Gloucestershire County Council has a gross annual budget of £950 million and employs around 17,000 staff. The most recent national inspection of local authorities by government has classified the County Council as performing well. As a Council we continue to work hard to ensure no money goes to waste and are determined to minimise the impact on front line services in spite of ever-tightening public service funding.

We therefore fully recognise the importance of good financial management and advice within the Council and want to develop new people to continue this process. We believe our training scheme will prove to be one of the best in local government and trainees on our scheme will be provided with consistently good support and a well structured programme.

Our previous CIPFA graduate trainees have risen through the organisation and as well as some continuing to work in finance, a number have moved to hold very senior posts within our service departments.
Gloucestershire is a great place to live and work in and is well placed on the edge of the South West for access to and from the rest of the country via good road and rail links.

Placements will commence August 2010.

Furthermore, please click on our podcast to listen to graduates experiences of working for Gloucestershire County Council:

www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/traineeaccountants

In addition to the relevant skills and experience information you will provide in your application, can you also please submit an expression of interest of no more than 1 side of A4 within the relevant experience section, responding to the following:

“Why do you want to work as an accountant in the public sector and what attracted you to working at Gloucestershire County Council?”

Key Responsibilities:
Trainees will be involved in a series of six monthly placements, supporting day-to-day operations while getting a good understanding of the varied activities within the Finance function and taking a lead in projects. Trainees will experience a broad range of areas, including financial planning, corporate accountancy and management accountancy, advising and supporting managers within a number of service areas. Whilst developing their skills and expertise, trainees will also be undertaking the CIPFA professional accountancy qualification.

Mimimum Requirements:
300 UCAS points and at least a 2:1 degree in any discipline.
Applicants must expect to graduate in 2010 or have graduated within the previous two years.

You will have a real desire to work in the public sector and to make a difference to the organisation. Your ability to analyse information, problem solve and challenge the norm will be complemented by your ability to engage with people and build good working relationships.

You will have an understanding of current issues facing local government and have an awareness of the aims and objectives of the Council and the services we provide.

Benefits:
Full financial support for the CIPFA qualification.
We have a comprehensive range of pay and benefits which includes incremental pay scales, annual cost of living increases, and excellent holiday and leave arrangements, flexible working and final salary pension scheme. For other benefits please log on to

http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=7888

Interview/Assessment Dates – April 2010.

For more information about the recruitment process please telephone Stephen Hall on 01452 425575.

For any other enquiries about these posts please call (01452 425877) or email