Academy Head of Operations and Finance at City of London Academy Islington

Academy Head of Operations & Finance at The City of London Academy Islington

Grade/Range: COLAT PO9 scale points 56 to 60

Salary Range: £69,258 - £73,818 full time equivalent

Working Pattern: The role is full-time, 35 hours per week, all year round, with 29 days annual leave plus bank holidays. We would welcome discussions about the possibility of reduced hours or ‘term-time plus’ but we expect the role to require a minimum of 0.8FTE across the year.

Location: City of London Academy, Islington. Travel to other Trust Academies and the central offices (all within London) will be required.

You are an excellent leader; we are a top performing Trust. Together, we can create truly exceptional schools.

About the Role

The City of London Academy Islington (COLAI) is seeking to appoint an experienced and committed academy business professional to provide strategic and operational leadership of the financial and operations functions (HR, Estates, IT, Finance & Business Support) at the academy. This is a Senior Leadership role within the academy, and you will work closely with and report directly to the Principal, with a dotted line to the wider trust finance & operations teams.

About Us

The City of London Academy Islington (COLAI) is a secondary academy, with sixth form within the City of London Academies Trust (CoLAT). COLAT is driven by the ambition to be the best. We believe exceptional leaders create exceptional schools; they transform lives and shape the future of every student.

COLAT currently oversees six secondary academies, three primary academies and one sixth form centre all located in north, south and east London. We combine the heritage and tradition of the Corporation of London with a genuinely innovative, enterprising, and entrepreneurial ethos. We are also committed to providing training and development to all our staff, plus excellent career advancement opportunities within this evolving Trust.

COLAI opened in September 2008, and is mixed, non-selective, with no religious affiliation, committed to providing an exceptional level of pastoral care, academic education and enrichment for every student and joined the City of London Academies Trust in September 2020. We have created a high-quality academy with the highest levels of achievement and self-discipline, and a broad, dynamic curriculum designed to help students achieve the highest personal and academic standards. Since opening in 2009 we have achieved two Outstanding grades from Ofsted. COLAI is based in the heart of an evolving community in Islington, and we value the diversity of our workforce. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds to join our team.

About you

We are seeking a candidate with a proven track record of running operations functions, ideally within an education setting, but expertise within a commercial or charitable setting is welcome. You will need to be able to strategically manage a broad and varied remit, prioritise well and be a good team player. You will be a good communicator, keep lines of communication between your academy based colleagues and trust based colleagues open and constructive at all times. You will need to have the ability to unblock potential hurdles, and be able to get the best out of your direct reports. Some form of finance or business qualification will be desirable, however we will a consider applicants with strong and relevant experience in a similar role.

If you match our ambition and want to join our dedicated team of professionals, we would love to hear from you. Candidates must address the person specification in no more than 1,000 words. Applications must be submitted via the TES portal.

If you require any other details, or would like an informal discussion, please contact enquiries@cola.org.uk.

Closing date for applications 9am 16 April 2024

Selection will take place Monday 22 April 2024

Please note that we are also recruiting the same role at our nearby City of London Academy Highbury Grove (COLAHG). By completing one application you will be considered for both roles. Given the close proximity and similar nature of these two academies we will be running a single recruitment process and looking to appoint two candidates (one at each academy). This will be a single-stage interview process with the planned to take place on 22 April 2024 at on-site across the two school sites in Islington (25-minute walk between sites).

Academies Trust supports Equal Opportunities Employment.

City of London Academies Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff to share this commitment and to undergo appropriate checks in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education, including enhanced DBS checks and a willingness to demonstrate commitment to the standards which flows from City of London Academies Trust vision and values.

The role is covered by part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 and therefore the ability to speak fluent spoken English is an essential requirement for this role.

City of London Academies Trust Company Registration No. 04504128.