Volunteering Matters Hiring for Finance Manager Job at Harpenden, England Full Time

Finance Manager

Start date: As soon as possible

Contract: Permanent

Term-time (38 weeks) plus four further weeks (to include two INSET Days)

Hours: 37 hours per week

Pay Scale: M1 (NJC Points 32-36)

Full time equivalent salary: £35,745-£39,880 + £626 fringe allowance

Actual paid salary £33,966-£37,828

Roundwood Park is an outstanding secondary school based in Harpenden. It enjoys an

excellent reputation, both locally and nationally, and has an expanding Sixth Form.

We wish to appoint an experienced finance professional to lead and manage our Finance

function. The main responsibilities of the role are to manage all financial and accounting

operations, systems, controls and reporting, to manage payroll, to support our Director of

Operations on planning and budgeting, and to manage the experienced Finance team.

The successful applicant will have strong technical accounting skills, likely to have been gained

in a similar role, but not necessarily in the education sector, and will be confident and

empathetic, with excellent interpersonal skills. Good organisational skills are required in order

to ensure that all regulatory requirements are met, but you will have the support of an

experienced and professional team who work well individually and collectively.

If you have any questions about the role, please do get in touch with our Director of

Operations, Paul Seymour, at [email protected]

If you are viewing this vacancy on a web recruitment platform, application is via the form and

process on that platform. If on our school website, your application should be submitted using

the Word document application form on our Vacancies page and emailed to Ian Stowe, HR

Manager, at [email protected] Either way, your personal statement or covering

letter is of particular importance, and must set out why you believe you are a good candidate

for this role.

We are committed to the safeguarding and promotion of children’s welfare. We also have a

sincere commitment to equal opportunity and celebrate diversity, including in our staff

recruitment. We welcome applications from all sections of our community very warmly, and

we recognise the huge strength and opportunity that comes from diversity in all aspects of our

make-up. We will need to obtain references in advance of interview for any candidate short-
listed, and all job offers are subject to satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service

clearance.

Job Description: Finance Manager

Job Title: Finance Manager

Purpose of Role: • Responsibility for financial management and control, including

accounting, records, financial operations, and financial

management information

• To ensure that financial standards are complied with in line with

current legislation and the requirements of the ESFA, Charities

Commission, HRMC and other organisations as required.

• Provide support to the Director of Operations on planning,

forecasting and budgeting

• Financial reporting, and coordination of the production of the

year-end statutory accounts

• Responsibility for payroll and pensions administration

• Provide support to the Director of Operations in the

management of stakeholders (eg regulators, auditors, ESFA,

HMRC, Leadership team, Governing Body, staff)

• Support the ambition of the school to expand its relationships

through federations, trusts, direct support etc, by managing the

delivery of expanded scope of financial operations

• Team management

Reporting Line: Director of Operations

Team • Finance Team

Management: • Finance volunteers

Key Responsibilities:

• Planning, forecasting and budgeting:

• Support the Director of Operations in the development of financial plans, in

alignment with the School Strategic Improvement Plan and the forecast

availability of resources

• Working with Director of Operations support and help manage the setting of the

budget and forecasting future years budgets

• Ensuring integrity of data input and modelling assumptions, and validity of

financial models and forecasts

• Support the Director of Operations in providing budget and forecast reports for

Leadership Team and Governing Body and present reports at the Resources and

audit Governors meetings

• Submission of agreed budgets and forecasts in line with regulatory requirements

and timetables

• Production and distribution of monthly budget reports

Job Description: Finance Manager

Key Responsibilities:

• Financial management, control and operations:

• Management of school accounting and financial record systems

• Maintenance of appropriate and effective systems and procedures for financial

control, in line with regulatory and audit requirements and agreed policies

• Review and respond to any control weaknesses identified through audit or other

procedures and checks

• Management of income and expenditure operational systems and procedures,

including BACS, online payments in and out, cashless systems, cash procedures

and banking

• Management of all income and expenditure relating to school trips.

• Financial reporting, control reporting and management information:

• Produce, obtain agreement to, and submit all financial reports and returns in line

with agreed regulatory and internal timetables, including:

➢ Budgets

➢ ESFA Reports/Returns

➢ Accounts

➢ VAT returns

➢ Internal management reports, including forecasts, cashflow reports,

management accounts, bank reconciliations, benchmarking data, department

budgets reports etc

• Producing financial accounts and supporting schedules at year-end to facilitate

audit. Resolving audit queries (either directly or through others, eg HR team)

• Payroll and Pensions administration:

• Management of payroll service (out-sourced) to ensure that all staff are paid on

time and in line with HR records

• Monthly Payroll Reconciliation

• Submission of accurate records and returns for staff Payroll and Pensions

• Resolution of Payroll and Pensions queries

• Stakeholder management:

• Produce reports for Governing Body and attend Resources and Audit Committee

meetings (presently nine per annum)

• Principle point of contact with ESFA, HMRC, Pensions bodies, auditors

• To maintain and update the Schools Financial handbook

Job Description: Finance Manager

Key Responsibilities:

• Management of Finance functions and Finance team:

• Support Director of Operations in considering continuous improvement initiatives

for delivery of Finance function responsibilities

• Management of Finance

➢ Recruitment

➢ Induction and training

➢ Performance management

A role inevitably changes over time, and this job description is not fixed. Some elements

may fall away, and others develop, but all related to the management of Finance.

Person Specification: Finance Manager

Essential Desirable

Formal Qualified accountant

qualifications Evidence of continuing

professional development

Experience Working in a financial Working in school financial

management role management

• Managing multiple stakeholders

Skills A very high level of proficiency Familiarity with PS Financial

with Excel and financial software

programmes

• Creation of clear and

informative financial

management reports

• Managing stakeholders

• Strong technical accounting skills

Aptitude People leadership and

management

• Credibility with all stakeholders

• Excellent verbal and written

communication and

presentation

• Attention to detail

• Numeracy

• Organisation

• Collaborative working

Motivation Passionate about education

Other Flexibility to meet the demands

and time-commitments of a

middle leadership post