Chief Financial and Operational Officer: Crompton House C of E Trust

Relocation: A generous relocation allowance may be available where the employee’s new home is reasonably close to the workplace and the former home is not.

We are excited to announce an opportunity for an exceptional finance professional with the right blend of skills, talents, experience, and values to become the next Chief Financial and Operational Officer (CFOO) at Crompton House Church of England Multi-Academy Trust - a small, local, growing, successful and ambitious Trust, based in Oldham, Greater Manchester.

This vacancy has arisen due to the pending phased retirement of our current CFOO, who has been a valued member of our Trust since 2014. We are now looking for someone to work with us to move the Trust on to its next stage of growth as a true civic leader within a sustainable, self-improving and supportive system, making a significant difference to improving the lives of our children, and the communities in which they live.

The Chief Financial and Operational Officer will join our central senior leadership team. As a member of this team, the CFOO plays an important part in setting the strategic direction of the Trust, in addition to overseeing the operational leadership and management of all business services, including finance, procurement, Human Resources, and estates and facilities management. The successful candidate will ensure a strategic and cohesive approach to the business operations of the Trust and, therefore, will need to demonstrate experience and/or knowledge of the areas that they oversee. Of course we appreciate that it is unlikely any candidate will have substantive experience in all those areas, but an appreciation of what is involved, and how to successfully manage the professionals who themselves lead and work in these areas is what we seek.

The CFOO will work closely with the Chief Executive Officer and other members of the Executive Team. They will attend and present at Trust Board and subcommittee meetings, producing high-quality reports and updates. They will keep ahead of funding, compliance and legislative matters across the sector, providing robust longer-term strategy and planning that ensures the CEO and Trustees are able to make informed decisions.

This post offers an exciting opportunity for an ambitious and enthusiastic professional to join our growing multi-academy Trust. All the work of the CFOO will be rooted in supporting our schools and ensuring the best outcomes for each and every pupil.

We are looking for a leader who is strategic and innovative but is not afraid to 'roll up their sleeves' - when needed. You will need to be a qualified accountant, ideally with experience in education OR the charitable sector OR the public sector; certainly someone with high levels of technical competence and the personal skills to communicate complexity clearly. The Trust’s finances are robust, and we are seeking a finance professional to ensure our decisions, and our future growth are always sustainable, and to assure that our reporting and accounting systems fully comply with the spirit and the letter of our legal requirements. 

We would like the successful candidate to start as soon as possible, but we realise that notice periods can be variable, and we are prepared to discuss the best start date for the right candidate.

The role will suit:

• A qualified accountant (with a recognised accountancy qualification such as ACA, ACCA, CIPFA or CIMA) who has a thorough understanding of financial policies and procedures, and the skills and ability to lead professionals in HR, Procurement, Estates etc.
• Someone with a good track record of working at a senior level in Finance, ideally (but not essentially) in education.
• Someone with excellent communication skills.

There is, of course, no requirement that you be a teacher.

Potential candidates are welcome to contact our advisers ASDTi on 07736 775776 to see whether a visit to the Trust can be arranged (the School Summer Holiday may be problematic in that regard, but with flexibility, a visit may yet be possible).

The appointment is, of course, subject to satisfactory references and a successful enhanced DBS Disclosure.

The deadline for applications is 13th September 2024 at 12 Noon.

Interview and selection will be the following week.

Further details and a full application pack are available from our advisers ASDTi by visiting and downloading from www.cromptonhouse.info; by e-mailing gm@asdti.com; or by calling 07736 775776. Please note, however, that (in common with most UK Schools and Colleges) we do not accept CVs or agencies.

ASDTi are available, on our behalf, during evenings and weekends as well and would be pleased to discuss your application, career or relocation expectations.