Finance Business Partner

Salary: Scale PO3/4, £42,836 - £49,077 per annum inclusive of London Weighting Allowance

Location: Sutton, SM1, with visits to school sites.

Working Pattern: 36 hours per week, all year round, 8.45am – 4.30pm (M-Th) and 8.45am – 4.15pm (Fr)

Client Groups Available:

• Central Business Services, Sutton
• North West London and South West London Hubs
• Sutton/Croydon and Surrey/Sussex Hubs

Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust (OHC&AT) is a family of specialist education providers for over 1500 pupils and students from nursery to further education across 14 academies and 9 college centres in London, Surrey, Sussex and Berkshire. Supporting our academies and college, OHC&AT also operate learning support, such as nursing and therapy, and a central business support team which includes HR, finance and IT.

Pupils and students within the OHC&AT family have a wide range of learning abilities and additional needs including autistic spectrum disorder; speech, language and communication difficulties; social, emotional and mental health; profound and multiple disabilities; and physical disabilities including multi-sensory impairment and complex health needs.

OHC&AT is a rewarding and inspirational place to work, where everyone works together to create the best possible outcomes for students. To find out more about us, and what makes us a special place to work please visit www.ohcat.org

As a Finance Business Partner, you will play a crucial role in supporting budget holders in their financial and strategic decision making. Working with a team of Assistant Finance Business Partners you will be responsible for the month end reporting cycle, periodic forecasting and yearly budget setting. Supporting a Regional Finance Business Partner, you will help translate financial information into insightful commentaries, and provide input into benchmarking, dashboarding and financial modelling as required.

Key Duties:

• Lead the preparation of monthly management accounts.
• To actively collaborate with the wider finance team to maintain and champion the integrity of financial information.
• To support and enable budget holders with budget management, exercising considerable judgement, in particular with Principals.
• Collaborate with the business to help ensure the HR database provides accurate financial information to support budget management.
• Ensure timely issuing of all income invoices and the monitoring of payments, as well as undertaking complex modelling of income.
• Preparation, maintenance and delivery of financial models for multi-year budgets.

Requirements:

• Proven experience in a similar role, preferably within the education or public sector.
• Demonstrable knowledge of financial management, budget planning, analysis and reporting.
• Proficiency with Excel to a good or advanced level (Pivots, Sumifs, Lookups as a minimum).
• Experience of managing direct reports.
• Excellent communication skills.

Please see the attached job description and person specification for full details on the role and the skills, experience and knowledge we are looking for.

For an informal discussion about the role, candidates are invited to contact Stuart Alcock, Regional Finance Business Partner, via email salcock@ohcat.org.

To apply for this role you will be redirected to our online TES portal. If you have any queries, please contact jobs@orchardhill.ac.uk.

Your application form will be scored according to each of the requirements laid out in the person specification for this role. Please demonstrate in your statement how your experience, skills and knowledge match the criteria that are required for the role.

Please note that CV applications cannot be considered.

Closing Date: 9am on Monday 13^th May 2024

Interviews will take place during: Week commencing 20^th May 2024

Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Appointments made will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020.