St John S School & College

Job Description

Finance Officer

1. Title Finance Officer

2. Base St. John’s School & College

3. Working Pattern Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm (40 hours per week)

4. Salary St. John’s grade 5 (£18k - £25k)

5. Reports to Head of Finance

6. Responsible for Finance volunteer(s)

7. Liaises with St John’s managers & employees External suppliers & subcontractors Local Authorities Auditors & External Accountants

Section A: Job Summary

The finance team currently consists of the Head of Finance, three Finance Officers covering Income, Expenditure and Payroll & Pensions. In addition there is one Finance Assistant post.

The Finance officers within the St John’s finance team undertake the following principal accountabilities described below:

 Preparation of monthly management accounts, annual financial accounts and Annual Budgets for review by Head of Finance  Responsible for maintaining all purchase and sales ledger accounting entries including receipts and payments.  Reconciliation and control of nominal and balance sheet accounts.  Preparing and paying monthly salaries for approximately 350+ staff with assistance from HR  Supervise Finance Assistant and volunteers  Maintain records to provide figures to the Head of Finance on the progress of performance against Annual Budgets.  Maintain and develop financial control processes and procedures as relevant to the role. Prepare annual quality improvement plans for finance team.  Plus any such work as necessary for the smooth running of the finances of the company. 1 This is an outline Job description and may be subject to change, according to the needs of the service, in consultation with the post holder. This job description details only the main duties & responsibilities of the post, it is not intended as an exhaustive list, the duties will be discussed at your performance management review and you are required to consider its content as part of any self-review process prior to a performance management interview.

St John’s is first and foremost about its Learners, and all roles require a key level of engagement with young people including a commitment to supporting their learning and achievements. This will require the post holder to be comfortable with, and confident to, work directly with Learners as appropriate to their post.

This job description forms part of your Terms and Conditions of Employment and should be kept with a copy of your contract.

Section B: General Duties

The role of the Finance Officers is important in ensuring that the School and College meet the educational, social, emotional and physical needs of all Learners. St. John’s aims to work on a ‘team approach’ but there are specific roles and responsibilities attached to this post.

The Finance Officer shall have due regard to the following best practice requirements;

 having regard to and observing all matters relating to the St. John’s policies and procedures;

 having regard to, and observing all matters relating to the St. John’s supporting behaviour policy and, as an essential part of your work, demonstrate respect, and ensure dignity of the individual learners; promoting self-esteem, positive self-image and potential achievements. ;

 undertaking such duties as may be deemed appropriate by Line Manager

 be part of the organisation’s supervision and annual performance review programme;

 Maintain clear regular (weekly) communication with relevant colleagues.

The specific responsibilities for each of the Finance Officers is outlined in the attachment.

2 Section C - Expectations and responsibilities of all post holders across St John’s

 To work within the framework and adhere to the mission statement, values, aims, policies and procedures of St John’s School & College;

 Actively participate in St. John’s Inset training programme participating in all mandatory trainings offered by the organisation and identify personal development needs;

 Actively engage in St John’s supervision and annual performance review programme;

 Undertake such duties as may be deemed appropriate by line manager or a member of St John’s management team.

 Interact with Learners as appropriate to the role and department in which the role is undertaken.

Section D

Additional Responsibilities

The post holder should demonstrate the ability to:

Work for results 1A.Planning & Delivery of Plans and organises work effectively to consistently Work achieve individual, team and organisational objectives to agreed deadlines 1B. Problem Solving & Makes timely and informed decisions applying the Decision Making appropriate level of critical thinking and analysis 1C. Managing People & Identifies, prioritises and effectively manages Performance resources (people, budgets, equipment, time, space) to achieve consistently high productivity and performance 1D. Embraces Change Acknowledges the need to achieve positive change and challenges existing practices.

Work well with others 2A.Communication Conveys information effectively and efficiently with good verbal, non-verbal and written communication skills. The ability to successfully facilitate the sharing of information. 2B. Building Relationships and Actively builds and maintains positive Team Working relationships with others and values collaboration. 2C. Respects Others Promotes equality of opportunity; treating all people with fairness, dignity and respect. Challenges discriminatory behaviour, and upholds and fosters diversity.

3 Work Professionally 3A. Developing Self & Others Displays an on-going commitment and ownership of learning and improvement to self and team 3B. Learner Centred Approach Adopts a learner centred approach in all aspects of work. 3C. Demonstrates Motivation & Consistently motivated, committed and is able Resilience to perform all duties in all situations. 3D. Acts with Integrity & Trust Consistently acts in a principled, open and conscientious manner and challenges unacceptable behaviour. 3E. Professional Standards & Adheres to and is an exemplary example of Competencies professional standards (Teachers, Care, HR). Consistently works to the values and ethos of St John’s

This job description is not exhaustive and amendments and additions may be required in line with future changes in policy. It will be reviewed annually.

St. John’s School & College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All appointments at St. John’s are subject to enhanced disclosure by the Disclosure & Barring Service and comprehensive pre-employment checks.

St. John’s School & College celebrates diversity amongst its students, staff and visitors and recognises the contribution which individuals with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences can make to the life of the School & College.

4 Finance Officer

Person Specification

Essential Desirable

Qualifications  Qualified accounting technician - AAT level 4  Or part qualified accountant – ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA

Experience  Working within an education/care  Experience of management accounting within a environment. medium – large company/charity  Payroll processing for a medium – large sized company – role specific.

Skills & Abilities  Strong spreadsheet skills  Conversant with Sage Line 50 Accounts and Sage Payroll  Ability to work independently and flexibly and determine appropriate priorities.  Ability to guide and support volunteers and learners

Personal Attributes  Own transport  A commitment to working with all staff and learners to improve and develop St John’s.  A commitment to achieve high standards in all aspects of the work undertaken.  A desire to establish and maintain effective working relationships and be an effective team member.  A commitment to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively.  Excellent communication skills, both written and oral – with internal and external clients, customers and suppliers.  Willingness to undertake continued professional development.  Dual sited

Equality & Diversity  Understanding of, and a total commitment to, the principles of Equality & Diversity  Evidence of an understanding of, and a commitment to, equality and diversity principles in your practice.

5 Finance Officer – Payroll & Pensions

Specific Responsibilities

1. Monthly Payroll administration

1. Update master schedule for staff as appropriate to generate monthly payroll payments 2. Update monthly payments for bike and travel to work schemes 3. Prepare monthly variance analysis for sign of by Head of Finance and Chief Executive. 4. Upload monthly BACS payments for Payroll, PAYE and attachment of earnings 5. Prepare and post monthly payroll journals to SAGE accounts 6. Prepare monthly reports as required by Head of Finance and Chief Executive 7. Review and resolve queries. (Staff, HMRC, Pensions, DWP etc.) 8. Undertake ad-hoc payroll analysis as directed by Head of Finance

2. Annual Payroll administration

1. Prepare payroll timetable schedule 2. Prepare HMRC returns as required 3. Prepare analysis to inform the setting of school and college fees.

3. Pensions

1. Prepare and submit monthly and annual returns for the company scheme 2. Prepare monthly BACS payments

4. Other responsibilities

1. Supervise and direct the Finance Assistant 2. Evaluate and advise on the impact of external / internal policy changes on payroll 3. Maintain and update policies and procedures relevant to the role. 4. Maintain and update financial and management accounting systems. 5. Reconcile nominal ledger and balance sheet accounts relevant to the role 6. Undertake analysis and reconciliations as required for annual audit