Director of Finance
St George's School, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 4TD21 days remaining to apply
Start date details
As soon as possible - Subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks
Closing date
17 November 2025 at 7am
Date listed
27 October 2025
Job details
Job role
- Administration, HR, data and finance
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Part time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- £65,000.00 Annually (FTE)
Director of Finance job summary
The Opportunity
St George’s School is seeking a dynamic and agile individual to lead and shape the delivery of the school’s finance function. This is an exciting opportunity for a candidate to join an amazing school and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of all aspects of our financial operations.
This vacancy has arisen due to the retirement of our current postholder. As we embark on our strategy for 2025-2030, it is the perfect time to join us and help drive the next stage of our school’s development. We are especially looking to enhance our financial management information and forecasting, improve our finance systems and use of technology, and simplify processes to add value.
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer and working closely with the Headteacher and other senior leaders across the school, the role requires someone with a proven track record in financial management and an approachable, collaborative style. The role may suit someone with direct school experience seeking career progression or a new environment, or equally a skilled professional from another sector motivated to bring their experience to our specific context. This is a key post on the school’s Operations Leadership Team, with direct responsibility for the leadership and management of the finance team.
We are looking for someone with expertise in financial budgeting, reporting, forecasting, control and decision support. You will need to have a commercially astute mindset while also recognising the importance of robust financial stewardship of public money. All underpinned with a leadership approach that inspires confidence, builds team capability, and fosters support with appropriate challenge.
This role offers the chance to have a direct impact on the lives of young people within a fantastic school community. If you want to work in an environment that values new ideas, and are ready to find innovative solutions in an environment of constrained finances and resources, we strongly encourage you to apply to join our team.
About the Role
Salary: £65,000 FTE per annum
Hours: Part time 30 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, annualised hours arrangement available.
Overall Purpose of the Role
To provide operational leadership and delivery across the school on all financial matters.
To partner with the Chief Operating Officer and members of the Operations Leadership Team to develop financial strategy, budgets and plans to ensure the school’s continued financial health and sustainability.
To ensure financial management information is produced in a timely manner that provides insightful analysis to aid decision-making.
To champion a transformational programme to review, simplify and enhance the school’s financial policies, systems, processes, cost control and ways of working across teams.
As the school’s chief financial officer, to ensure robust systems and processes are in place to ensure good financial management and control, in accordance with the operational requirements of the Academy Trust Handbook and all other statutory requirements.
To lead, oversee, manage, develop and support the finance team to ensure high standards are met and objectives achieved.
Essential Person Specifications
- Qualified accountant (ACA, CPFA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)
- Strong financial acumen and senior financial management experience.
- Understanding and confidence of relevant statutory and compliance frameworks (Charities SORP, Companies Act, Charities Act etc)
- Experience of managing, leading, motivating, developing and directing teams.
- Excellent inter-personal skills, with an ability to confidently liaise with a broad group of stakeholders at all levels within an organisation.
- Ability to articulate financial information and insights to non-financial colleagues.
- Proven and effective written and verbal communication skills.
- Experience of working effectively with external auditors.
- Ability and desire to be flexible in dividing time between strategic and operational priorities, working with and through others to deliver tasks to deadlines.
- Ability to work independently, and take end-to-end ownership and accountability over both individual and the team’s work and projects.
- Proactive, can-do attitude, innovative, solution-focused, flexible.
- High levels of resilience and determination.
- Ability to work calmly and effectively under pressure within a complex and busy environment.
- Attention to detail and organised, with developed abilities in multi-tasking against tight deadlines and competing needs.
- Commercially minded, discreet and confidential.
- Willingness to adjust working patterns to meet job requirements, including for evening meetings and other school events.
- Self-awareness and willingness to seek support when required.
- A connection to the school’s values and ethos.
We can offer
- Additional training and support
- Ongoing professional development
- Free Lunch on working days
- Free parking on school site
- Generous pension scheme
- Use of the school’s fitness suite/Gym
- Staff Wellbeing Programme
- Employee Assistance Programme
- As a permanent member of staff you benefit from the application being favourably ranked if you apply for a day admission place for your child at St George’s school, subject to meeting the requirements of our published Admissions Criteria and Policy
Please refer to these documents for further details:
- Job Description
- Working at St George's School
Applications will be shortlisted throughout the process and we may interview and close the advert early if we are in a position to recruit a suitable candidate. We therefore encourage interested candidates to apply early.
About St George's School
Founded in 1907 by Revd Cecil Grant, St George’s is a school that is both grounded in faith and forward-looking in its approach to education.
