Finance Officer

**FINANCE OFFICER - JOB DESCRIPTION**
**Salary Grade: Scale 5, Points 13-17**

**Salary Range: £24,948 to £26,845 per annum, pro rata**

**full time or term time only working and also part working from home**

**Responsible to: Director of Finance and Operations**

The Post
We are seeking to appoint an experienced Finance Officer, who will have overall responsibility for the efficient and secure administration of the school's finances on a day to day basis, reporting to and in liaison with the Director of Finance & Operations (DoFO). Previous experience of school finance would be advantageous. The school uses SIMS FMS financial software and training would be provided, if necessary.

The post is either full time or term-time only with 10 additional days to be worked in school holiday periods to ensure adequate financial services to suppliers; exact working weeks/dates to be negotiated and agreed with the DoFO.

Main

**Responsibilities**:
The post holder is required to carry out the following tasks:

- Orders
- Overseeing the liaison with staff re placing orders
- Where relevant researching suppliers re. best value
- Overseeing the raising of curriculum orders for Heads of Department and other staff
- Overseeing the raising of orders for educational furniture and equipment
- Ensuring curriculum orders are delivered to correct departments/locations
- Dealing with any queries with regard to orders
- Authorisation of orders £2,000 and under

Expenditure
- Overseeing the coding of invoices with the correct expenditure code, ensuring they are logged on the system, distributing to budget holders for authorisation
- Processing of BACS (or rarely cheque) payment runs to suppliers, ensuring creditor terms are maximised and including passing for signature, ensuring invoices are filed and cheques posted.
- Overseeing the raising of credit notes/cancelling invoices.
- Overseeing and ensuring statements are checked and copy invoices requested when needed.
- Ensuring adequate funds in the school's bank account for purchases to be made
- End of month reporting to Heads of Department

Petty Cash
- Processing requests from staff for advances/reimbursements and the distribution of cash/cheques
- Arranging for reimbursement of the petty cash fund
- Obtaining/collecting cash from bank as necessary

Income
- Issue of invoices to debtors
- Matching of receipts with invoices
- Recording non invoiced income against relevant expenditure code
- Preparation of banking of cash, cheques, for collection
- Entering monthly journals form the LA onto FMS against correct income ledger codes and dealing with monthly adjustments

General Finance
- Assisting with the setting of the school's annual budget, as required
- To take an active role in the administration of the schools on-line payment systems
- To manage the school's PayPal accounts
- To be a cardholder for the school's credit card account and to monitor the use and activity of other cards.
- Assisting with the closing of End of Year accounts.
- Bank reconciliations.
- VAT returns on a monthly basis
- Chasing any outstanding debts from lettings and parents and liaising with LA as and when required
- Dealing with any returned (bounced) payments from bank promptly and tactfully
- Acting as budget-holder for the Office Expenses and Furniture & Equipment budgets.
- Assisting with all audits and implementing changes required
- Any other duties as required by the school, commensurate with the postholder's role and responsibilities.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

**POST TITLE: Finance Officer**

**CRITERIA ESSENTIAL CRITERIA**

**Job Related **-NVQ **Level 3 **or equivalent qualification or experience in relevant
**Education and **discipline
**Qualificationsand**
**Knowledge **-Good knowledge and understanding of relevant ICT and Finance packages. SIMS and FMS an advantage.
- **Full working knowledge **and understanding of range of financial policies / codes of practice and awareness of relevant legislation

**Experience -**Demonstrable experience of schools financial management and operation of administrative systems likely to have been gained **over a period of two years**

**Skills & Abilities **-Good numerical skills to undertake a variety of tasks, e.g. maintaining accounts for schools activities, producing financial reports
- Good literacy skills to undertake a variety of tasks, e.g. reporting, communication with suppliers, parents and the LA on behalf of the
Head Teacher
- **Very good **ICT skills, e.g. production of reports, correspondence, inputting / updating information
- Able to relate well to children and adults, often **on behalf of the**
**Head Teacher **, e.g. dealing with visitors, passing information / messages to other staff, dealing with suppliers, **providing advice**
- Some need to use analytical, **judgmental, creative and developmental skills**, e.g. when setting up appropriate systems and producing financial information for line managers / auditors
- Able to demonstrate se