Finance Officer

Finance Officer

Reports to: Senior Finance Manager

Location: Ark Soane Academy, W3 8EA (West London)

Contract: FTC (maternity cover – 12 months)

Pattern: Term time only plus 2 weeks (37.5 hours per week)

Closing date: 20/03/2025

Interviews: w/c 24/03/2025

Full time salary: £26,000 to £33,000 (depending on experience and qualifications)

Term time only plus two weeks salary: £23,507 to £29,836 (depending on experience and qualifications)

About the role:

This role will support in West London, working closely with the Senior Finance Manager (SFM) who oversees the cluster. As Finance Officer, you will be an integral part of the team responsible for ensuring high standards of financial integrity within the academies. For at least one school in the Region, you will manage the day-to-day financial processing and management of the academy and aid in the production of financial reports ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Academies Financial Handbook.

Purpose of the role:

• To be responsible for accurate recording and maintenance of the Academy’s finance database.
• To support the SFM in the production of financial reports to the highest standard, to enable the Academy to make sound financial, strategic and commercial decisions. Particular attention must be paid to embedding best practice procedures and processes throughout the Finance department.
• Responsible for ensuring information and records are kept to the highest standards.

Key Responsibilities:

• Maintain all data relating to the Academy’s accounts in accordance with the financial regulations.
• Perform monthly bank reconciliations.
• Process purchase orders, receive delivered goods, and process invoices.
• Ensure all invoices and payments are coded accurately and that all relevant paperwork is completed.
• Prepare monthly and periodic Academy financial reports and distribute to applicable stakeholders.
• Support SFM with external and internal auditors.
• Provide accounting information and schedules in connection with the production of the monthly and annual financial statements for the Academy.
• Provide financial support to teaching colleagues to ensure management information is understood and queries are efficiently and effectively managed.
• Participate in Finance projects, with a particular focus on improving value for money.
• Provide training to operational colleagues to ensure their understanding and compliance with finance processes.
• Maintain filing systems, ensuring that records are suitable for audit.

Key Requirements:

• Experienced part-qualified accountant.
• Right to work in the UK.
• Experience of running effective administrative and financial systems, ideally within a school environment.
• High level of proficiency with Microsoft Excel.
• High level of proficiency with PSF (accounting system) and HCSS (budgeting system).
• Experience using financial databases and confidence and interest in learning new technologies.
• Understanding of relevant legislation, policies, and procedures and the ability to apply this understanding to real situations.
• Knowledge and understanding of the education sector.
• Strong organisational and time-management skills.
• Helpful, approachable, and positive nature.
• High standards and a keen eye for detail.
• Exercises sound judgment, especially relating to confidentiality and discretion.

Benefits:

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3 years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part-time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays.
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year.
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to. Depending on your role, you may also be entitled to LGPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year.
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform.
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests.

About Us:

We’re an international charity, transforming lives through education. We exist to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. In the UK, we’re a network of 39 schools, educating around 30,000 pupils in areas where we can make the biggest difference and we’re recognised as one of the highest achieving academy groups in the country. We want to change the lives of children everywhere, not just in our own schools. So, we create and incubate Ventures designed not only to help pupils in Ark schools, but also to improve education systems.

You’ll be joining a group of like-minded, ambitious individuals who work collaboratively and are all committed to our core mission, that every child has the potential to succeed. Having just celebrated our 20th anniversary, we are shaping our goals for the next 20 and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

Diversity and inclusion:

We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments, please click on this link .

Safeguarding statement:

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands, or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment – this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link .

Please note we will be reviewing applications on an ongoing basis and this role may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response. We strongly encourage you to submit your application at your earliest convenience.

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