Schools Finance and Forum Officer

Lancashire County Council; New Gate; Hybrid; GBP 33,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Local Government Pension Scheme

26 days annual leave and holidays

Staff discount Vivup

Development opportunities

Job summary

Lancashire County Council is recruiting for a Schools Finance and Forum Officer within the Schools Statutory Team, Financial Management in Preston. This full-time hybrid role supports statutory financial functions, manages funding allocations, calculates adjustments, and produces budgets and reports.

You will monitor funding streams, maintain models, liaise with schools and internal teams, ensure compliant processing, and contribute to process improvements.

Qualifications

• GCSEs or equivalent required.
• Experience in financial administration.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Good customer service skills.
• Ability to work in a team and independently.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Excel and Word.
• Self-motivated and well organized.

Responsibilities

• Manage and administer funding allocations and payments.
• Calculate funding adjustments, redeterminations and backdated payments.
• Produce and distribute funding statements, budgets and financial reports.
• Monitor, reconcile and analyse funding streams for accuracy and compliance.
• Maintain funding models, spreadsheets, databases and payment schedules.
• Support year-end processes, statutory returns and audit requirements.
• Liaise with schools, academies, providers and internal teams to resolve funding queries.
• Investigate discrepancies and implement corrective actions.
• Ensure accurate processing of education funding.
• Contribute to improvements of funding processes and systems.
• Assist with varied workload supporting statutory functions of the team.

Skills

Financial administration experience

Strong communication skills

Customer service skills

Teamwork and independent work

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Adaptability to new financial systems

Self-motivated and organized

Education

GCSEs or equivalent

Tools

Excel

Word

Job description

Salary £33,119 - £37,563 per annum | Permanent, Full Time 37 hours per week | Preston/Hybrid Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role We are currently recruiting to the post of Schools Finance and Forum Officer within the Schools Statutory Team, Financial Management. This role provides a unique opportunity to contribute and support the statutory financial functions of the county council. As a Schools Finance and Forum Officer, you will:

• Manage and administer High Needs, Early Years, Schools, and Post-16 funding allocations and payments.
• Calculate funding adjustments, redeterminations and backdated payments.
• Produce and distribute funding statements, budgets and financial reports.
• Monitor, reconcile and analyse funding streams to ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Maintain funding models, spreadsheets, databases and payment schedules.
• Support financial year-end processes, statutory returns and audit requirements.
• Liaise with schools, academies, providers and internal teams to resolve funding queries and gather data.
• Investigate discrepancies and implement corrective actions where required.
• Ensure accurate, timely and compliant processing of education funding.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of funding processes, systems and reporting.
• Have a varied workload supporting the statutory functions of the team., Please ensure you upload a supporting statement demonstrating how you meet the criteria for the role.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications.

Local Government Reorganisation The Government has confirmed that local government across Lancashire will be reorganised, with the current 15 councils being replaced by four new unitary councils covering North, South, East and West Lancashire from April 2028. If you are successful in your application, you will initially join Lancashire County Council. However, as part of the planned transition, your employment will transfer to one of the new unitary councils from April 2028, subject to the implementation of the reorganisation and relevant employment legislation. Throughout this period, our focus remains on delivering excellent services to our communities. By joining us now, you'll play an important role in shaping the future of local government and helping to build a strong new organisation that will serve residents for years to come.

• Holds GCSE's Qualifications or equivalent.
• Has experience in financial administration.
• You’ll have great communication skills with the ability to communicate both written and verbally.
• You’ll have good customer service skills.
• You will be able to work well in a team but also have the ability to work without close supervision
• Have the ability to use Microsoft Office, in particular Excel and Word and can adapt to working with new financial systems.
• You are self-motivated and organised.

By joining Lancashire County Council, you can shape the career path that is right for you, with opportunities to gain personal and professional qualifications, coaching, and mentoring. Lancashire County Council truly is the place where you can have the career you've always wanted.

In return for your passion and expertise, we offer a generous benefits package, which includes:

• A competitive salary and Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions.
• A great holiday entitlement of 26 days annual leave, which increases with length of service. You will also be entitled to 8 Bank Holidays, 2 additional statutory Bank Holidays, and have the option to buy additional leave each year.
• Our staff discount scheme in partnership with Vivup, allowing you to access discounts with a range of UK retailers, saving on everything from weekly food shops to white goods and cars.
• Access to fantastic development and career opportunities.