Regional Finance Manager

This is an exciting opportunity to join Ark Schools’ Regional Finance team, supporting Ark’s academies in West London.

As a Regional Finance Manager, you will be an integral part of the team responsible for ensuring the high-quality financial service within the academies.

You will report to and work closely with the Regional Senior Finance Manager and will also work with the relevant Principals and Operations Leads in the four schools you support.

You will manage the monthly financial processes, ensuring compliance, accuracy and timeliness, leading financial planning and partnering with the Principal and other senior staff to ensure effective strategic decision making.

This role is currently located West London Cluster, North London Region which covers the following schools Ark Burlington Danes in White City, King Solomon Academy in Paddington and Ark Acton and Ark Soane in Acton as well as the Trust Head Office EdCity. Whilst the substantive role will focus on the West London schools the finance function is progressively moving towards a matrix way of working which may require you to work on a process across all schools in the region.

This is a full-time permanent position with hybrid working available subject to operation requirements of schools.

1^st round interviews will taking place virtually w/c 30^th June with 2^nd round interviews taking place in person on Thursday 3^rd July.

Please note that if you are shortlisted for this position, you will be invited to complete a short video interview. This will involve submitting a video of yourself answering a few role-specific questions, which will be shared with you in a secure link.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Partner with the Principals and other senior staff to ensure effective financial management, adherence to budget and strategic decision making
• Take responsibility for supporting a high-performance team culture and building a continual improvement/learning mindset.  Supporting the management of the finance staff, including arranging appropriate training and development.
• Drive forward change and initiatives which promote regularity, propriety, value for money and best standards, and ensuring best practice is implemented across the region
• Ensure timely production and issue of financial reports, cash flow forecasts, and returns as required, including ad hoc review and projects
• Prepare the management accounts and related analysis, posting of month-end journals, ensuring bank and control account reconciliations are carried out monthly in line with the Ark month-end pack
• Prepare the annual budget and reforecasts for approval by Ark
• Take responsibility for the academy’s accounting procedures, ensuring all policies and procedures are adhered to within the academy, including review of academy payment runs and payroll

Key Requirements:

• Right to work in the UK
• Experienced part-qualified accountant or fully qualified accountant (ACCA, CIMA or ACA)
• A high level of numeracy, demonstrated through relevant qualifications or experience
• Systems experience IMP, PSF, Concur (desirable)
• High level of proficiency with Microsoft Excel and the wider MS Office suite
• Experience using financial databases and confidence and interest in learning new technologies
• Professional integrity and resilience, being resourceful and solution-oriented

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform and generous study support including financial assistance and study leave
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests

Ark is an education charity that exists to make sure that all children, regardless of their background, have access to a great education and real choices in life. Our network of 39 schools reaches traditionally underserved communities in Birmingham, Hastings, London and Portsmouth. We educate 30,000 pupils and have nearly 3,000 teaching staff across our network. We also incubate and scale innovative ventures, which we roll out beyond our network of schools for the benefit of teachers, pupils and the education system as a whole. Current Ventures include Ark Curriculum Plus, which equips teachers with the subject expertise needed to ensure students succeed, and Ark Start, a growing chain of nurseries offering affordable, high-quality early years education.

Recently, Ark moved to new offices at EdCity – a unique not-for-profit development in West London, in partnership with Hammersmith & Fulham council. EdCity is designed to bring mission-aligned organisations together to focus on improving the lives of children, especially through education. It offers leased offices, a range of venues for training and events, and an innovation hub for the education sector to connect, collaborate and learn together.