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Head of Finance Business Partnering

Head of Finance Business Partnering

Harris Federation

Croydon

Salary:
£90,000-£100,000
Job type:
Full Time, Permanent
Apply by:
15 June 2023

Job overview

We are looking for a Head of Finance Business Partnering to join our Head Office Central Services Team and be part of a leading education charity where your work will have a real impact.

As the Head of Finance Business Partnering at the Harris Federation, you will manage a supportive and hard-working team of over 20 Finance professionals, and work closely with Directors and Principals to manage the budget across our 52 academies and be a crucial link between our central team and schools.

We are a growing organisation with £330m funding which will give you a wealth of development opportunities. You will need to work strategically and have excellent interpersonal skills to be able to influence critical decision making.

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 office in East Croydon. You will also have access to our full benefits package including the local government pension scheme (with generous employer contribution) and our health and wellbeing cash plan.

We are interested in hearing from individuals who have experience managing a large team, and would be particularly keen to speak with people who have worked in a not-for-profit environment, managing over £100m budget. This is a fantastic opportunity to lead a highly collaborative team and join an organisation that is leading the way in making a difference for disadvantaged young people and communities.

About Us

We are a pioneering education charity, and one of the leading multi-academy trusts in the country. We have a track record of taking on some of the most challenging schools in London, turning them into places where every young person can access a high-quality education and have opportunities to succeed.

Educating 1 in 41 young people in London, we now have 52 primary and secondary academies transforming the life chances and opportunities of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Harris Federation has a track record of accomplishment in achieving success through rapid school improvement and has built an unrivalled reputation for running outstanding academies in London.

Our central team comprises a dedicated, driven group of departments working centrally to provide support across the Federation and all of our academies. Across a multitude of key departments, we maintain expertise all integral to supporting central and academies in areas such as Finance, HR, Data, Estates Management, Talent and many more.

Main Areas of Responsibility

The Head of Finance Business Partnering works with the Federation's Director of Finance to ensure robust financial management of the Federation's Academies, driving performance improvement and providing a high quality finance business partnering service to the Principal and other Federation stake-holders.

You will lead a team of three Senior Finance Business Partners and 15 Finance Business Partners on a day to day basis, as well as working closely with other areas of the Federation's Finance Department (including Financial Controller, Systems Accountant and Finance Manager).

Your key responsibilities will include:

  • The reporting, analysis of and commentary on the Federation's financial performance, both in Finance reports and documents and for inclusion in Consolidated accounts and at Governing Body meetings
  • Building strong, proactive relationships with all key stakeholders, acting as Key Relationship Manager for all financial provisions with Academies, working closely with the Federation's Secondary and Primary Directors
  • Leading and co-ordinating budgeting, planning and forecasting as well as contributing to target setting
  • Proactively identifying areas of under or over performance within the Federation's Academies, seeking to understand the drivers for these and making recommendations
  • Providing senior level commercial finance support to any of the Federation' Academies as requested by the DFOD
  • Proactively seeking out income opportunities that will play a key role in assisting the Federation and Academies to maximise funding
  • Membership of the Finance Leadership team, with the ability to participate in the management and leadership of the wider Finance team
  • Leadership, performance management and development of a team of four Commercial Finance Managers, all with extensive post qualification experience

Qualifications & Experience

We are interested in speaking to candidates who have:

  • An accountancy qualification (such as ACA, CIMA, ACCA or international equivalent)
  • A commercial finance background, with the ability to demonstrate the creation of a results driven environment
  • Experience of managing a team of qualified professionals
  • Experience and ability in building strong working relationships and influencing at all levels, highly adept at stakeholder management
  • The ability to influence key business strategies and initiatives, taking a strategic view of the business and impact on finance to improve and deliver a proactive service
  • Strong verbal, written and presentation skills, with an ability to write financial and commercial commentaries based upon sound financial analysis under demanding deadlines
  • The ability to build credibility and confidence of key stakeholders so they view finance as a key business partner
  • A highly organised approach, with the ability to prioritise and redistribute work across the team as needed
  • Willingness and ability to engage at a variety of levels from the strategic to dealing with operational issues and queries as needed, from high level analysis to more detailed work


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.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan including access to a virtual GP, electric car scheme, 26 days' annual leave (plus bank holidays) for staff who work across the full year, and many other benefits.

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

Learn more about our benefits on our website.

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 young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

Attached documents

About Harris Federation

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  • Harris Federation
  • 4th Floor, Norfolk House, Wellesley Road
  • Croydon
  • CR0 1LH
  • United Kingdom
+44 208 253 7777

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The Harris Federation is a not-for-profit educational charity with almost 25 years of education experience in and around London. Our primary, secondary, all-through and sixth form academies have an international reputation for delivering a step change in education standards.

In joining a Harris Academy, you will be working with some of the country’s most exceptional teachers, support staff and leaders. There are frequent opportunities for internal exchange and promotion; our CPD is regularly described as Outstanding; and we have a package of staff benefits that rivals the most competitive of other professions.

Each Harris Academy is led and run by its senior leaders and has its own curriculum and way of doing things. What our Academies share, however, is a commitment to giving their children and teenagers an excellent education within a happy, caring and supportive environment.

There are Harris Academies in many different settings – inner city and suburban – but they are all within a maximum ninety minute commute from each other. This enables a highly collaborative structure, with on-call support from the Harris Federation.

You can find out more on our website (www.harrisfederation.org.uk) or by following us on Twitter (@HarrisFed).

 

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Applications closed