Leadership in action: A conversation with the Director of Finance

We're seeing real investment in the finance function – and that speaks volumes. The new roles we’re recruiting for aren’t just backfilling vacancies – they’re newly-created positions. We’ve done really well in bolstering the management accounting/business partnering side, this is now a push to do the same with the financial accounting side to get a technically strong team.

That reflects how much the organisation values the finance team and recognises how critical we are to making things happen.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is a unitary authority, which means we cover everything. One day you might be working on a multi-million-pound capital development scheme, and the next you’re supporting Children’s Social Care, or involved in the planning of huge physical infrastructure projects. The scale and scope are unlike anything you’d see in a smaller authority – and you can genuinely see and feel the impact of the work across the city.

We’re also in the middle of a significant transformation programme across multiple services, and finance plays a key role in all of it – in fact, every project has finance support. The new roles will help strengthen the technical side of the team, particularly in financial accounting, to make sure we’re enabling the wider organisation to deliver whilst complying with our regulatory duties as a finance function.

Yes, we face financial challenges, like many councils. But that’s about external funding and demand for services – not the management of our finances. In fact, multiple external reviews have praised our finance function. And from a career perspective, a challenging environment can provide finance professionals with valuable exposure, experience, opportunity and growth they might not get elsewhere. 

So, there may be a perception tied with some councils that they've got poor financial management, but that isn't the case with us. We've got a really good, hard-working finance team.

We’ve already had a lot of success recruiting on the business partnering side, and now the focus is on strengthening the financial accounting function. This is a vital area that underpins everything the organisation wants and needs to achieve – from treasury management to asset accounting and all the statutory financial reporting.

This isn’t just about filling roles – there’s been a lot of thought put into the structure and the bigger picture. Strengthening this part of the team will help us support the council even more effectively and ensure we’ve got the right technical skills in place to match our ambitions.

We often talk about the fact that we support all services. That scale creates what I’d call ‘positive challenges’ for finance professionals. It’s like trying to run a £10 business on £8 whilst still delivering the same outcomes – and that’s where the finance team really steps up. It’s in those moments that the hard work, skill, and passion of our people truly shine through.

Our focus is on enabling and supporting the organisation to deliver its goals. Stoke-on-Trent City Council is ambitious – there’s a lot going on now, and even more planned for the future. Finance sits at the heart of that.

The vision is to be a high-performing, well-respected finance function that helps drive transformation and deliver value. We want to ensure we have the skills and capacity needed to meet that challenge – which is why this recruitment drive is so important.

Stoke-on-Trent is no stranger to financial pressure. But it’s important to be clear: this isn’t a reflection on the finance team. The challenges we face stem from wider national funding issues and high demand for services, not from internal failings.

In fact, what makes this an exciting time for finance professionals is that our work is more critical than ever. We’re investing in our finance team, we’re expanding, and the organisation recognises that to navigate these challenges, a strong finance team is essential.

You can feel that respect across the council. There’s genuine buy-in at every level – people know the value finance brings. Yes, it’s a challenging environment, but that’s exactly what helps you grow; it creates better finance professionals. And the team here is full of hardworking, passionate people who want to make a difference.

There’s something really powerful about seeing the results of your work – and at Stoke-on-Trent, you get that. The projects we’re involved in aren’t abstract – they’re buildings you walk past, services that touch residents’ lives, and decisions that shape the city.

We support over 700 services, from social care to back-office functions, commercial ventures to major capital builds. We’re involved in traded services, wholly owned companies, commercial deals, housing delivery and regeneration projects because of the national focus. Our finance team isn’t just about budgets – it’s about making real things happen.

Right now, we’re celebrating our centenary – and there’s a real sense of civic pride. Stoke-on-Trent is on the up, it's on an exciting journey, people are passionate about the city and its heritage, but also about its future. That energy is reflected in the team. 

We are contributing to doing the best in terms of the services that are provided to the residents, which comes with a lot of responsibility. We’re not here to line shareholders’ pockets – we’re here to deliver for residents, and that gives the work real meaning. A good day at Stoke-on-Trent is making sure that the residents get value for money when it comes to their council tax.

Whether it's a new ERP system that affects every member of staff or the redevelopment of key city sites, the scale and complexity of what we do is huge. You can grow professionally and make a real difference at the same time.

It’s fast-paced, but it’s also incredibly supportive. We have to be resourceful, and that creates a strong team spirit. People look out for each other, and there's a shared determination to get the job done.

Equally, we want to make sure it’s a great place to work with a healthy work-life balance. We offer flexible, hybrid working, and we’re constantly looking at how we can improve wellbeing. That includes wellbeing initiatives, investment in office spaces, and a range of staff networks – like our LGBTQ+ group, BAME group, and equality and diversity forum – that are genuinely active and feed into senior leadership events. 

All staff members can take part in them, they are highly regarded. It’s these things that we recognise are just as important as everything else.

People want to be here, and we work hard to make sure it stays that way.

Whilst we require the necessary qualifications, given the technical nature of the posts within the campaign, what is equally – if not more important to us – is attitude. Attitude is everything. We really prioritise positivity, determination, curiosity and initiative, as well as the ability to build relationships.  

For these particular finance roles, we are looking for candidates who are keen and determined, but we’ll always offer support and development to help people grow in the role.

Strong communication skills are also key – you’ve got to be able to talk to people, explain complex things simply, be approachable and bring others along with you.

Integrity matters too – as a finance professional, you need to be trusted and consistent. Be willing to find the answer, even if you don’t know it there and then – and always come with a potential solution, as well as a problem.

If you’re thinking about applying, my advice would be: do your research. Everything we do is in the public domain, and there’s a lot of exciting stuff going on. I’d always want a candidate to come in knowing about our projects and not writing us off based on assumptions or misconceptions.

Take a little bit of time and look at all the exciting things we’re doing and how interesting it is, come and have a look around the city at the things we’re building – we’ll be involved in it all.

Development is a huge priority for us, not just for succession planning, but because we want people to thrive. Many of our senior managers started in junior roles and progressed with support and encouragement [Matthew himself started as a graduate], and that pathway is still very much open.

We support people to get qualified, to take on stretch assignments, and to shadow or step into more senior conversations. But we also recognise that not everyone wants to climb the ladder – some people want to deepen their expertise in their current role, and that’s just as valid. It's all about individual needs and supporting individual goals. 

We have structured training in place for our finance team, including both internal and external sessions, plus peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing and a mentoring/buddying scheme.

We also hold regular team sessions where we regroup, check in on our goals, and make sure everyone knows where they fit and how they’re contributing. That clarity really helps build resilience and purpose.

If you can think of a challenge, we’ve probably faced it – and overcome it or dealt with it, and dealt with it well. That’s made us a stronger, more experienced team.

We’ve handled everything – and that’s the kind of exposure finance professionals here get. When someone comes and joins the team at Stoke-on-Trent, they don’t just gain years of knowledge, but experience depth and complexity that’s hard to match.

On the commercial side, we’ve always operated at scale. We’ve got wholly owned companies, traded services, and we’re regularly involved in large-scale commercial deals, like planning multi-million-pound waste infrastructure projects.

Working in finance here means stepping into both public and private sector-style challenges, and getting the best of both.