Head of Finance, Permanent Full Time - Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service

Head of Finance, Permanent Full Time - Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service

Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service (CFRS) is now the responsibility of the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. Our finance team is an integral part of our service and our financial management and future affordability has recently been recognised as good by HMICFRS. We are looking for an ambitious and dynamic individual to take our finance function to the next level by someone who is looking for a career opportunity as a permanent part of the finance team at Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service.

The Head of Finance will support the Chief Finance Officer setting the strategic direction, planning and management of the financial arrangements of the organisation in accordance with relevant legislation. This will involve overseeing the delivery of all aspects of financial management and planning for the service including budgeting, financial planning and statutory accounts, providing financial advice to key stakeholders and representation of the Chief Finance Officer at a range of strategic internal and external forums and leading the Financial Services team.

This is an exciting opportunity to support CFRS in effectively developing and managing its financial strategy and being a part of this exciting journey as a standalone improving fire service.

To succeed in this role the successful candidate should be a qualified accountant, ideally with local government finance experience and the ability to manage a small team. You should be highly motivated and have a strong commitment to ensure CFRS continues on its journey of building financial resilience whilst achieving efficiencies. You must have a passion for identifying new opportunities and encouraging innovative improvements to the way the service is delivered and be effective at building relationships at all levels.

Hours: 37 hours per week. We support part-time working, job-shares and other flexible options - these can be discussed at interview. Contract: Permanent. Location: The Finance team is based at Carlisle East Fire Station, Penrith Headquarters, and home-working. Interviews will be held in person week commencing 24th November 2025. The location will be confirmed with successful candidates at invite.

This post requires a Standard DBS Check.