Chief Financial Officer | Wellspring Academy Trust

Wellspring Academy Trust is seeking a strategic and deeply values-driven Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to provide respectful and inspiring leadership and ensure our academies continue to offer high-quality education and joyful life experiences.

• Location: Barnsley, South Yorkshire with an expectation of regular travel to academies across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and the Humber

About the role.

Wellspring Academy Trust strives to be a diverse and inclusive place where we can ALL be ourselves. Our new CFO will make a crucial contribution to the development of our financial strategy and planning to support the success of our academies, and the success of the children who come to us for education, support, and development. A significant number of those children have special and additional needs, and we must make every effort to ensure their success.

In this role, you will oversee the financial health of one of the country’s largest and most successful multi-academy trusts. In 2023/24, our total income was £132m, with £95m of that coming from educational grants and funding. In addition to ensuring our academy finances are well planned and managed, the CFO will also contribute to the oversight of major development projects whilst working in partnership with external stakeholders and funders to ensure Wellspring’s children receive the maximum funding they are entitled to and stakeholders recognise the social return on their investments in us.

Our impact reaches far beyond the classroom. We have a broad portfolio of charitable activities that work in conjunction with our academies and the wider education system to enhance the lives of young people, their families and communities.

As CFO, you will contribute to all aspects of the Trust as a member of a deeply committed and well-connected Executive Team. Working with the CEO and DCEO, and reporting to the DCEO, you will be responsible for the leadership, development, and success of a finance team that supports school and Trust leaders to strategically plan, prioritise, and deliver on their budgets. The successful candidate will be a solutions-focused leader who is as comfortable developing financial strategies and plans – working with colleagues in the Executive Team and reporting to the Board of Trustees – as they are supporting a new budget holder to understand the principles of effective financial management. An entrepreneurial eye is desirable. We want you to help us identify and develop the commercial opportunities in our areas of excellence to help others and to further deepen our support for our schools.

This is a highly visible role with the requirement that the CFO will be actively involved in the day-to-day detail of the Trust and our academies. This is a pivotal role in providing exceptional learning experiences for 7,392 children and an inclusive and developmental place of work for 2,041 colleagues.

Who we are looking for.

We are passionate about our social purpose: to make a difference, and it’s important to us that our next CFO shares this passion and brings the necessary skills, knowledge, and expertise to enable us to keep making a difference.

The CFO will be a professionally qualified accountant with significant experience of having operated at a senior level in a complex environment. Experience in leading strategic financial planning, risk management, and reporting are the basic cornerstones of this role. We expect you to bring all the essential experience to help us remain financially secure, along with enthusiasm for working in close partnership with others, an inclusive and supportive leadership style, and a deeply felt commitment to the work we do and the importance of our work in changing and improving lives.

To be successful in this role, it is important that you have worked as part of a senior leadership or executive team previously, leading through others and being able to positively influence changes outside of your direct sphere of control. Your professional advice and opinion will be welcomed, and you will be trusted to provide that support across our Trust’s leadership. Experience in reporting to and advising a governing body or non-executive board is important, as our CFO will report to our dedicated Board of Trustees.

We consider ourselves to be different from the norm and recognise the importance of taking sensible and calculated risks during a period of national budgetary challenge. As such, our CFO must possess an enterprising and growth mindset that helps Wellspring continue to build on the ways in which we amplify our social impact.

We are committed to equal opportunities and to promoting diversity. We want our people to reflect the diversity of our communities, and we actively encourage applications from people from all backgrounds, especially from under-represented groups, including those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. With this commitment in mind, we welcome interest and applications from both candidates with experience working in the education sector, as well as those from outside of the sector who feel their experience can add value to our core purpose.

Peridot Partners and Wellspring Academy Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and our client expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references before any final offer can be made.

For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners:

If you would like to know more about this role please contact Eddie Caviezel Cox

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