School Business Support Officer

School Business Support Officer
Job Description & Person Specification

Context

The Diocese of Chester covers a number of Local Authorities, including Cheshire East,
Cheshire West and Chester and Wirral and parts of Halton, Warrington, Trafford, Stockport,
Tameside and Derbyshire. There are 116 Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) schools, ranging from small rural to larger urban schools.

A group of DBE schools (currently twelve) have become part of the Chester Diocesan
Academies Trust (CDAT) as both sponsored and converter academies. The growth of CDAT has been undertaken in a measured way to ensure that its growth matches its capacity, but it is now ready to expand more rapidly as it takes on further schools, working within a regional cluster model.

It is envisaged that our School Business Support Officers will work specifically with a small group of schools, while also contributing to the overall effective running of the Trust.

Key issues to which CDAT is committed

Going forward as a growing trust, CDAT is seeking to build a staff complement (centrally and through academies) with the capacity to:

- Develop outstanding practice across every academy
- Intervene to support schools that are not providing the best outcomes for children
- Ensure that church schools within CDAT embed Christian distinctiveness and all schools live out the CDAT vision and values
- Understand that CDAT is built from the ground up and work with schools to develop necessary policy and procedures
- Support the development of the hub model
- Lead school to school collaboration and development both for individual academy improvement and the good of all
- Enhance the educational and business offer currently available to academies
- Improve communication both internally and externally
- Deliver leadership development and succession and development for all staff
- Demonstrate clear accountability in business functions, educational provision and governance.
- Provide clear information and guidance to the Board on the effectiveness of individual academies and the trust as a whole

Chester Diocesan Academies Trust (CDAT)

Job Title: School Business Support Officer

Pension: Membership of Local Government Pension Fund

Job Summary: The Trust envisages that the School Business Support Officer will be a key part of the trust’s central team, providing high
- quality support for schools, including:

- Maintaining the financial accounting systems across the trust, ensuring compliance with the Academies

Handbook and other key financial guidance and legislative requirements
- Monitoring and implementation of appropriate financial policies and procedures across the trust
- Supporting financial management and reporting at school level
- Supporting schools to comply with their statutory obligations in respect of business and operations
- Supporting the transition process of schools coming into the trust, and providing sound financial knowledge and support to School Business Managers across the trust on all aspects of finance

Accountable To: Trust Director of Finance & Operations

Key CDAT Officers and staff
Relationships: Headteachers and School Business Managers
- Diocesan Board of Education Officers and Staff
- Service providers
- ESFA
- DfE
- HMRC
- The Charity Commission

Hours & Location: Full Time, All Year Round (but with potential for negotiation)
- Blended working in place, involving some time in the trust office (Daresbury), some home working and regular visits to schools

Core Purpose

To support the provision of a forward thinking, responsive and professional finance and business operations service, while ensuring the Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) remains compliant with the requirements of the Academies Financial Handbook, Companies House, the Charities Commission and other relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.

Core Expectations

Staff should recognise that as the trust grows job roles will inevitably develop and change focus, and job descriptions will be reviewed accordingly. Staff need therefore to be flexible in their approach to accommodate the changing needs of the MAT and to participate fully in professional development to support this.

Key Accountabilities

1) Support the trust’s DFO in ensuring that the trust’s accounting systems are effectively and accurately maintained in compliance with the Funding Agreement, SORP, the Academies
Financial Handbook, the Academies Accounts Direction and all relevant Companies and
Charities legislation
- Support the development and monitoring of the trust’s financial procedures and processes
- Participate in and support finance system administration tasks e.g. creating new periods and year end processes
- Participate in and support period end procedures for all academies and central function in a timely and efficient manner
- Identify and perform all necessary accounting adjustments for all schools and the MAT central function
- Support financial monitoring and reporting across