Finance Manager - DSG & Schools

About the Role

An exciting opportunity has arisen within Enfield Council's Finance Business Partnering team for a Finance Manager – Schools and DSG.

Reporting to the Head of Finance - Education and Schools, you will play a key role in delivering high-quality financial leadership and support across the Council's education and schools portfolio. Working closely with senior officers, schools and other stakeholders, you will help shape the financial sustainability of education services and support effective decision-making across a diverse range of activities.

The role has responsibility for leading the financial management of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), while also overseeing key schools finance processes and supporting wider education services, including financial planning, budget monitoring and statutory reporting.

This is a varied and influential role, offering the opportunity to work closely with senior officers, headteachers, school leaders and Schools Forum on complex and high-profile financial issues.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee the key schools finance processes.
• Lead the financial management, monitoring and forecasting of the Council's Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), ensuring compliance with Department for Education funding requirements and regulations.
• Provide robust financial advice, support and challenge to senior stakeholders across Education and Schools services.
• Support the development of the Medium Term Financial Plan, annual budgets, budget monitoring processes and statutory accounts.
• Prepare and present complex financial information to a range of audiences, including Schools Forum, senior management teams, committees and governance boards.
• Lead the preparation of specialist education finance returns.
• Work collaboratively with education services and schools to support effective financial decision-making and deliver value for money.

About You

We are looking for a confident finance professional with excellent technical, analytical and business partnering skills. You will be comfortable working with senior stakeholders, providing constructive challenge and translating complex financial information into meaningful insight.

You will be able to demonstrate:

• A CCAB accountancy qualification or finalist, with an expectation to become fully qualified within six months of joining the Council.
• Significant experience of financial management, budgeting and financial reporting within a complex organisation, ideally within local government.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret and communicate complex financial information effectively.
• Experience of influencing, advising and challenging senior managers, elected members and other senior stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and relationship management skills.
• Demonstrable experience of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) funding would be highly desirable.

Working Arrangements

Enfield offers a hybrid working environment and there is an expectation that the postholder will attend the office regularly to meet business needs, including attendance at key meetings such as Schools Forum.

Contact Details -

If you would like to know more about the role, please contact Nick Basye on Nick.Basye@enfield.gov.uk for an informal discussion or to arrange a visit to the team.

If you have any difficulties accessing this information, please contact Rebecca Spyrou at Rebecca.Spyrou@enfield.gov.uk

We do not see your name or title when shortlisting your application. This is one of many initiatives to build a more talented and diverse workforce. However, if you put your name on your CV or Statement it will be visible to us. For this reason, we ask that you do not include your name on these documents. Please note it is your responses to the Essential/Desirable criteria, as detailed in the Job Description and Person Specification which is available on the job advert, that will determine if you are shortlisted for an interview, therefore we encourage you to always address the essential and desirable criteria in your application/CV.

We are passionate about our people and how we deliver services to our community in Enfield. That’s why we encourage a culture that puts our customers at the heart of everything we do - by empowering our people to work together to find solutions, be open, honest and respectful, take responsibility and listen and learn. If you value these behaviours too, we’d love to hear from you - and of course we are always happy to talk flexible working, click here to find out more.

Why it's great to work for Enfield Council:

• An excellent pension through the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
• Up to 32 days annual leave depending on grade and length of service. You will also get eight public holidays per year and an extra day off at Christmas.
• A blend of remote and office based working for most roles.
• Interest free season ticket loan repayable over three or ten months.
• Career development and learning experiences from a range of training courses and learning methods.
• Employee Assistance Programme to provide advice and counselling services. This is a free and confidential service available to staff and members of their family.
• Health and leisure discounts and tax-free bikes for work.
• 1 month's paid sabbatical for registered Social Workers working in Children's Social Care.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications have been received. Therefore, we advise that you complete fully and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

If you have previously applied for this role within the past 6 months, unfortunately, a second application will not be considered.

Certain posts in the Council are ‘politically restricted’ which means that staff employed in these posts may not undertake political activities either in or outside the workplace and therefore if candidates are affiliated with any political party, we may not be able to proceed with their application.