Financial Controller

We are looking for an experienced Financial Controller to lead our central Finance Team and be part of a leading and forward-thinking educational charity where your work will have a real impact.

As a Financial Controller at the Harris Federation, you will manage the financial reporting and compliance across our 52 academies. Our annual funding is over £300m and it will be your role to monitor our performance against budget as well as to develop the financial systems and controls in place as our organisation continues to grow rapidly.

You will be joining us at an exciting time as we prepare to transition to Oracle Cloud, our brand-new ERP system – with the first phase due to go live in September 2023. This system includes modules that impact all areas of our organisation, and you will be responsible for supporting this transformational work from a financial standpoint.

We offer lifestyle friendly working arrangements including flexible start and end times, and hybrid working with 2 days from home and 3 days with the team at our head office in East Croydon.

We are interested in hearing from qualified accountants with a strong track record of leading a finance and operations function and experience in statutory accounts management. This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a hardworking and committed team and join an organisation that is leading the way in making a difference for disadvantaged young people and communities.

Main Areas of Responsibility

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading and motivating a small Central Finance team, providing direction and development, performance appraisals and reviewing all their work, including the Federation management accounts and balance sheet reconciliations
• Responsibility for assisting DF to develop to a brand new ERP system (Oracle Cloud) alongside the Head of Finance Systems
• Assisting the Director of Finance to continually develop the existing systems and controls in this fast pace and rapidly growing business
• Monitoring Federation performance against budget, ensuring no overspends
• Providing business and financial support to the Director of Finance as required, to include assistance in setting budgets and reviewing reports on actuals and variances
• Setting the annual timetable for all areas of financial reporting
• Working with the Head of Finance Business Partners to ensure adherence to Federation finance policies and practices, and developing and improving the reporting and efficient running of the Academies' finance function
• Liaising with the Internal Audit team to ensure all finance procedures are adhered to and any other issues as appropriate
• Reviewing all Academies' management accounts and balance sheet reconciliations, including ensuring appropriate financial accounting procedures and policies are applied
• Ensuring that the Trust has appropriate insurance cover as well as being the overall group administrator including processing claims as required
• Recording and evaluating all proposals for expenditure on capital and other projects
• Reviewing and monitoring financially all major group contracts such as photocopying, catering and utilities
• Preparing consolidation of the Academies' accounts and annual budgets
• Managing the Teachers' Pension audit processes
• Planning and managing cash flow, funding and capital expenditure
• Identifying and evaluating opportunities for improving value for money
• Ensuring DfE / ESFA reporting deadlines are adhered to throughout the year
• Preparing and co-ordinating the year-end statutory accounts for all Academies and the consolidated Federation accounts
• Planning and managing the Trust's VAT liabilities
• Compiling the annual P11D and PSA returns
• Investigating, implementing and managing tax-related issues
• Responsibility for all Company Secretarial compliance
• Providing key financial and operational indicators and other data for benchmarking and monitoring with other Academies
• Developing the existing finance manual and procedures and documenting all department procedures
• Maintenance of the Federation treasury, including opening bank accounts, updating mandates, credit card management and investigating low risk investment opportunities

Qualifications & Experience

The successful candidate will have:

• CCAB Qualification, ideally with substantial post-qualified experience
• Recent and relevant continued professional development
• Proven experience of leading a finance and operations function within a medium-large sized enterprise, with turnover/income £80-£300 million.
• Strong commercial acumen that has been demonstrated in providing operational effectiveness in a resource-constrained environment.
• Wide-ranging core Finance experience and commercial skills encompassing the following: budgeting and planning, strong cash-flow management, managing capital expenditure, creating a strong control environment around management and statutory reporting, strong financial and management information analysis skills and able to disseminate timely, accurate and relevant reports to key stakeholders.
• Previous experience in building effective teams, developing staff and managing external business liaisons.
• Strong statutory accounts experience; you will be expected to consolidate 50 academies to statutory level.

Previous experience of working within a Multi Academy Trust would be advantageous, and experience of working in the Education or Charities sector is highly desirable. For a full job description and person specification, please download the job pack.

Professional Development & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level to senior leadership.

We look for talented individuals who share our vision for creating exceptional places of learning, and are committed to ensuring that every child in London has access to the best possible education.

In addition to the opportunities for career progression, training and development, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme, a Wellbeing Cash Plan, electric car scheme, 26 days' annual leave (plus bank holidays) for non term-time only employees, and many other benefits. We offer flexible working in the form of "Core Hours" and potential for hybrid working.

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed for all applicants. Before applying, please review our Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

As a provider of employment and education, we value the diversity of our staff and students, and all our staff are equally valued and respected. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment for our students and staff.