About The Role
Job Title: Early Years Funding and Auditing Support Officer
Hours: 37
Salary: HC7
Contract: Fixed Term
Contract end: 25 November 2025
Closing date: 15 September 2025
Interview date: 24 September 2025
Come and join us on our Restorative Journey of Improvement to gain the best for children and families in Herefordshire
The Role
We are seeking a dedicated Early Years Funding and Auditing Support Officer to join our team. This pivotal role will ensure that early years providers fully comply with the Department for Education's statutory guidance on free entitlement delivery, with a focus on transparency around chargeable extras. You will work closely with providers, parents, and internal teams to guarantee equitable access and clear communication of childcare costs.
Key Responsibilities:
* Monitor and enforce provider adherence to DfE statutory guidance on free entitlement hours.
* Support providers in issuing clear, itemised invoices separating free entitlement, private hours, food, consumables, and optional extras.
* Oversee publication and transparency of chargeable extras on provider websites and Family Information Services (FIS).
* Engage with parents to ensure they have full, free access to early years entitlements without hidden costs.
* Conduct audits and spot checks on provider invoices, website
Benefits of working for Herefordshire Council:
A competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:
* Pension Scheme Enrolment in the Local Government (LGPS)
* Generous Annual Leave: 31 days (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum
* Flexible working: flexi-time, job-share, part-time hours and, in some instances, home working
* Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
* Payment of professional membership fees
* Pick your perks – our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.
About Us
Herefordshire is a beautiful, historic county located in the heart of the Marches on the border with Wales. We are one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England with a wealth of unspoilt countryside, distinctive heritage, and lively and attractive market towns.
Our priority in Herefordshire is to keep children safe and give them a great start in life. It's the priority for the council, our partners and for all of us who work with Children & Young People.
How do we do this? By having dynamic, dedicated, passionate and professional staff who work in a culture that focuses on what we can achieve with children, what they can achieve themselves, and the relationship we build with families and partners to enable this. We have invested heavily in training and developing staff in our relational practice approach with our improvement partner Leeds City Council, so it's an exciting time to join Herefordshire – we believe in investing in you so you can be the best you can be
Herefordshire has a really strong team ethos. Our teams are passionate about the work they do and the positive difference they and the teams they are in make to people's lives. This is all underpinned by the focus and support from their managers and the council as a whole.
We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond.
Therefore, we take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment.
Come to Herefordshire and join the journey.
Herefordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service enhanced check and further pre-employment checks.
We welcome applicants whatever their personal characteristics or social identity. All requests for flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments will be considered.
The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:
* Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the "Disability Confident" scheme;
* Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, or their families. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant; and
* Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.
Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for more details of this role.
To apply, please submit your CV and complete the supporting statement within the application form, referring to the job description & person specification, detailing how you meet the specific requirements of the role.
About Us
The Council plan sets out how we will make our contribution to achieving a better and more successful Herefordshire, please see the link below to find out more:
Herefordshire Council Plan