School Finance Manager/ Management Accountant

School Finance Manager/ Management Accountant

Full Time, 35 hours per week

Scale P06

(Pt 40-43, £51,093-£54,129)

Flexible working considered for the right applicant

Do you have an eye for detail, have a flair for managing finance and like to think innovatively?

Do you like juggling multiple tasks and working to deadlines with purpose?

If so, this could be the right job for you....

We are looking for a highly experienced and motivated individual who is keen to develop their finance career within the education sector.

Barking Abbey School and Eastbrook School are working together under the same leadership, and we are looking for a finance manager to lead, oversea and develop finance functions in both schools with the guidance and support of a highly experienced School Business Manager. This is an exciting opportunity to streamline both schools finance functions, achieve real value leading staff to create a team serving the needs of both schools.

A strong financial, business and technical background is essential to work with and to support the School Business Manager in further developing the finance, payroll functions for the Schools.

Reporting to the School Business Manager, you will be part of the central school’s core staff leadership team.

Managing the finance teams and all day to day aspects of the finance functions and software in both schools such as processing payments, invoicing and sales, payroll, preparation of budgets and the production of monthly and annual management accounts and returns.

The combined budget for both schools is in excess of £35M pa and the are substantial opportunities for costs saving as the two schools work together more.

The schools both have two monthly payroll runs with monthly payroll costs totalling near £2m with two separate systems and providers. There is further scope to develop this in the future. Currently across the two schools there are over 550 staff on the monthly payroll reports and runs.

The successful candidate will:

• Have experience of managing very large scale budgets not necessarily in education but you must have an understanding of education finance and .a willingness to continue to learn adapt and grow.

• Be able to produce budgetary information for school leaders, the local authority and Governors in a way that they can understand.

• Be able to embed simple robust systems for payroll, invoice processing and all other financial functions.

• Have experience of gaining grants and other sums of money outside of allocated school funding.

• Have experience of leveraging purchasing power or reviewing contracts to seek best value for money.

• Understand and adhere to principals around the use and protection of public funds.

• Have a good understanding of accounting processes, and standards as set out in local authority, EFSA and DFE guidance.

• Be highly organised and able to deliver workstreams to tight deadlines.

• Have the ability to manage and motivate members of their team, and think of innovative solutions.

• Be able to develop and streamline customer and results focused systems and processes.

• Be able to develop strong professional relationships with all school staff.

• Have a customer focused approach with high standards and expectations.

• Be able to provide support and advice around aspects of financial management and processes.

• Be passionate about providing a service that proactively supports the daily operation of the school and is in line with financial regulations and schools wider regulatory framework.

• Have accountability on the day to use and management of the Schools finance systems and processes.

• Be qualified, part qualified, or undertaking either an Accountancy/Business management or other relevant qualification (e.g. ADSBM, CIPFA, AAT, ACCA, CIMA).

• Have accountability for the management and upkeep of the schools contracts register making sure that the SBM is kept up to date with contract terms and renewal dates so that the appropriate tenders and quotations can be sought.

• Own the budgetary process for both schools.

• Assist in the seeking of quotations and preparation of tender documentation.

• Support the School Business Manager and other key staff with the preparation of funding applications.

• Liaise with the Local authority and other funding bodies to make sure all funding is received and in line with projections.

In return we can offer you:

• An Outstanding school (Ofsted 2024).

• A school where we get to know our students and staff well, find out what they are good at and develop their talents.

• A professional, friendly and supportive working environment.

• The opportunity to access a wide range of CPD opportunities within and beyond school.

• A school which understands the importance of staff well-being and workload management.

• An experienced School Business Manager, with a track record of supporting staff to develop their careers.

• Work as a member of the core staff leadership team, developing your skills and making an impact to the lives of our students.

Potential flexible working on offer for an outstanding candidate. The successful candidate will be subject to an Enhanced DBS Check if not registered on the Update Service. Immediate start available.

If you believe you have the skills and expertise to make a significant contribution to our school and work as part of a friendly professional and welcoming team, we hope that you will apply. We encourage applications from suitably qualified, enthusiastic and experienced professionals.

We believe it’s important that are our staff are happy and thriving and want them to enjoy working in the school sharing our ethos and values. With this in mind, visits to the school are warmly welcomed prior to interview.

To book your appointment email: linesj@barkingabbeyschool.co.uk

Barking Abbey serves a diverse community and positively welcome applications from all sections of the community. If you are interested in making a difference in young people’s lives whatever your background or history, please apply.

Barking Abbey is a heavily over-subscribed dual campus secondary school in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, with a well-deserved reputation for academic excellence and a supportive professional environment.

The school is located less than 10 minutes walk from Upney tube and 15 minutes from Barking mainline station.

Barking Abbey celebrates its diversity, and we positively welcome applications from all sections of the community. If you are interested in making a difference in young people’s lives whatever your background or history please apply.

Please click here to find out more information about what it is like to work at Barking Abbey:

https://www.barkingabbeyschool.co.uk/home/join-us/staff-vacancies/

Barking Abbey is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and is an Equal Opportunities Employer.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and a comprehensive screening process, including Disclosure check, will be undertaken on all successful applicants.

Online searches may be conducted for all shortlisted candidates and will be conducted for all successful candidates as part of our due diligence checks.