Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Owlcotes Multi Academy Trust, Leeds, LS28 6AB

21 days remaining to apply

• Closing date

  3 December 2026 at 12pm (midday)

• Date listed

  12 November 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Administration, HR, data and finance
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full time equivalent salary: £72,527.00 - £79,592.00 Annually (Actual) DIR 52.5%, point 1-5

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) job summary

Owlcotes Multi-Academy Trust is a 10 school primary-only MAT, based in Leeds. The Trust currently employs 600 staff and serves 3500 pupils across Leeds. The Board of Trustees is seeking to appoint an ambitious, values-driven Chief Financial Officer. As our strategic finance lead on the Executive Leadership Team, the ideal candidate will work closely with the CEO, Deputy CEO, Chief Information Officer (CIO), Board of Trustees, and school Headteachers to achieve our strategic objectives, manage a multi-million-pound budget, and shape future Trust growth.

The ideal candidate will provide strong leadership to our central finance team, school office teams, while serving as a visible, collaborative partner to our school Headteachers.

Key responsibilities of the role include:

• Collaborating effectively with the CEO, CIO, Executive Leadership Team, and Board of Trustees on Trust-level decision-making and growth strategies.
• Providing strategic financial oversight across all Trust schools and the Central Team, including leading 3- to 5-year Medium-Term Financial Planning and Integrated Curriculum and Financial Planning (ICFP).
• Supporting school Headteachers to manage delegated budgets through value-for-money spending and sustainable staffing structures.
• Line managing, mentoring, and developing the central finance team.
• Driving Trust-wide value for money through collective procurement, contract consolidation, and capital estates management.
• Liaising with the DfE, external and internal auditors, and regulatory bodies, ensuring absolute compliance with the Academy Trust Handbook and Academies Accounts Direction.
• Delivering regular, insightful financial reporting and management accounts to the Board of Trustees, Finance, Risk and Audit Committee sub-committee, and produce reports for school Local Governing Boards.
• Managing relationships with external providers such as payroll and pension providers.

We are looking for an effective leader and communicator who models professional integrity at all times and brings a positive, solution-focused mindset. The ideal candidate will:

• Hold a recognised accountancy qualification from an accredited provider (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, or CIPFA), or, as a minimum, be part-qualified and actively working towards completion of a recognised accountancy qualification.
• Demonstrate proven capability in strategic financial mangement, budget setting, medium-term forcasting, and internal controls.
• Understand the regulatory financial framework that Academy Trusts operate within, alongside public sector spending principles and value for money (transferable senior finance experience from local government, charity, housing, or commerical sectors is also welcomed).
• Be committeed to continious professional development and genuinely aligned with our mission to improve life chances for primary school children.

Staff are out most important asset, and we believe in giving people support to succeed in their role. Benefits of working with Owlcotes include:

• Strategic Impact: The opportunity to lead the financial strategic direction of a successful Trust.
• Supportive Culture: A friendly, collaborative network of school leaders and Central Team colleagues.
• Professional Growth: Ongoing training and leadership development and coaching tailored to your career goals.
• Employee Perks: Access to our employee benefits and discounts scheme via Perks at Work.
• Annual Leave & Continuity: 28+ days annual leave plus public holidays, with continuity of local government service honoured for leave and sickness benefits. Maximum two weeks' annual leave during the school summer break.
• Pension: Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (West Yorkshire Pension Fund).

For a full job description and person specification for this role, please see the recruitment pack attached to this advert.

Informal visits or conversations are warmly encouraged. For more information, or to arrange a discussion about this role, please contact Joe Wilson (Chief Information Officer) on 0113 8874523 or email info@owlcotesmat.org.

We reserve the right to interview candidates and close this vacancy early should we receive a number of suitable applications; early application is therefore strongly encouraged.

Application Method: Please apply via MyNewTerm.

Application Deadline: Thursday 3rd December 2026 at 12 noon.

Interviews & Assessment Day: Monday 7th December 2026.

Owlcotes Multi-Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We promote diversity and strive for a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds. The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS disclosure, a Section 128 management check, satisfactory references, and must abide by all Trust safeguarding and child protection policies.

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

Owlcotes Multi-Academy Trust and its schools are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All adults in school, whether paid staff or a volunteer, have a responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All adults in our schools must abide by Owlcotes Multi-Academy Trust policies and procedure and each school's Safeguarding and Child Protection policy. All successful employment candidates will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS).

Applying for the job

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About Owlcotes Multi Academy Trust

• Type: Multi-academy trust
• Website: Owlcotes Multi Academy Trust website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/owlcotes-multi-academy-trust

Owlcotes Multi-Academy Trust was established in March 2018 and is currently based in West Leeds. We work together, sharing a common purpose of providing an excellent education for all pupils across the Trust and improving outcomes for them.

At Owlcotes Trust, we believe that each school that joins us brings something unique and important to the Trust, which benefits all other schools within the MAT. We put children at the heart of everything we do and aim to ensure that all children within the Trust have access to ambitious learning opportunities and experiences not only within their own school but also in partnership with other schools in our trust. We focus on providing the highest quality of education for all our pupils so that our schools are places of excellence, meeting the needs of our diverse communities.

We value all qualities in the children that we teach and the communities that we serve. We firmly believe in schools having their own individuality, underpinned by a common purpose and Owlcotes’ principles. We have a network of collaborative learning communities across the Trust, and we work to develop and share good practice within our philosophy of ‘Working Together to Achieve Excellence’.

The CEO of Owlcotes Multi-Academy Trust is Lesley West, Executive Headteacher of Pudsey Primrose Hill Primary School. Pudsey Primrose Hill an outstanding school and Lesley has a proven track record of working collaboratively with other schools as part of her role as a National Leader of Education.

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