Role Description

Job Title: Chief Financial Officer

DoWAT Central Team: Waxwell House, Pinner HA5

Pay Range: £86,040 to £108,776

Directly reporting to: The Chief Executive Officer

Key relationships: Trust Board and Chairs of Finance and Risk Committees, Trust Executive Leaders, Trust headteachers, ESFA, The Diocese of Westminster and Trust Business Managers

Dotted Line: Director of Operations especially Local Governance, Project Delivery and IT & System optimisation

Line Management: Finance Team. To be reviewed upon appointment.

Overall Job Purpose:

To drive strategy, analysis and efficient use of resources across the Trust in the pursuit of Catholic Educational Excellence. Leading by example, the CFO will provide financial and system leadership and will deliver strategic insight and analysis for directors, colleagues, governors and wider stakeholders. The CFO will routinely demonstrate the trust’s vision and values in everyday working practice.

In addition, the CFO will:

Deputise for the CEO as required in leading Executive SLT meetings, board presentations and external stakeholder events.
Provide leadership and technical knowledge to the trust’s financial operations. Be responsible for the financial sustainability and development of the trust and be responsible for the trust’s detailed financial procedures.
Provide technical advice on financial matters so that the CEO and Board are fully appraised of strategic options and risk, ensuring compliance with the trust’s funding agreement.
Be responsible for the trust’s corporate services including finance, risk, corporate governance, legal and compliance functions, working with executive leaders and schools to ensure good operational management.
Ensure that the Trust makes all the required statutory reporting on finance, to deadlines, including the annual report.
Have responsibility for all audit procedures and reporting.
Have oversight of the trust’s compliance with employment legislation including the public sector equality duty.
Work in partnership with The Diocese of Westminster, being aware of Diocesan and Company/Charity requirements. Ensure that the directors and CEO receive technical advice in relation to this.
Provide mentorship to colleagues within the central team as required. Collaborate to achieve common goals.
Work proactively with Directors of Operations and Education to achieve common goals in line with Trust’s vison and values.
Build positive and respectful relationships across the central team and wider Trust.
Maintain working relationships with fellow professionals and colleagues, exemplifying our Trust’s values.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership

To line manage the finance team.
To deputise for the CEO in team and board meetings and external events.
To support SBLs and Headteachers to ensure high levels of school performance and support in financial management.
To preserve and develop the Catholic character of the academy trust company.
To work in partnership with the Diocesan education service to ensure Diocesan requirements are fully met.
To lead by example, providing inspiration for pupils, staff governors, directors and parents, demonstrating the trusts vision towards ‘A Cathedral of Catholic Excellence’ and values in everyday work in practice embodying hope, kindness and courage.
To lead and develop the finance function and the school business managers working across the trust academies to ensure effective support of schools and good financial management and oversight at school and trust level.
To support the Trusts growth strategy leading on Due Diligence and infrastructure capacity analysis.
To execute the duties of a senior leader and specific ad hoc duties and assignments, as may be determined by the CEO and Board.
To lead and develop cost/benefit methodology in supporting strategic decision making across the Trust.

Finance and Resource Management

To be responsible for the financial sustainability and development of the trust and our schools, leading on ICFP and Central Team Strategic planning.
To provide high-quality, leadership and management of finance and risk management including cyber, estates and systems to enable the Trust to operate efficiently in the delivery of our core strategic aims.
To provide strategic insight, ownership of the Trust’s approach to risk and maintaining our overarching strategic mission and vision prioritising the most vulnerable.
To advise the CEO and board on all matters relating to financial strategy, the impact of decisions on the financial position of the trust and strategic matters within the framework of financial control as determined by the Board.
To maintain a secure overview of the management of all finance issues within the trust through the preparation of monthly management accounts including one page analysis, executive summaries, and commentary on key variables with analysis and review of financial risk points for the CEO.
To research, lead and advise the CEO and heads, of additional funding revenue, income opportunities and additional business opportunities, including preparing appropriate bids or tender documents.
To maintain a strategic finance and resources plan, including Estates and HR and develop functional plans to meet the objectives of the strategic plan for the trust.
To lead the annual budget and three-year planning process, including both review and capital, working closely with senior leaders to prepare the final budget and forecast for approval by the board and submission to the ESFA.
To oversee the strategic maintenance and planning around the Trust Estate.
To ensure that the Trust takes advantage of the Apprenticeship Levy to the benefit of employees across the Trust.

Corporate Services

To lead Corporate Governance, advising the board and CEO, and ensuring assurance triangulation is met across the Trust.
To lead on the trust approach to risk practice and policy, ensuring that it is affectively enacted and updating the risk register on a regular basis, reporting to Audit and Risk Committee (ARC).
To work closely with the diocese on estate matters and ensure that the requirements of the landlords are met.
To work with the Director of Ops to ensure risk oversight of compliance and equalities issues.
To monitor, design, and ensure highly effective business processes and IT systems across the trust, working with the Director of Ops, SBLs and external partners as required.
To deliver sector leading levels of value in purchasing and procurement of high-quality goods and services for the trust and its member schools, including overseeing, major investments and tender processes, working closely with the central team.

Data Governance

To ensure compliance and accountability for all data protection concerns in line with legislation acting as the trust Data Protection Officer (DPO).

Audit and Regulatory Compliance

To lead on internal and external audits with the support of the finance team.
To attend relevant board meetings and other committees as required to maintain the presence of the CFO and officer function and ensure broader financial aspects of key decisions are fully considered and communicated clearly.
To keep the CEO and Board up-to-date with the latest ESFA changes, relevant, accounting operations and financial practices and other statutory guidance via filtered briefings and advice.
To assure trust policies, processes and procedures are reviewed regularly and ensure compliance with various external regulations, including filing deadlines regarding VAT, PAYE, ESFA, DFE, HMRC, Charity Commission and Companies Acts.
To ensure that the Trust meets its commitments to corporate responsibility.
To ensure all necessary financial and operational risk assessments are undertaken as required and that necessary actions are undertaken.

Other

Projects to include;

Strategic Growth and Due Diligence including cost/benefit methodology.
Primary Sustainability analysis.
Oversight of strategic systems such as Payroll and finance budgeting systems.
The post holder must be committed to their own professional development.

This post is subject to an enhanced DBS disclosure and the post holder must be committed to safeguarding the welfare of children.

Benefits:

Local Government Pension Scheme.
31 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
Hybrid working.

The above are the key accountabilities as currently defined, but this is not an exhaustive list.

These are not listed in priority order and should not be taken to be so. This accountability should be subject to periodic review and the post holder will be expected to take on such variations as are consistent with the level of responsibility and purpose of the post.