Finance and Operations Manager Required for September 2025 (or earlier) 37 hours a week, full-time and permanent All year round – 52 weeks £51,308 - £55,897pa (dependant on experience) 28 days’ annual leave plus all public holidays An exciting opportunity has arisen at The Sir Robert Woodard Academy in Lancing, an Ofsted ‘good’ academy and one of the ‘happiest’ schools in Sussex (The Sunday Times, 2025), for those looking to expand their career into School Business Management. The School The Sir Robert Woodard Academy, part of the Woodard family of schools, is a dynamic and popular 11–18 academy located between Worthing and Brighton, serving the students of Lancing, Sompting and Shoreham. Our aim is that every student is known and nurtured and is provided with learning experiences that allow them to fulfil their potential. We believe that students succeed when the school environment is caring and orderly; every member of staff has a part to play in achieving this. The Position This is an incredible opportunity to join a welcoming school with friendly and busy teams, a strong, shared purpose and a commitment to providing excellent financial and operational management to the Academy and Trust. The Finance and Operations Manager will report directly to the Finance Business Partner/Head of Operations as well as to the Trust Finance Director, as part of the Trust wider Finance Team. The successful post-holder will directly manage the Finance team and the operational leads. Previous experience of successfully managing teams is essential. This broad role requires experience in schools financial management, site and premises development, IT and administration management, health and safety, and payroll input. The role would suit School Business Managers, or those who have deputised or supported in a similar role. Please review the job description for further details on the role responsibilities. The position is full-time, 37 hours per week, all year round, with 28 days' annual leave plus all public holidays. Core hours are likely to be 8am-4pm or 8.30am-4.30pm daily. Support staff are entered into the Local Government Pension Scheme. All staff have access to an employee wellness programme, free on-site gym and parking, and a cycle to work scheme. The Person At SRWA, our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with wellbeing support, coaching, mentoring and a wide range of top-quality training and CPD programmes delivered at every level up to senior leadership. A Staff Well-being survey commissioned externally and repeated annually revealed our staff consider these areas ‘outstanding’: Staff morale, workload and job satisfaction Appreciation of staff achievement/contribution Opportunities for staff to develop. The successful candidate will: • Hold a level 4 qualification in finance or other discipline relevant to the role • Be highly skilled, self-motivated and enthusiastic with a positive ‘can do’ approach • Be a natural leader, able to hold staff to account and drive improvement where necessary • be able to work independently, managing multiple tasks at once and reacting appropriately to changing priorities • display excellent financial management and operational management skills, proven by previous experience • have a good working knowledge of IT systems, including experience with financial/accounting software • be able to communicate in a professional and friendly manner with a range of stakeholders. Please review the person specification for further details on the skills and attributes required of the post-holder. Application Process: If you are interested, please apply online demonstrating how your skills and experience meet the essential requirements of the role. CVs alone will not be accepted. Application form must be completed in full and should not contain links or references to information contained elsewhere. Visits to the academy are welcomed and can be arranged by contacting the school and asking for Becky Kemsley. Closing date: 9th June 2025* *Please note we reserve the right to interview and appoint any strong candidates applying before the deadline has passed and to close the advert at any time before the deadline date, should a sufficient number of strong applications be received. If you are interested then you are advised to apply early.