Finance Officer

The Gorse Academies Trust; Leeds; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Teacher/Local government pension

Staff training & progression

Employee Assistance Programme

Cycle to work scheme - £2k

Job summary

The GORSE Academies Trust is seeking a Finance Officer to join our central finance team in Leeds. Reporting to the Chief Accountant, you will coordinate day-to-day financial activities, supervise Finance Administrators, and ensure accuracy of financial information across the Trust.

We value experience in finance roles, supervisory expertise, and strong ICT/Excel skills. Knowledge of academy or school finance is advantageous but not essential.

Qualifications

• Recognised accountancy qualification (AAT, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA) or currently studying towards qualification.
• Experience in finance, accounting or financial administration.
• Supervisory or team leadership experience is desirable.
• Strong ICT skills, including advanced Excel and financial management systems.
• Excellent organisational skills with attention to detail and ability to prioritise.

Responsibilities

• Supervise and support Finance Administrators.
• Ensure compliance with Financial Procedures and accounting controls.
• Manage bank reconciliations and payment processes.
• Act as a key point of contact for finance queries and processes.
• Maintain accurate financial records and controls.
• Drive continuous improvement within finance processes and systems.

Job description

Start date to be agreed with successful candidate

Are you an experienced finance professional looking for an opportunity to develop your accounting and supervisory skills within a high-performing multi-academy trust?

The GORSE Academies Trust is seeking a motivated and organised Finance Officer to join our central finance team. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in supporting the trust's financial operations, ensuring robust financial controls, accurate accounting processes, and exceptional service delivery across our establishments.

About the Role

Reporting to the Chief Accountant, you will be responsible for coordinating the trust's day-to-day financial and accounting activities, ensuring financial information is processed, recorded and reported accurately. You will supervise and allocate work to Finance Administrators, maintain compliance with trust Financial Procedures, and provide guidance and support to finance colleagues across the Trust.

• Supervising and supporting Finance Administrators.
• Ensuring compliance with Financial Procedures and accounting controls.
• Managing bank reconciliations and payment processes.
• Acting as a key point of contact for finance and procedure queries.
• Maintaining accurate financial records and controls.
• Driving continuous improvement within finance processes and systems.

About You

We are looking for someone who has:

• A recognised accountancy qualification (AAT, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA) or is currently studying towards qualification.
• Experience in a finance, accounting, or financial administration environment.
• Previous supervisory or team leadership experience.
• Strong ICT skills, including advanced Excel and financial management systems.
• Excellent organisational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Strong communication skills and a commitment to delivering excellent customer service.
• Knowledge of academy or school finance would be advantageous but is not essential.

What we offer you:

As a trust, we want to ensure that professionals at every stage in their career have the opportunity to enjoy expert support and training. We are pleased to offer a generous benefits package to our team - as we work together to create a rewarding future for all including:

• Membership of a teacher or local government pension scheme, depending on the role.
• A commitment to continued investment in our professionals, supporting every member of staff throughout their career in the trust.
• Access to an Employee Assistance Programme which provides confidential professional advice and support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• £2k Cycle to work scheme.

About us:

Led by Sir John Townsley, GORSE has a well-known reputation for changing the deal for children and young adults who come from some of the most impoverished parts of the country. Our central mission is to ensure that we play a significant role in removing the stubborn link between poverty and academic underperformance. Consequently, our students and our professionals are in the vanguard of the national drive which seeks to prove that where teaching is excellent, leadership inspiring and behaviour standards exemplary all children excel regardless of background.

Our 15 academies, our central team, our Teaching School Hub and GORSE SCITT work in a tightknit manner which sees our students prospering as a result of great partnership. Our professionals recognise the enormous advantage that comes from belonging to a network of excellence and we as a trust recognise that there is much to be gained when great organisations work with integrity, moral purpose and determination.

If you would like to know more about our Trust, please visit our website at www.tgat.org.uk.

GORSE Policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders

The GORSE Academies Trust use 'OnlineSCR' for the processing of safeguarding checks - their privacy notice can be seen at: https://onlinescr.co.uk/policies/privacy-policy/.

Employment is conditional on confirmation of the right to work in the UK - either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

Please note that, as a sponsor licence holder, we only provide sponsorship for teacher vacancies.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process, and we welcome applications from people with disabilities as defined by the Equality Act.

We are committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to full employment checks, including an enhanced DBS disclosure and barring service check. We promote diversity and aim to establish a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds.