What skills and experience we’re looking for
The Role
The CFOO will:
* Provide expert financial stewardship, ensuring strong budgeting, forecasting, reporting and value for money
* Lead all operational functions, including finance, HR, estates, IT, compliance and risk
* Establish and embed robust governance, policies and procedures aligned with statutory and regulatory requirements
* Develop scalable systems and structures to support sustainable growth
* Work closely with the CEO, Trustees and school leaders to enable excellent educational outcomes
* Ensure the Trust is resilient, efficient, compliant and well-prepared for expansion
The Ideal Candidate
We are looking for a strategic, values-driven leader who:
* Has significant senior experience in finance and operations, ideally within education, the public sector or a complex organisation
* Brings strong commercial acumen alongside a commitment to public service and education
* Is confident building systems and structures in a growing organisation
* Has excellent leadership, communication and stakeholder-management skills
* Is motivated by the opportunity to shape and grow a mission-led Trust from an early stage
What the school offers its staff
This role comes with full training, induction and a range of benefits:
* Salary paid across 12 equal monthly instalments, and an increase each September (subject to Trustee approval and the finances of the school).
* Mental health and wellbeing at the heart of everything we do – our staff say they feel supported by the Senior Leadership Team and our Mental Health First Aider Team.
* Access to a range of free health care services including, Employee Assistance Programme offering free counselling (general/menopause), physiotherapy, 24/7 GP service, stress coaching, nurse support services, financial wellbeing coaching, surgical assistance programme, free flu vaccinations, and eye tests for VDU users. See here for more information.
* Up to date autism specific training, including person centred approaches, positive behaviour support strategies and understanding communication from our Speech and Language Therapists and our training and Wellbeing Teams.
* Continuous Professional Development including access to coaching, mentoring and supervision, as well as e-learning and online training courses.
If you’re ready to play a key role in shaping the future of a growing Trust, we’d love to explore this opportunity with you.
Commitment to safeguarding
Lighthouse School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its students and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. An enhanced DBS certificate is required for successful applicants, and all newly appointed staff who have lived or travelled overseas for 12 months or more in the past 10 years will be required to undertake an overseas check as part of our pre-employment checks. Information can be found on the government website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants/guidance-on-the-application-process-for-criminal-records-checks-overseas
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