School Finance Officer Job

ST MARYS CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL; London; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

A Catholic secondary school in Croydon is seeking a Finance Officer to manage financial processes, ensure compliance, and support the school's strategic objectives. The ideal candidate will have experience in finance, preferably in an educational setting, and will demonstrate attention to detail and process orientation. This role offers a competitive salary, full-time permanent contract, and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Generous local authority pension scheme

Professional development opportunities

Support for career progression

Qualifications

• Experience in managing financial processes.
• Ability to ensure compliance with policies and procedures.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Administer the Finance processes at the school.
• Manage payroll and bank reconciliation.
• Provide monthly budget reporting and maintain contracts register.

Skills

Attention to detail

Finance management

Process orientation

Education

Previous experience in finance

Experience in educational settings

Job description

School Finance Officer Job

· Salary: £37,038 to £38,058 (Grade 7)

· Contract Type: Permanent, All Year Round, Full Time

· Start Date: Subject To Notice Period

· Reports to: School Business Manager

· Location: St Mary's Catholic High School, Woburn Road, Croydon, CR9 2EE, London Borough of Croydon

We are seeking to appoint a Finance Officer at St Mary's Catholic High School. In this key support staff role, your core responsibilities will include administer the Finance processes, ensuring that all relevant policies and procedures are implemented effectively to support the school's strategic objectives.

St. Mary’s Catholic High School is a small and growing secondary school delivering high-quality Catholic education in the centre of Croydon. At a time of rapid change in our town centre, and with significant developments in the provision of Catholic education across the Archdiocese of Southwark this is an exciting time to join our OFSTED good school, which is consistently one of the highest achieving schools in Croydon. Our commitment is reflected in our outstanding Progress 8 score for 2024, which places us in the top 5 schools for Croydon. We take pride in our school's dedication to supporting disadvantaged pupils and fostering social mobility. Our staff are passionately committed to ensuring that every student, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to succeed and thrive.

The ideal candidate will be highly process oriented with attention to detail. They will have previous experience in a finance role ideally in an educational setting.

Inspiring students to do their best, and we take pride in bringing this vision to life every day through our commitment and passion. You do not need to be a practicing Catholic to apply.

Visits to the school are warmly encouraged, please contact Francisca at the details below to arrange. Excited to find out more about our school? Please see our Welcome Video here.

Benefits of working at St Mary's Catholic High School:

• Ranked 5th place out of all schools in in Croydon for progress.
• Excellent travel links with Central London and South London: 5 min walk from West Croydon (Southern Railway, Windrush Line – Overground, Tram and Bus) and 7 min walk from East Croydon (Thameslink, Southern Railway, Southeastern Railway, Gatwick Express, Tram and Bus).
• Great location close to excellent shopping and local amenities.
• A collaborative approach and positive relationships.
• Strong strategic leadership.
• Support from managers and colleagues.
• Equality of opportunities for staff.
• Appreciation of staff achievement and contribution.
• Induction of new staff and ongoing development for ECT.
• Students' respect for staff and others.
• Support for career progression.
• Links with St Mary's University for professional development (10 members of staff have either completed or progressing on the MA in Catholic School Leadership).
• Access to on-site car and bicycle parking facilities for all members of staff.
• Generous local authority pension scheme for support staff.
• Our staff are deeply committed to promoting social mobility, ensuring that every student, regardless of background, has the opportunity to succeed.

OFSTED Quotes:

• "St Mary’s Catholic High School is a deeply caring community. Its pupils and staff live up to their core values of being welcoming, serving others and working hard."
• "Pupils like coming to school and enjoy learning. They feel safe here and know that staff go the extra mile to check their whereabouts and well-being."

Your New Role:

As Finance Officer you will work with the School Business Manager and Governors to ensure our financial processes and procedures are fully compliant and are robust. You will manage payroll and will be responsible for bank reconciliation, monthly budget reporting, and maintenance of a detailed and up to date contracts register.

How To Apply:

To apply, please request an application form from Francisca or call her for more information.

Your application is a direct permanent application to our school (not through agency), Hays is our recruitment partner for all permanent appointments.

· Closing Date: no later than 12:00 on Thursday 11th September 2025

· Interview Date: To Be Confirmed

Please note, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited for interview. St Mary’s Catholic High School reserves the right to close adverts earlier than the stated deadline.

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment. Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance. Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant): childcare disqualification Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), medical online and social media prohibition from teaching, right to work, satisfactory references, suitability to work with children. You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.