Finance Officer in Bury

We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic and highly motivated Finance Officer to join team Unsworth. The successful candidate may be early in their career or bring significant experience, but will demonstrate a strong commitment to accuracy, accountability, and continuous improvement.

You will join a well-established Operations team and play a key role in supporting the Academy’s financial operations, ensuring robust financial processes and effective use of resources. The role requires strong organisational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues across the Academy.

• Be part of a high-performing, oversubscribed academy on an exciting improvement journey, with a glowing Ofsted report (April 2025).
• Play a key, visible role in supporting strategic financial decision-making within a well-established Operations team.
• Enjoy the opportunity to develop your finance career in a supportive environment, whether you’re early-career or highly experienced.
• Benefit from excellent professional development, including access to Shaw Education Trust’s Institute of Education and accredited training.

Unsworth Academy is a thriving, oversubscribed, co-educational and non-selective Bury high school. The school is on an incredibly exciting journey of school improvement. Our latest Ofsted report, in April 2025 was glowing and indicative of an outstanding judgement were it to have been a graded inspection.

A new three-year development plan titled ‘Exemplary Unsworth 2028' was launched in September 2025. It will guide our journey to an even more sophisticated level of provision for the wonderful community of Unsworth.

At Shaw Education Trust, we believe every role holds the power to transform a life. Whether you’re supporting behind the scenes, inspiring in the classroom, or leading with vision, you’ll be part of something extraordinary. We are a dynamic and growing family of Primary, Secondary, and Special Schools, proudly serving communities from Birmingham to Bury. Our mission is to unlock opportunity for every young person—whatever their background, ability, or starting point.

Our people are our greatest asset, and we are deeply committed to their growth. Through high-quality training, apprenticeships, talent acceleration, and research opportunities, we empower our staff to thrive as skilled, confident professionals and we champion wellbeing, value every voice, and create a culture where you feel supported, motivated, and inspired to make a real difference.

You will join a collaborative network of schools where shared expertise and professional community fuel success. Every academy in our Trust has an equal voice, and every colleague plays a vital part in shaping tailored learning experiences that raise aspirations and build brighter futures.

At the heart of our work is a deep respect for the children and young adults we serve—our “precious cargo.” We are proud to "exactly like nothing else” and bridge the gap between education and the wider world, preparing every student for further education, employment, or training in inclusive environments where integrity, equality, and opportunity thrive.

If you have the heart, passion, and drive to help shape lives and create futures filled with promise, we would love you to join our incredible team.

Together, let’s make the remarkable happen.

In our secondary schools, we pride ourselves on our innovative approach to curriculum design, to ensure all our schools have breadth and ambition for all students, regardless of their starting points and barriers. Standard curriculum models don’t always engage all students, so we constantly seek to innovate and provide better opportunities to develop both knowledge and skills for life.

Some examples of our innovation include moving towards an extended school day, to provide a world-class enrichment programme and more opportunities for essential skills like reading and cultural capital. We are also introducing vocational and technical pathways, which run through the normal school curriculum but attract support from leading employers and universities to develop work-readiness in our students, so that they can progress onto T Levels and apprenticeships.

Our secondary schools are currently driving ‘PedTech’ across the sector: we believe teaching and technology should go hand-in-glove and are passionately committed towards providing a fully digitally enhanced curriculum. We are very close to achieving full 1:1 device delivery and are sprinting towards better use of iPads in lessons to enhance the experience and learning.

Shaw Education Trust offer the following employee benefits with your Teaching or Support Staff employment:

• An excellent Local Government Pension Scheme (Support Staff) / Teachers Pension (Teaching Staff)
• Generous holiday entitlement from your first day of employment (37 days holiday rising to 39 days after 5 years’ service including Bank Holidays)
• Access to Medicash Health & Wellbeing Plan: Enjoy health services designed to support your well-being.
• Free DiscountForTeachers Scheme for all staff (Support and Teaching), Exclusive discounts to save money with a wide selection of discounts and exclusive offers from hundreds of the biggest brands.
• Free Eye Tests
• Cycle to work scheme
• Access to our Institute of Education and fantastic opportunities to help you grow, contribute and flourish in your role and in the Trust.

We know our people are the key to our success and so we’re committed to ensuring the employment experience at Shaw Education Trust is a rewarding one.

Colleagues within the Trust benefit from:

• Access to a full range of courses both in-house and professionally accredited.
• Experienced leadership and subject-specific support.
• Guidance from former HMIs and serving Ofsted Inspectors within the Trust.
• Access to the Trust’s Institute of Education and SCITT.
• Opportunities to work with different schools within the Trust as a Professional Advocate.
• Participating in peer reviews.
• Access to a suite of online courses.
• Placement projects within our family of schools.

Actual Salary: £28,183-£31,634

Working hours: 37 hours per week, term time only plus 4 weeks

Safeguarding Statement: Unsworth Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This position is subject to robust vetting procedures, including an online search for all shortlisted candidates, in line with our Trust’s commitment to safer recruitment.

Shaw Education Trust is an Equal Opportunities employer. We are fully committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection processes promote equality, diversity, and inclusion at every stage.

In accordance with our safer recruitment policy CVs alone will not be accepted.