FINANCE OFFICER
| Location: | Central Office, SE1Regular visits to TCW schools and hubs (E1 & SE1) |
| Hours: | Monday: 8:30am - 4:30pmTuesday: 8:30am - 4:30pmWednesday: 8:30am-4:30pmThursday: 8:30am-6:00pmFriday: 8:30am-4:00pm |
| Responsible To: | Financial Controller |
| Salary: | From £40,000 FTE per annum |
Summary of the Role
A key member of a small, dedicated finance team responsible for all aspects of finance, payroll, procurement and financial reporting across The Complete Works. Based at our central SE1 office, this role supports the Financial Controller in maintaining accurate and timely financial management across TCW’s schools, its social enterprise interests (including a café) and any other ventures the organisation develops. The Finance Officer plays an important part in ensuring TCW’s resources are managed with rigour, transparency and care, directly supporting the organisation’s mission to make a difference to young people’s lives.
Responsibilities:
Invoicing and Credit Control
1.Prepare and distribute invoices to customers accurately and in a timely manner.
2.Manage credit control for all monies owed to TCW, referring to debt collection agencies where required.
3.Ensure information within the Ariel timetabling system is accurate for staff payments and customer invoices.
Payroll
1.Check and distribute timesheets to all staff; investigate and resolve any queries raised.
2.Calculate gross payroll amounts for salaried and bank workers; liaise with the outsourced payroll provider to ensure monthly payments are accurate and timely.
3.Oversee salary sacrifice schemes.
4.Process payroll and invoice payments, including tax, NI, pensions and holiday pay.
5.Ensure the validity, authorisation and payment of staff expenses.
6.Collate PSA information ready for submission to HMRC.
Procurement and Supplier Management
1.Procure and arrange payment for services, goods and resources for the company.
2.Process supplier invoices, reconcile supplier statements and resolve queries.
3.Oversee supplier contracts and renewals.
4.Oversee company credit and prepayment cards, including reconciliation to monthly statements, validation of payments, appropriate authorisation and resolution of queries.
5.Oversee the provision of student lunch vouchers for eligible students.
6.Collaborate with the school education teams such as liaising with the PA & Facilities Coordinators on procurement of goods and services and overseeing resources purchases.
Financial Reporting and Accounts
1.Post financial information to Iris.
2.Reconcile all balance sheet accounts, including the preparation of journals.
3.Maintain the fixed asset register.
4.Prepare draft monthly management accounts.
5.Monitor spend against budgets.
6.Maintain separate accounts and budgets for each TCW school, ensuring clear financial reporting at school level.
7.Complete accounts for TCW’s social enterprise interests, including the café and any other ventures the organisation develops, maintaining clear separation between these and core school finances.
8.Assist in the production of notes to the annual financial statements.
9.Manage TCW's VAT obligations, including maintaining accurate records, preparing and submitting VAT returns, ensuring compliance across the school, social enterprise and any other interests, and liaising with HMRC as required.
10.Produce relevant working papers for audit and deal with audit queries as required.
Funding and Strategy
1.Investigate new sources or approaches to funding relevant to TCW’s work and mission.
2.Identify and apply for relevant fundraising grants, maintaining accurate records of applications, tracking outcomes, managing the financial reporting requirements of successful grants and ensuring compliance with any funding conditions
3.Support the Financial Controller in their day-to-day duties and wider strategic priorities.
General
1.Respond to financial queries from staff, clients and suppliers in a professional and timely manner.
2.Carry out general administration as required across the organisation, depending on workload and business need.
Person Specification:
Qualifications
Essential
CCAB part-qualified or equivalent.
GCSEs in Maths and English at grade C/4 or above.
Desirable
CCAB qualified or actively working towards full qualification.
Experience
Essential
Demonstrable experience working in a finance environment, including experience of payroll, invoicing, reconciliation and management accounts.
Experience managing budgets and producing financial reports.
Experience using Sage or a comparable accountancy system.
Strong Microsoft Excel skills.
Good working knowledge of other Microsoft Office packages, Gmail and Google Drive.
Desirable
Experience working in an educational or alternative provision setting.
Experience working within a charity or social enterprise.
Experience of maintaining accounts across multiple entities or cost centres.
Knowledge of HMRC PSA submissions.
Familiarity with safeguarding principles and their application in a workplace setting.
Skills and Competencies
Essential
Exceptional accuracy and attention to detail.
Strong numeracy skills and high standard of written English.
Ability to manage competing workloads and priorities, working calmly under pressure.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including a professional telephone manner.
Strong administrative and organisational skills with the ability to multi-task effectively.
Ability to work independently and use initiative, as well as contribute to a team.
Personal Qualities
Essential
A genuine commitment to TCW’s mission and a belief in making a difference to young people’s lives.
Adaptable and flexible in approach; willing to embrace change and challenge processes to improve efficiency.
Personable, professional and courteous in all interactions with staff, students, clients and suppliers.
Discreet, loyal and able to handle confidential information with integrity.
Enthusiastic, proactive and positive in approach to work.
Resilient and able to manage and remain composed in pressured or stressful situations.
The job description is not an exhaustive list and there may be times when the Executive Headteacher or Director will require certain tasks to be undertaken that may not be listed here. These will always fall within the policies and procedures of TCW and within the remit of what may be expected in your role. There will always be a discussion between all parties on whether the successful candidate feels they can manage these extra tasks.
Extra Information:
This role is based at TCW’s central office in SE1. The post-holder will visit TCW schools and hubs on a regular basis as required by the needs of the role.
The post-holder is expected to work in the office during term time. The Finance Officer is expected to attend up to 22 out-of-term office days per year, 7–10 of which are whole-office dates confirmed in advance. The remaining days will be agreed with the Financial Controller. Annual leave is 20 days per annum, to be taken outside of school term time, plus bank holidays. The role may also be entitled to up to 5 days of unpaid term-time leave per annum, taken in blocks of no more than 2 days at the discretion of the Executive Headteacher.
During periods of school closure outside of the specified office days, the post-holder is expected to maintain a commitment to fulfilling their responsibilities, managing their own time and workload and remaining fully contactable unless on annual leave.
Working hours are based on 8.30am–4.30pm with a 30-minute lunch break. The post-holder will be expected to work outside of these hours as required to fulfil their duties. TCW reserves the right to hold meetings, social events and performances outside of standard hours, which the post-holder will be expected to attend. This includes the weekly Thursday training session (4.30–6.00pm) and the TCW Showcase. Dates are provided at the beginning of every new academic year.
This role will be directly managed by the Financial Controller. Performance reviews will take place in line with TCW’s appraisal policy. The successful candidate will be expected to follow TCW’s policies and procedures at all times and to conduct themselves in a manner deemed appropriate by the CEO and Executive Headteacher in accordance with the staff handbook.
All members of staff are required to meet Ofsted’s criteria for ‘Good’ and to aim consistently for ‘Outstanding’. Staff may be required to attend additional training if they do not meet the required standard.