Orwell Park School
Finance Manager
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Company Description
Orwell Park School is an independent preparatory school set in an 18th century mansion within 110 acres on the banks of the River Orwell, offering one of the most distinctive learning environments in the UK. The school combines strong academic teaching with an extensive co-curricular program, enabling children to flourish and prepare for leading national senior schools.
Role Description
Orwell Park School is seeking a Finance Manager/Finance Business Partner to lead financial operations and strategy. Orwell Park operates as part of the Benenden family of schools. In this role, you will act as a strategic service provider to the Orwell Park School Headteacher. You will deliver high-quality financial insights, budgeting, and commercial guidance. You will focus on strategic partnership, financial oversight, driving up commercial income and local school performance, while retaining accountability for the integrity of operational data. As part of the centralised Benenden family of school’s finance team you will report into the Group Finance Bursar. This position will be based at Orwell Park School in Suffolk.
Key Responsibilities
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Strategic Financial Management
- Act as the primary financial advisor to the Orwell Park Headmaster and Senior Leadership Team.
- Translate school educational goals into robust, sustainable financial plans.
- Identify financial risks and commercial opportunities to optimise school income.
- Monitor market trends and pupil recruitment data to model long-term financial forecasts.
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Data Accountability and Quality Assurance
- Accountable for quality assuring all local financial and operational data.
- Validate the pupil, fee, and billing data provided to Benenden to ensure accurate termly invoicing.
- Verify all local payroll amendments, overtime submissions, and staff data before central processing.
- Authenticate procurement requests, supplier commitments, and local delivery data to secure correct payments.
- Ensure absolute accuracy at the source to guarantee flawless downstream execution by the transaction team.
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Budgeting, Forecasting, and Systems
- Lead the annual budget setting process for Orwell Park School.
- Produce accurate monthly, quarterly, and year-end financial forecasts.
- Analyse budget variances and collaborate with the SLT and headteacher to manage costs.
- Present clear financial performance reports to the Headmaster and Benenden leadership.
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Benenden Service Liaison
- Act as the main bridge between Orwell Park and the Benenden centralised finance team.
- Ensure local financial and operational data flows seamlessly into the centralised iFinance system.
- Review centralised transaction outputs regularly to cross-verify local performance.
- Collaborate with Benenden to streamline financial workflows and reporting tools.
- Act as the main bridge between Orwell Park School and the Benenden central People Services team, ensuring that the school receives relevant HR support as necessary.
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Line management
- Act as line manager for the local finance and HR team.
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Commercial Activity
- Act as the lead for all commercial activity – notably summer lets, filming, and other commercial opportunities.
- Collaborate with the Benenden Commercial team to build a portfolio of commercial activity that delivers optimal value from local assets when they are not being used for their core purpose.
- Work across the local team, including the catering, cleaning, and teaching teams, to deliver the commercial events.
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Compliance and Governance
- Ensure local school spending aligns with charity commission and regulatory standards.
- Support external audit processes by providing local context and verified schedules.
- Maintain strong internal control frameworks at the Orwell Park site.
- Oversee local contract management and procurement to ensure value for money.
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Other
- Assist in the production of the year-end statutory accounts for the Group.
- Assist with the year-end audit.
- Assist in any other areas of finance and HR as reasonably requested by the Headmaster or Group Finance Bursar.
Qualifications
- Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or CIPFA) or qualified by experience.
- Proven experience as a Finance Business Partner or Senior Management Accountant.
- Hands-on experience or high proficiency with iFinance or comparable finance software.
- Experience in the education, charity, or wider public sector is highly desirable.
- Track record of influencing senior stakeholders and non-financial managers.
Skills and Attributes
- Exceptional attention to detail with a proven knack for data reconciliation and quality assurance.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to simplify complex financial data.
- Excellent communication skills for presenting to boards and leadership teams.
- Collaborative mindset suited to working across a multi-site school structure.
- High proficiency in advanced Excel.
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