Director of Finance

About Our Client

Cheadle Hulme School is a warm, welcoming and vibrant place where young people can enjoy a vast range of experiences.

It is an inclusive environment where everyone is welcome and everyone is equal, where pupils are nurtured and feel safe and happy.

The School was built by free-thinking philanthropists in 1855 to provide a liberal, inclusive co-education to orphans and necessitous children. Their goal was to ensure that these children were given the very best preparation for their lives beyond School, enabling them to thrive and prosper. That remains their clear goal today.

Cheadle Hulme School has built a reputation as one of Manchester's most modern, relevant and dynamic schools. But CHS is more than just a school; it is a thriving, co-educational community, with a strong sense of their history and values.

Their values underpin and guide all aspects of life at CHS, whilst providing a strong sense of identity and purpose for the whole community. The School encourages everyone to uphold these principles in their interactions with one another and throughout each day. These values are: Resilience, Integrity, Endeavour, Contribution and Compassion.

Job Description

As the Director of Finance your role will play a key strategic role to the direction of the Finance team and the school in general. You will be involved in optimising processes, identifying new opportunities, developing the long-term strategic plan and ensuring the continuing success of the school. The role holder will be a member of the School's Senior Leadership Team (SLT) , working closely with the Head and the Governors.

The successful candidate will also oversee either the IT or HR team as part of their remit.

The Director of Finance is responsible for ensuring that the School has the financial resources needed to deliver an excellent education to its pupils. The role involves close daily support to the Head, providing timely financial insights for strategic and operational decisions.

Additionally, as Clerk to the Governors, the Director will work closely with the board, delivering financial forecasts to guide strategic planning and reporting on the School's financial performance.

Duties of the role include:

• Leading sustainable Finance strategies, and either Human Resources or IT strategies, aligning them with the School's Strategic Plan
• Building strong relationships and partnerships to support strategic priorities
• Implementing robust policies, procedures and systems for the Finance team and either the Human Resources or IT team
• Establishing a management information framework for strategic decision-making
• Benchmarking performance against other organisations to drive improvement
• Overseeing procurement and contract management systems
• Managing the School's Risk Management framework
• Leading organisational change programmes
• Reviewing the performance and structure of the Finance department
• Leading, managing, and developing the Finance team and either the IT or Human Resources team
• Working closely with the Director of Operations to promote a high performing support function

The Successful Applicant

As the Director of Finance you will have:

• A full Accountancy Qualification (ACCA/ CIMA/ CIPFA/ ACA)
• Extensive experience of developing, leading and delivering successful finance strategies
• A track record of developing high quality financial and performance management information
• Expertise in building effectively partnerships and/or relationships with key stakeholders
• Strategic thinking and problem-solving skills
• Proven ability to identify new opportunities/challenges to inform key decision making

What's on Offer

• Salary c. £85,000
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays + Christmas closure days
• TPT Pension Scheme- 10% employer contribution
• Private Health Insurance
• Death in Service Benefit
• Partial Remission of Senior School fees
• Use of sports facilities, including pool and fitness suite
• Free on-site parking
• Free Staff lunches
• Flexible Working
• Hybrid working arrangements are negotiable

Where specific UK qualifications are required we will take into account overseas equivalents. All third party applications will be forwarded to Michael Page.

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