POST:                                     School Finance Administrator                            

RESPONSIBLE TO:        Business Manager

SALARY:                               Scale 4 NJC point 7 to point 11 £25,584 to £27,269 (£22,500 to £23,976 pro rata)

LOCATION:                        Grange Park Primary School

WORKING PATTERN: 37.5 hours per week 39 week contract (term time only plus 1 week for PD days)

                                 Monday – Friday 8.00am – 4.00pm with half an hour unpaid lunch

CONTRACT:                       Permanent

DISCLOSURE LEVEL:    Enhanced DBS

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:  Working with the Business Manager, Headteacher, SLT Community and Academies Trust, Central Team, Local Authority, Parent and Carers

Main Purpose:

A busy public facing administrative support role with a finance focus. The post holder will be confident in dealing with members of the public and proficient in working with different IT systems and applications. The purpose of the role is to provide integral and cohesive support to the efficient day-to-day operation of the school office and wider school, with a finance focussed remit; working with relevant staff to support the school’s operational needs.

MAIN DUTIES RESPONSIBILITIES:

Administrative Support –

Supporting office and wider school colleagues with all duties in the school office, especially at peak times of the day, including but not limited to –

Assisting office colleagues with parent queries both in person and on the telephone, ensuring the visitor intercom and telephone are answered in a timely manner.

Ø      Provide support in greeting visitors and receiving deliveries, and dealing with associated administration (security badges, checking documentation, signing delivery notes).

Ø      Taking external calls from outside agencies such as local authority, healthcare providers and other external support agencies to book meeting space, liaise with school staff, and respond to queries.

Ø       Be a point of contact for pupils requiring help/support and referring them to other appropriate staff in school as necessary.

Ø       Support in administering medications to pupils as required, ensuring parents have completed the relevant consent form, and that medications are administered in line with the school policy.

Ø       Contacting parents as requested by school staff i.e. for illness, accidents, collection queries, lost property etc.

Ø       Attend and participate in relevant meetings as required i.e. fortnightly one to one meetings, termly team meetings and annual whole school Trust meetings.

Ø       Play an integral role in wider school life, such as attending school events such as rewards assemblies, attendance at school Christmas dinner, and providing support at school activities such as Sports Days.

Specific responsibilities

Order and Invoice Processing

• Be committed to the Trust “No PO, no payment” policy.
• Liaising with school departments to place orders through the finance system, taking ownership for all order processing, in line with Trust policies, scheme of delegation and authorisation workflows.
• Set up new suppliers, adhering to Trust and Inland Revenue policies.
• Coding invoices on finance system, liaising with central Trust colleagues to ensure timely capture on BACS runs.
• Be a first point of contact for supplier queries, liaising with Trust colleagues to ensure a successful resolution and continued good supplier management.

Sales Invoicing and Income

• Raise sales invoices for hire of school premises at the direction of the School Business Manager.
• Comply with Trust policies in relation to credit control and debt collection procedures.
• Maintain a system of reporting for income streams including SEN, LAC, Nursery and PP funding, with direction and guidance from the School Business Manager.  
• Monitor dinner money income and expenditure.
• Make manual adjustments and payments on Parentpay for wraparound and childcare payments.
• Ensure Parentpay debts for dinner money, breakfast club and trips are regularly communicated and resolved.

Financial Transactions and Cash Handling

• Reconciliation of school credit cards through online banking portal; ensuring appropriate receipts and authorisation for spend are provided.
• Take ownership of cash collection, ensure income received is receipted and banked promptly to ensure money on site is kept to a minimum.
• Ensure income is coded correctly and promptly on finance system.
• Arranging journals for incorrectly coded items at the direction of the School Business Manager.
• Assist with taking cash and bookings for clubs and trips, maintaining and updating registers, confirming attendance on Parentpay. and liaising with parents and carers.
• Assist with taking cash for breakfast club and dinner money.
• Working alongside the Senior Administrator to assist with the financial aspects of planning school trips and events.

Financial Monitoring and Responsibility

• Support school staff to adhere to Trust financial policies and procedures and be alert to unusual or suspicious transactions, reporting these to the School Business Manager as appropriate.  
• Provision of financial information for SLT decision making as required by School Business Manager.
• Be proactive in regard to value for money when procuring goods or services.
• Maintain accurate filing systems with knowledge of file retention policies/GDPR.
• Make suggestions to improve administrative processes, in line with an ethos of continuous improvement.

Budget Planning and Preparation

• Assist the School Business Manager and Trust colleagues in the preparation of the yearly school budget.
• Have an awareness of departmental budgets and be proactive in highlighting where spend may exceed budget, raising concerns to the School Business Manager.

Fundraising

• In conjunction with the School Business Manager, identify potential fundraising opportunities and grant funded projects that the school could benefit from and assist with applications or development of these opportunities.
• Promote and support school fundraising activities.

Other duties of an appropriate level and nature may also be required, as directed by the Head/SLT.  Please note that the post holder may be required to work outside of normal working hours for activities, meetings and emergencies.

The post holder is required to support and encourage the trust’s ethos and its objectives, policies and procedures as agreed by the Board of Directors, including child protection matters.

Health and Safety

All employees are expected to maintain a healthy and safe work environment.

Safeguarding Children

The trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff to share this commitment and to undergo appropriate checks, including enhanced DBS checks.

The above responsibilities are subject to the general duties and responsibilities contained in the Statement of Conditions of Employment. The duties of this post may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or level of responsibility entailed.

The person undertaking this role is expected to work within the policies, ethos and aims of the Trust and to carry out such other duties as may reasonably be assigned by the Line Manager.  The post holder will be expected to have an agreed flexible working pattern to ensure that all relevant functions are fulfilled through direct dialogue with employees, contractors and community members.

English Duty

This role is covered under part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 and therefore the ability to speak fluent spoken English is an essential requirement for this role.