School Finance Business Partner

Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 1NJ

29 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  13 April 2026

• Closing date

  12 February 2026 at 2pm

• Date listed

  14 January 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: £42,839.00 - £51,356.00 Annually (FTE) Range M1-2 - Starting salary will be agreed based on skills and experience

School Finance Business Partner job summary

Responsible to: Headteachers, Trust CFO

Liaising with: Trust Finance Team (Head of Finance, Assistant Management Accountant), Headteachers, Executive Director of Primary, Hub Operations Lead

Hours of work: Full time 37 hours per week all year round. In addition, you will be expected to flex to attend certain governors meetings out of school hours during the year.

Annual Leave: 28 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays. Annual leave should be taken mostly during school holiday periods. Up to 2 weeks annual leave can be taken in term time, taken in up to 1-week periods.

Location: Working base at St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School (Stevenage) 2 days per week. The remaining 3 days per week will be based at St Thomas More Catholic Primary School (Letchworth) or from home (with agreement). The post holder is expected to work flexibly across Trust schools as required. Travel expenses from working bases to external sites will be reimbursed.

Purpose:

As a School Finance Business Partner, you will oversee the financial and business performance of up to five Trust schools to include:

• Financial Accounting: Producing monthly management accounts and ensuring accurate posting of month-end adjustments.
• Budget Management: Managing the annual budget-setting process and 3-year forecasting to align with strategic objectives.
• Financial Reporting: Presenting monthly accounts to the Local Governing Board Headteacher and Central Trust and providing financial updates. You are expected to be a visiting member of the School’s Senior Leadership Team.
• Collaboration: Working closely with Headteachers and other key stakeholders to ensure financial plans align with strategic objectives and budgets.
• Payroll: responsible for accurate and timely administration of monthly payroll for allocated schools.

Your role will encompass working closely with the Hub Operations Lead who will oversee facilities management (caretaking, cleaning, catering).

You will play a pivotal role in supporting Headteachers and contribute significantly to the wider team linking in with the Executive team.

This role demands a strong commercial focus emphasising the delivery of best value for schools, identifying new income opportunities and ensuring cost effectiveness in a challenging funding environment.

Your time allocation across the schools will be agreed and reviewed regularly to ensure maximum effectiveness, alongside your contribution to the Trust in Trust-wide leadership roles. You will collaborate closely with the DoWAT central team and other Trust staff as necessary. As the Trust is growing, the role will evolve but it is expected that you will work across up to five primary schools within the Trust.

You will be expected to take a leadership role in specific areas of expertise, to deliver trust wide improvement and business excellence and to build strong team working.

Key Responsibilities

Senior Leadership:

To support the Executive Team and Headteacher in ensuring the schools’ budgets balance and deliver best value for money. To ensure financial management follows Trust protocols and in accordance with the Academies Financial Handbook.

Ensure that your allocated schools make the best possible use of resources through effective planning, considering all financial and resource management implications. Report on the performance of monthly and day-to-day financial control.

Responsible for the strategic financial planning, forecasting and expenditure of allocated schools; advising Governors and the Executive on investment in developments and financial and reputational risk management.

Contribute to and manage against supporting Budgets and Plans, working with the Executive Team, Headteachers and governors as appropriate.

Monitor and evaluate progress against agreed objectives and targets, taking any additional action as maybe agreed to be necessary.

Ensure that the impact of business development, a focussed financial strategy and strong overall management directly affects educational outcomes for pupils.

Represent the Trust and schools at relevant local and national networks.

Promote and market Trust and schools’ specific services, seek sponsorship and generate additional income.

Maintain and ensure regular review of data protection and GDPR, personnel, and ensure that all required procedures are in place and observed. Maintain control of a contracts register that is capable of consolidation.

Operational, Financial and Risk Management:

Produce accurate month end accounts; responsible for cashbook posting and month end adjustments. Post all chargecard transactions. Complete month end journals, balance sheet reconciliations and management accounts.

Check and (jointly) authorise monthly payroll runs across schools. Post the payroll journal.

Provide a professional, innovative and entrepreneurial lead in relation to the schools’ financial health.

Monitor and challenge performance to Budget.

Manage and authorise expenditure on behalf of allocated schools in line with role mandates and academy trust handbook.

Ensure compliance within schools in line with Trust Policy and relevant regulations e.g. support Headteachers with compliance in relation to Financial Handbook, risk register, assurance documents.

Ensure the schools deliver Good Value for money.

Manage schools contract schedules and SLAs.

Provide support, guidance, challenge and information to budget holders

Support each school in maintaining an operational risk log, and escalate significant current or potential future risks to the Trust central team for consideration.

Liaise with other Trust business management staff to seek better procurement deals and commercial advantage.

Contribute to the development and implementation of a local ICT and Cyber development strategy.

Facilities Management:

Support Headteachers in decision making regarding the school premises in line with budget provision and operational requirements and evaluating tenders ensuring best value.

Develop and deliver building improvement projects liaising with key partners.

Responsible for validating the accuracy, content, and quality of submission of relevant information to the senior management team, the governing body and outside agencies meeting all financial and statutory regulations and guidelines.

Alongside Headteachers, ensure compliance with procurement legislation and frameworks and be responsible for securing relevant sponsoring and partnership arrangements adding value and financial benefits to the school/ Trust.

Responsible for devising effective marketing and promotion strategies for the school understanding the role of public relations with the wider stakeholder groups. Oversight of all major events including student open days and teacher recruitment.

Embeds a culture of health and safety across the school or Trust ensuring plans are in place within the school to deliver all statutory requirements.

Take a lead in the expansion and development plan of the site/s facilities, including use of Asset Management Plans to bid for major building funds to DfE to meet the strategic vision of the trust for its pupils.

The duties and responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present. The post holder is expected to accept any reasonable alterations that may from time to time be necessary.

Job Context:

• Develops and implements school policies and procedures; developed analytical, judgemental, or creative skills required to interpret very varied and complex information or situations over the long term, including whole Trust / school budget preparation and planning, support service monitoring.
• Negotiates, advises, leads on behalf of school in external matters such as contracts, procurement, funding bids; regularly deals with a range of complex Trust / whole school finance issues.

Person Specification:

Please view the Person Spec under Related Documents.

Problems, Demands & Decisions:

• Negotiates, advises, leads on behalf of school in external matters such as contracts, procurement, funding bids; regularly deals with a range of complex whole school finance issues.
• Develops and implements school policies and procedures; developed analytical, judgmental or creative skills required to interpret very varied and complex information or situations over the long term, including whole school budget preparation and planning, support service monitoring.

Physical Effort:

• Requires normal physical effort, with a mixture of sitting, walking, and carrying minor loads.
• Travel between sites (reimbursed for any travel beyond base office)

Working Environment:

Work normally carried out in an office environment and across the schools.

We welcome and encourage potential candidates to reach out for an informal conversation prior to applications to discuss the role further. To arrange an informal teams or phone conversation with the Trust CFO, Emma Gritten, please email: adminandprojects@dowat.co.uk.

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

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.

About Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School

• School type: Academy, Roman Catholic, ages 3 to 11
• Education phase: Primary school
• School size: Up to 446 pupils
• Age range: 3 to 11
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/saint-vincent-de-paul-catholic-primary-school-stevenage

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