East Ren – For further support on completing job applications, East Renfrewshire residents can access free support from our employability team Work East Ren. They can also provide general support with other employability matters. Please contact Work East Ren on 0141 577 8438, email worker@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk or visit the website https://www.workeastren.co.uk/

Use of AI in applications – Please fill out the application using your own words, based on your own experiences. We value authenticity and are genuinely interested in reading candidates’ personally written applications. We therefore ask that candidates do not use AI tools to complete recruitment application forms. Where an application appears to have been AI generated it may result in your application not being considered.