High Needs Funding Team Manager

North Northamptonshire Council; Kettering; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Hybrid & flexible working

28–33 days leave + bank holidays

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee Benefits Scheme

Job summary

North Northamptonshire Council seeks an experienced High Needs Funding Team Manager in a role within Children’s Services. The post leads the High Needs Funding Team and ensures accurate allocation of the High Needs Block Budget to educational providers, with strong financial controls and forecasting.

The role requires budget expertise, data analysis skills, and the ability to lead a team while maintaining compliance with national guidance.

Qualifications

• Experience in budget setting, monitoring, forecasting and managing complex financial processes.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to interpret complex datasets.
• Proficiency in IT systems, especially Microsoft Excel.
• Experience managing teams and supervising staff.
• Ability to manage high workloads and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Manage payments approved from the High Needs Block Budget with forecast and reporting.
• Lead the High Needs Funding Team to deliver funding allocations to educational providers across payment methods.
• Extract, analyse and interpret data to support budget planning and financial analysis.
• Maintain high-quality financial records, reconcile accounts and provide reports to senior leadership.
• Provide expert support to SEN budget managers to understand and manage their budget positions.
• Ensure compliance with statutory High Needs Funding guidance and keep up to date with national requirements.
• Develop and refine processes to improve efficiency and respond to changing service needs.

Skills

Budget management

Forecasting

Data analysis

Team leadership

Excel

Communication

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - Kettering - Bowling Green Road & other NNC offices

Kettering - Bowling Green Road & other NNC offices

Closing Date:

13/11/2026

Job Category:

Education

Organisation:

North Northamptonshire Council

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising thanyou think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28days, rising to 33days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About the role

North Northamptonshire Council is seeking an experienced and motivated High Needs Funding Team Manager to lead our High Needs Funding Team and oversee the effective management of the High Needs Block Budget. This is a vital role within Children’s Services, ensuring that children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) receive the funding support they need for their education.

As the Team Manager, you will be required to collate and keep records to support the strategic oversight of the High Needs Block Budget and all associated funding processes, ensuring accurate allocation, strong financial controls, and robust forecasting.

Line management of other staff within the high needs funding team will also be required.

What will you be doing?

In this varied leadership role, you will:

• Manage and oversee the payments approved from the High Needs Block Budget, including accurate budget setting, forecasting and financial reporting.
• Lead the High Needs Funding Team to deliver timely and accurate funding allocations to educational providers across a range of payment methods.
• Extract, analyse and interpret complex data to support budget planning and financial analysis.
• Maintain high‑quality financial records, reconcile accounts and provide clear reports to senior leadership.
• Provide expert support and advice to SEN budget managers, helping them to understand and manage their budget positions.
• Ensure compliance with statutory High Needs Funding guidance and keep up to date with national requirements.
• Develop and refine processes to improve efficiency and respond to changing service needs.

About you

We’re looking for someone who brings both financial expertise and strong leadership skills. You will have:

• Experience in budget setting, monitoring, forecasting and managing complex financial processes.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret and interrogate complex datasets.
• Excellent financial management knowledge, including creating and implementing payment processes.
• Proficiency in IT systems, especially Microsoft Excel.
• Experience managing teams and supervising staff.
• Ability to manage high workloads, prioritise independently, and meet deadlines.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including explaining financial information to non‑finance colleagues.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:

• Customer-focused
• Respectful
• Efficient
• Supportive
• Trustworthy

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

Disability Confident Employer

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

The council obtained the Gold status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)