Operations Finance Manager in Coventry

On behalf of The Department for Education (DFE), we are looking for a Operations Finance Manager (Inside IR35) for a 6 month contract based Coventry 3 days per week in the office.The Department for Education is seeking an experienced and proactive Operations Finance Manager to provide senior operational leadership within a high-volume Accounts Payable and Treasury function. This critical role ensures the secure, accurate and timely delivery of financial transactions that support over £116 billion of annual payments across the education sector.Leading a team of finance professionals, you will oversee day-to-day payment operations, maintain robust financial controls, and drive continuous improvement across processes, systems and ways of working.This is an excellent opportunity for a finance leader who thrives in a fast-paced, highly controlled environment and can combine operational excellence with strong stakeholder management and people leadership skills.You will play a key role in maintaining service continuity, strengthening governance, improving payment performance, and ensuring the Department continues to deliver a high-quality service to internal and external stakeholders.As a Operations Finance Manager, your main responsibilities will be:* Lead, motivate and develop a team of 6-8 staff, providing effective coaching, performance management and leadership to ensure consistent delivery of high-quality outcomes.* Oversee daily accounts payable operations, ensuring the accurate and timely processing of payments to suppliers, providers and delivery partners in line with departmental deadlines and service standards.* Maintain strong financial governance by ensuring compliance with internal controls, segregation of duties requirements, financial policies and regulatory obligations.* Act as a key point of contact for budget holders and stakeholders, providing expert guidance on payment processes and resolving issues that may impact payment delivery.* Drive continuous improvement initiatives, analysing processes, identifying inefficiencies and implementing solutions that improve accuracy, efficiency, resilience and control.* Support and lead operational change, ensuring successful implementation of system enhancements, process improvements and new ways of working.* Monitor performance against prompt payment targets, identifying risks and implementing corrective actions where necessary.* Apply sound operational judgement to manage priorities, mitigate risks and ensure effective decision-making within a high-volume financial environment.* Build and maintain strong relationships with senior leaders, internal partners and external stakeholders to support service delivery and financial governance objectives.* Ensure knowledge sharing and documentation of processes, controls and improvements to maintain operational resilience and capability across the team.Essential:* Proven experience leading and developing teams within an Accounts Payable, Treasury or financial operations environment.* Strong understanding of financial controls, governance frameworks, segregation of duties and risk management within a large organisation.* Experience managing high-volume financial transactions while maintaining accuracy, compliance and service delivery standards.* Demonstrable ability to identify process inefficiencies and implement continuous improvements that enhance performance, resilience and control.* Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to build effective relationships and provide expert guidance to a range of colleagues and partners.* Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to make sound decisions, manage competing priorities and deliver results in a fast-paced environmentDesirable:* Experience working within central government, the wider public sector or a similarly regulated environment.* Knowledge of shared service finance operations and Treasury processes.* Experience supporting finance system changes, transformation programmes or service improvement initiatives.* Professional finance qualification (CCAB, CIMA, AAT or equivalent) or relevant demonstrable experience.Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.Disability ConfidentAs a Disability Confident employer, DfE encourage applications from disabled and neurodivergent candidates. Applications from candidates who identify as having a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be prioritised for review. Where application volumes are high, additional role-specific and desirable criteria may be applied as part of the shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.Armed Forces CovenantAs a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, DfE welcome applications from veterans, service leavers, reservists and military spouses or partners. Applications from eligible candidates who meet the essential criteria for the role will be prioritised for review. Where application volumes are high, additional role-specific and desirable criteria may be applied as part of the shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following \"this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different\". #J-18808-Ljbffr