Finance Consultant

Welcome to Juniper Education

Juniper Education, where our mission is to champion educators, empowering them to shape future generations. We're more than just a support system; we're the driving force that propels schools and Academy Trusts to new heights. With our proven school education management systems and services, we address a spectrum of needs, ensuring excellence in education. In the education and tech industry, your work directly influences the lives of students and educators. Whether you're developing cutting-edge educational technology, supporting school leadership teams directly or designing solutions to enhance the learning experience, you could make a lasting and positive impact on the future.

Our mission statement says it all: We look after you, so that you can look after our children.

Dedicated To Our Core Values, We Are Committed To

• Empowerment: Equipping everyone with the tools, intelligence, connections, and freedom to make informed decisions, recognised and respected by all.
• Purpose: Supporting everyone to reach their highest potential, thereby enabling all children to achieve theirs.
• Passion: Because we love what you do, you’re at the heart of everything we do.
• Innovation: Delivering meaningful solutions with expertise and creative thinking to influence the ever-changing world of education.
• Collaboration: The cornerstone of our success as it enables us to collectively harness diverse perspectives and strengths, ensuring that together, we achieve more than we could ever do alone. Every voice counts!

The Role

To deliver a professional, customer facing financial management support service to schools / academies / Multi Academy Trust’s across the country by remote access and onsite according to geographical location, that enhances their financial management by providing:

• Remote / on-site consultancy visits to support the customer’s finance function with expertise on financial management tasks as commissioned by the customer with regard to completion, assistance, guidance, checking, training and reviews. The expertise given will be in accordance with requirements relating to Schools Financial Value Standard, Academies Financial Handbook and Education Funding Agency updates, Essex Scheme of Financing Schools and Scheme of Delegation or the equivalent for the relevant local authority.
• Advice Line, to answer financial management queries from school / academy finance staff, Head teachers and Governors/Trustees.
• Independent examination/audit of school private fund accounts.
• Assist/deliver a range of finance training courses

The services given will strictly meet Education Finance Support’s Service Standards and terms and conditions.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Deliver a high-quality finance support service to schools, academies and Multi-Academy Trusts, ensuring work is completed in line with Department for Education requirements and our service standards.
• Manage your own portfolio of customers, coordinating visits, responding to requests and working with senior consultants to ensure cover during busy periods.
• Support customers with Local Authority and DfE financial returns, budget preparation, forward financial planning, budget monitoring, forecasting and cashflow management.
• Prepare clear financial reports for governors and boards of trustees, attend governor meetings where required, and help senior leaders understand financial information and make informed decisions.
• Provide one-to-one training for school finance staff remotely and on site, troubleshoot financial anomalies, and support year-end accounting procedures, statutory returns and monthly bursar finance tasks.
• Process and review financial transactions, including journals, virements, orders, invoices, petty cash, income and banking, and ensure revenue and capital expenditure is coded in line with Consistent Financial Reporting requirements.
• Support accounting for school private funds, including independent examination or audit work where required.
• Contribute to the Advice Line on a rota basis, answering financial management queries from school and academy finance teams, headteachers, governors and trustees.
• Assist with delivering the Education Finance Support training programme and share your knowledge with colleagues to support continuous improvement.
• Keep up to date with changes in education and local government finance, contribute to service and business development, and actively promote Education Finance Support services.
• Build strong customer relationships, achieve high levels of satisfaction, support repeat and additional subscriptions, and share relevant market insight with Juniper Education colleagues.
• Carry out financial management reviews, producing professional post-visit reports with clear findings and recommendations for client senior leaders.
• Manage your diary independently, maintain accurate administration, support business continuity and take an active role in your own development and performance review process.