Organisation: Leicestershire County Council
Work Location: County Hall, Leicester Road, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8RA
Worker Category: Hybrid Worker
Salary: LCC Grade 13: £47,694 - £52,155 per annum (pro-rata for part-time)
Working Hours: Part-time 0.6 - term time only plus 10 days with flexible working hours (5 hours per day)
Contract Type: Fixed term contract (3 years)
Closing Date: Wednesday 30th April 2025
Interview Date(s): Thursday 8th May 2025
About the Role
Leicestershire County Council is seeking a knowledgeable and experienced School Strategic Financial Planning Advisor to join our Education Effectiveness service within Children and Family Services. This is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference by supporting schools to improve their financial health and sustainability through strategic planning and effective performance frameworks.
As part of this key role, you will work closely with school leadership teams, governors, and business managers to strengthen financial planning processes and ensure schools can effectively manage budget pressures and long-term financial planning.
Key Responsibilities
* Develop and deliver a programme to enhance strategic financial planning knowledge and capacity within schools.
* Provide expert advice and support to headteachers, business managers, and governing bodies on financial management and planning strategies.
* Develop and promote best practice in financial planning by creating tools, guidance, and training resources.
* Monitor and report on schools' financial performance, identifying at-risk budgets and recommending strategies for improvement.
* Support schools in linking financial planning to school development plans and curriculum delivery.
* Provide guidance on strategy options for delivering the curriculum within financial constraints.
* Identify and develop new commercial opportunities to generate income and manage costs effectively.
* Develop and deliver training sessions to school-based staff on financial management and strategic planning.
* Contribute to the development of local authority strategies for sustainable schools and effective resource management.
A DBS enhanced check for a regulated activity is required for this post.
The role may involve some work outside of normal office hours.
About You
We are looking for a highly motivated and skilled professional with a strong background in financial planning and management. The ideal candidate will have:
* A management or finance-related degree (or equivalent experience).
* Significant experience providing financial planning advice within a complex organisation.
* Strong understanding of financial planning frameworks and benchmarking tools.
* Experience in scenario planning, financial risk analysis, and budget forecasting.
* Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present financial information clearly to different audiences.
* Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently and as part of a team.
* Knowledge of school funding models and financial management in an educational context would be an advantage.
You must also have an understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion.
In addition, we expect you to share our commitment to our values and will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process.
Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability.
Interested in Flexible Working?
We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.
For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:
Rebecca Wakeley, Senior Education Effectiveness Partner
Telephone: 0116 3051250
Email: Rebecca.Wakeley@leics.gov.uk
How to Apply
Leicestershire County Council is an inclusive organisation which is on a journey to embed and celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion at every level. We warmly welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, as having a diverse workforce with different perspectives and ideas is fundamental to our values and enriches the services we offer our communities. We particularly welcome applicants from Ethnically Diverse and LGBTQ+ communities and people with disabilities to create a balanced workforce and one that reflects the communities we serve.
To apply for this job, please click on the apply button. You will need to upload a supporting statement as part of your application which explains how you meet the criteria listed in the 'About You' section above.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.
By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.
#J-18808-Ljbffr