As one of the first co-educational schools in the country, St George’s has a tradition of making bold choices, and has always been guided by its values of Aiming Higher and encouraging service beyond self. We believe that every student has the potential to achieve greatness, and we are dedicated to providing an environment that challenges and supports them in equal measure.
In March 2025, we were judged Outstanding by Ofsted in all areas: the quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; leadership and management; and sixth-form provision. Our teaching aims to inspire a love of learning and to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in an ever-changing world. Alongside our rigorous curriculum, we offer a wide range of extracurricular activities, from the academic and artistic, to the spiritual and sporting, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to explore their interests and develop their passions.
We do all of this from the sanctuary and springboard that is our House system. We are proud to be a school where every individual is valued and where students are encouraged to support one another in all aspects of school life. St George’s is also proud to offer full boarding facilities as a part of our school community. Our boarders find they develop a growing sense of responsibility and confidence during their time at school, making life-long friends and lasting memories.
Our students and staff are loyal, proud and purposeful. We challenge ourselves and each other to be the best we can be. Having recently determined our strategy for 2025-2030, the school leadership has a roadmap for our next five years, taking the best of our history and heritage, and combining it with ambition for a dynamic future. This plan prioritises providing a school where all pupils achieve both academically and beyond the classroom. Where we are connected to our local community. Where staff are nurtured, inspired and developed. Where the environment is cared for and appreciated. And where we do all of this guided by the faith on which we were founded.
About St George's School Finances
St George’s School Harpenden (the Academy Trust) has an annual spending requirement of around £13m and approximately 200 staff. The trust holds around £4m of charitable funds. It is one of relatively few UK state boarding schools. The school is a stand-alone single academy trust.
The school’s Foundation Company, which appoints foundation governors and also operates a commercial lettings business and holds a modest investment fund, generates annual income of around £400,000 and owns the school’s land and buildings. This charitable company provides important grant funding to support the school’s capital works. The Foundation holds net assets of around £17m.
The school is additionally supported financially through the Cecil Grant Founder’s Trust and the St George’s PSA.
Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS)
St George’s School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and visitors to share this commitment. This post will require a Full Enhanced, with List Checks, Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS).
Online Searches
We are required to conduct online searches about all candidates as part of the selection and appointment process, in accordance with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance, in order to identify any incidents or concerns which are publicly available online. By submitting and signing your application, you acknowledge that such searches will be conducted as part of the selection and appointment process.
Right to work in UK
We will require you to provide evidence of your right to work in the UK in accordance with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. By submitting and signing your application, you acknowledge that such evidence will need to be provided should an offer of employment be made.
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.
Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.
Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children
You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
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.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About St George's School
- School type
- Academy, Christian, ages 11 to 18
- Education phase
- Secondary
- School size
- 1362 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- St George's School website
DO YOU WANT TO WORK WHERE YOU FEEL YOU BELONG?
TEN GREAT REASONS TO JOIN THE ST GEORGE'S TEAM
1. Be part of a vibrant, inspiring and supportive team
2. Everyone’s contributions are valued and encouraged
3. A place where your work will ‘make a difference’ and be appreciated by pupils
4. Learning is what we do; with passion
5. Unique opportunity to work in one of the leading state boarding schools in the country
6. Students champion and promote our community’s high standards and aspirations
7. Excellent behaviour is the norm, not the exception
8. Career development is encouraged and supported through great training
9. A sense of belonging; part of a community and the St George’s ‘Family’
10. Where the worst thing about work is going home at night
Working at St George’s also comes with a number of free additional fringe benefits*: childcare voucher scheme; Employee Assistance Programme; on-site parking; access to excellent sports and fitness facilities and provision of lunch. On-site accommodation for specific posts may also available at reduced rates.
* Staff terms and conditions are liable to review and change from time to time
In 2014 OFSTED wrote that "This school has got the magic formula", and we have to say we agree!
St George’s is a unique place to work. It is the perfect blend of high quality, innovative teaching and a community which cares. It has a highly supportive pastoral system as well as a residential state boarding community, all of which is firmly cemented in our Christian principles and strong commitment to our values of mutual respect, endeavour and sense of community. We hold on to our tradition and embrace the future with equal relish.
St George’s is consistently in the top percentile of schools nationally for academic performance and rated outstanding by Ofsted. However we are not driven by such external measures but by our passion to provide the best learning and life experience we can for the pupils entrusted to our care.
We hope that you will share our enthusiasm and drive to continue to make St George’s an exciting place to work and learn.
Join us for a career at a school that certainly wants us to "Aim Higher".
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