Finance Officer – Secondary School – Croydon

Marchant Recruitment; Croydon; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Marchant Recruitment is seeking a Finance Officer for a well-established secondary school in Croydon. You will provide day-to-day financial and administrative support, process invoices, maintain records and assist with month-end procedures.

You will support reconciliations and budgeting information for decision makers. The role requires strong numerical ability, high attention to detail and the ability to handle confidential information.

Qualifications

• Previous experience in finance or accounts administration.
• School finance experience is desirable.
• Experience processing invoices and purchase orders.
• Good numerical ability.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• Experience using finance or accounting systems.
• Strong written and verbal communication.
• Ability to maintain accurate financial records.
• Ability to work to deadlines.
• Ability to manage confidential information.
• Good problem-solving skills.
• Professional and reliable approach.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Responsibilities

• Processing purchase invoices and financial transactions.
• Supporting accounts payable and receivable processes.
• Processing purchase orders.
• Checking invoices against purchase orders.
• Maintaining accurate financial records.
• Responding to supplier queries.
• Assisting with bank and financial reconciliations.
• Monitoring outstanding invoices.
• Maintaining records of departmental expenditure.
• Processing staff expenses where required.
• Supporting month-end financial procedures.
• Preparing financial information and reports.
• Assisting with audit preparation.
• Maintaining organised financial documentation.
• Liaising with school departments regarding financial queries.
• Ensuring transactions are processed accurately and promptly.
• Maintaining confidentiality.
• Supporting the Finance Manager with wider financial administration.

Skills

Numerical ability

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Tools

Finance software

Job description

Finance Officer – Secondary School – Croydon

Start Date: As soon as possible
Contract: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: Paid to scale

School Information

A well-established Secondary School in Croydon is seeking an experienced and organised Finance Officer to join its busy finance and administration team.

The school is committed to providing students with a high-quality education within an inclusive and supportive environment. It has high expectations for academic achievement and student behaviour while placing strong emphasis on personal development, wellbeing and preparing students for their next steps.

The school's finance function plays an important role in supporting the effective operation of the school. Accurate financial administration is essential to ensuring that budgets are monitored effectively, suppliers are paid appropriately and senior leaders have reliable financial information available when making decisions.

The successful Finance Officer will work closely with the Finance Manager, senior leadership team, budget holders, school administrators and external suppliers.

The Role

The Finance Officer will provide day-to-day financial and administrative support across the school.

You will be responsible for processing financial transactions, maintaining accurate records, supporting reconciliations and dealing with finance-related queries.

The successful candidate will need strong attention to detail and the ability to work accurately to deadlines.

You should be comfortable managing confidential financial information and be able to communicate professionally with both internal colleagues and external organisations.

Key Responsibilities

Processing purchase invoices and financial transactions.

Supporting accounts payable and receivable processes.

Processing purchase orders.

Checking invoices against purchase orders.

Maintaining accurate financial records.

Responding to supplier queries.

Assisting with bank and financial reconciliations.

Monitoring outstanding invoices.

Maintaining records of departmental expenditure.

Processing staff expenses where required.

Supporting month-end financial procedures.

Preparing financial information and reports.

Assisting with audit preparation.

Maintaining organised financial documentation.

Liaising with school departments regarding financial queries.

Ensuring transactions are processed accurately and promptly.

Maintaining confidentiality.

Supporting the Finance Manager with wider financial administration.

Budget Monitoring

The successful candidate will support the monitoring of departmental budgets.

You may be required to provide budget holders with information about expenditure and outstanding commitments.

Accuracy is particularly important when dealing with financial data, so you will need to check information carefully and investigate discrepancies where necessary.

You should be confident working with figures and comfortable identifying errors before they affect wider financial reporting.

Purchase Orders and Invoices

You will have regular responsibility for processing invoices and purchase orders.

This will require careful checking of supplier information, amounts and supporting documentation.

Where an invoice does not match the relevant purchase order or there is an issue with the information provided, you will need to raise the matter with the appropriate colleague or supplier.

The ability to work methodically will be essential.

The Finance Officer will communicate regularly with external suppliers.

You will respond to queries regarding invoices, payments and purchase orders while ensuring that the school's financial procedures are followed.

A professional and helpful manner is required when dealing with external contacts.

Working With Staff

You will also communicate regularly with teachers, department heads, administrators and senior leaders.

Staff may approach the finance team with questions regarding expenditure, invoices or purchasing procedures.

The successful candidate should be able to explain financial processes clearly and provide appropriate support while maintaining the school's procedures.

Maintaining accurate and well-organised records will be a core responsibility.

You will need to ensure documentation is filed appropriately and that financial information can be located quickly when required.

You will also support the preparation of documentation for audits and internal financial reviews.

Requirements

Previous experience in finance or accounts administration.

School finance experience is desirable.

Experience processing invoices and purchase orders.

Good numerical ability.

Strong attention to detail.

Excellent organisational skills.

Experience using finance or accounting systems.

Strong written and verbal communication.

Ability to maintain accurate financial records.

Ability to work to deadlines.

Ability to manage confidential information.

Good problem-solving skills.

Professional and reliable approach.

Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Personal Qualities

The ideal candidate will be methodical, organised and dependable.

You should take pride in producing accurate financial information and be confident checking transactions carefully.

The successful candidate will also need to be proactive and willing to investigate discrepancies rather than allowing issues to remain unresolved.

Why Join the School?

This is an excellent opportunity to join a well-established Secondary School in Croydon and become an important member of its finance and administration team.

You will work alongside experienced colleagues and have the opportunity to develop your school finance experience while contributing to the effective running of the school.