Ivy Rock Partners
Financial Director
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Ivy Rock Partners is delighted to be working with a successful and growing multi-academy trust to recruit a Finance Director.
This is a key leadership opportunity for an experienced finance professional to join a well-established Trust at an exciting stage of its development. Working closely with the Chief Financial Officer, Executive Team and Trustees, you will provide strategic financial leadership, ensuring the Trust continues to deliver excellent financial governance while supporting future growth and improvement. The role combines strategic leadership with operational oversight across multiple schools.
The Opportunity
As Executive Finance Director, you will lead the Trust's finance function, ensuring robust financial management, statutory compliance and effective financial planning across the organisation. You will play a central role in developing long-term financial strategy, strengthening financial controls, and supporting school leaders to make informed financial decisions.
This is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to make a genuine impact within the education sector while leading a high-performing finance team.
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Key Responsibilities
- Provide strategic financial leadership across the Trust, ensuring strong governance and compliance with Academy Trust Handbook requirements.
- Lead the annual budgeting, forecasting and medium-term financial planning process.
- Prepare and present financial reports, management accounts and annual statutory accounts to senior leadership and Trustees.
- Oversee all aspects of financial control, including payroll, treasury, banking, VAT, pensions and financial reporting.
- Ensure robust procurement processes and value-for-money initiatives across the Trust.
- Lead and develop the central finance team, promoting continuous improvement and high performance.
- Build strong relationships with Headteachers and senior leaders, providing commercial financial advice and challenge.
- Identify opportunities to improve financial systems, controls and reporting.
- Support organisational growth, including onboarding new schools where required.
- Ensure compliance with all relevant statutory, regulatory and audit requirements.
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About You
The successful candidate will be a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or CIPFA) with significant senior finance leadership experience, ideally gained within education, the public sector or another complex multi-site organisation.
You will demonstrate:
- Experience leading a finance function within a complex organisation.
- Strong strategic financial planning, budgeting and forecasting expertise.
- Excellent knowledge of financial governance, controls and risk management.
- Experience presenting financial information to Boards and senior stakeholders.
- The ability to influence, challenge and build trusted relationships across an organisation.
- A collaborative leadership style with experience developing high-performing teams.
- Strong analytical skills and a focus on continuous improvement.
For a confidential conversation about the role please get in touch with Megan Hunter.
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