Implementations Consultant – Budgeting Software in Exeter

The Business

Founded by a team of financial experts and ex-MAT professionals, IMP Software has a deep understanding of the challenges facing multi‑academy trusts. Our mission is to empower MATs with the tools and expertise they need to manage their finances more efficiently and effectively. That's why we're trusted by trusts across the country to provide the only budgeting, forecasting, and reporting software designed specifically for them. In less than 5 years we are now used by most large trusts to help them deliver smarter MAT finance. Our flagship product, IMP Planner, is the budgeting and forecasting platform purpose‑built for multi‑academy trusts – replacing fragile, spreadsheet‑driven budget processes with a single, trust‑wide tool that handles staffing models, non‑pay budgets, multi‑year forecasts, scenario planning and consolidated MAT‑level reporting. We work closely with our customers to tailor our product to their specific needs. Our team is always available to provide expert advice and support. At IMP we believe financial planning should be simpler, more accessible and more transparent, and we are proud to be leading the way in supporting smarter MAT finance. Our culture values happiness, flexibility and professional development.

Role Description

As an Implementations Consultant you will own the end‑to‑end rollout of IMP Planner into new multi‑academy trust customers – taking them from kick‑off through to a fully configured, live budget. You will translate a trust’s existing budgeting approach into a clean, structured IMP Planner setup, giving finance teams confidence in their first budget built on the platform. You will be a crucial link between our software and our customers, demonstrating confidence and proficiency in both academy finances and the mechanics of building a MAT budget. Your role involves coordinating with finance directors, CFOs, trust finance teams, internal IMP colleagues and other stakeholders to ensure a successful implementation.

Key Responsibilities

• Demonstrate a strong understanding of academy accounting terms, funding streams (GAG, pupil premium, ESFA grants, etc.) and the budget‑setting cycle used by MATs.
• Confidently explain budgeting, forecasting and variance concepts – including staffing cost modelling, pay award assumptions, pupil number forecasting and multi‑year planning – to both finance and non‑finance stakeholders.
• Understand how a trust’s chart of accounts, cost centres and school structures should be modelled inside IMP Planner to support consolidated MAT reporting.
• Lead the configuration of IMP Planner for each new trust, including structure set‑up, budget templates, staffing models, assumptions and reporting packs.
• Support migration of historical budget and actuals data from spreadsheets and finance systems (e.g. PS Financials, IRIS Financials, Access, Xero, Sage) into IMP Planner.
• Work with customers to validate that their first budget in IMP Planner reconciles to existing numbers and reflects their trust’s planning approach.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for the trust throughout implementation, managing expectations and keeping the project on track.
• Ensure clear communication of client requirements, particularly around how each trust sets, approves and reports its budget.
• Feed customer insight back into Product, Customer Success and Consulting to help shape the future of IMP Planner.

Skills, Experience and Attributes

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with a focus on explaining budgeting and financial concepts clearly.
• Strong Excel skills and comfort working with complex, real‑world budget and staffing spreadsheets.
• Proven problem‑solving skills with an analytical approach to data, reconciliations and project challenges.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple trust implementations simultaneously at different stages.
• Experience in MAT or school finance, or implementing finance, budgeting, planning or FP&A software, is highly desirable.

Benefits

• 27 days of holiday per year plus bank holidays
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay
• AXA Health insurance including dental and mental health
• Broadband allowance
• Home office stipend
• Life assurance (4 × basic salary)
• Encouraged and funded CPD