Job Description

You will act as a key adviser on financial issues, and will play a significant role in ensuring effective financial stewardship and seeking opportunities to improve systems and processes to enhance service provided by stakeholders. You will need to be proactive in managing finances to support the College to achieve its strategic objectives.

Role responsibilities
Support the Director of Finance and SLT to achieve the Colleges's strategic aims and ambitions.
To oversee and manage the finance department and team.
To ensure the ongoing development of the finance team.
To develop a customer focused finance service which meets the College's business needs, enhancing services to all stakeholders, and developing KPIs against which to monitor activities and performance.
To work closely with SLT and budget holders to provide a high-quality financial management, support and advice service to colleagues, ensuring that appropriate financial controls are in place and accurate financial information is available at all times.
To support the financial performance monitoring process.
To produce the draft monthly management accounts for subsequent review by the Director of Finance.
To assist in the development of the annual budget, forecasts and financial plan.
To prepare the draft statutory financial statements and working papers at the financial year end.
To assist the Director of Finance in the management and coordination of external audit activities.
To liaise with external organisations as appropriate, including external and internal auditors, funding bodies, banks, insurers.
To manage the College's tax, NI and pension liabilities.
To maintain statutory records and prepare returns and submissions relating the College's finances and transactions as required including HMRC, ESFA and pension agencies.
 

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Qualified as a full member of a main (CCAB/CIMA) accounting body e.g. ACCA, ICAEW, CIMA, CIPFA (essential) Evidence of ongoing professional development (essential) Experience of managing a finance department in the FE sector (desirable) Experience of the production of budgets and forecasts within an organisation with multiple and complex funding streams Experience of the preparation, production and presentation of statutory annual accounts / financial statements, and management of auditor relations Experience of the completion and submission of VAT returns and liaising with HMRC A degree or equivalent qualification (desirable) Understanding of Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) financial returns (desirable) Understanding of ESFA KPIs with regards to college finance (desirable) Knowledge of public sector funding systems for FE (alternatively a high-level awareness of these and the ability to rapidly assimilate and deploy this knowledge (desirable)