Regional Finance Manager

About The Role

Reports to: Regional Senior Finance Manager

Location: West London supporting within Ark’s North London Finance region

Contract: Permanent

Pattern: Full Time (37.5 hours per week)

1st round interviews: w/c 03/08/2026

2nd round interviews: w/c 10/08/2028

This is an exciting opportunity to join Ark Schools’ Regional Finance team, supporting Ark’s academies in West London.

As a Regional Finance Manager, you will be an integral part of the team responsible for ensuring the high-quality financial service within the academies. You will report to and work closely with the Regional Senior Finance Manager and will also work with the relevant Principals and Operations Leads in the school(s) you support.

You will manage the monthly financial processes, ensuring compliance, accuracy and timeliness, leading financial planning and partnering with the Principal and other senior staff to ensure effective strategic decision making.

Key Responsibilities:

Partner with the Principals and other senior staff to ensure effective financial management, adherence to budget and strategic decision making

Take responsibility for supporting a high-performance team culture and building a continual improvement/learning mindset. Supporting the management of the finance staff, including arranging appropriate training and development

Drive forward change and initiatives which promote regularity, propriety, value for money and best standards, and ensure best practice is implemented across the region

Ensure timely production and issue of financial reports, cash flow forecasts, and returns as required, including ad hoc review and projects

Prepare the management accounts and related analysis, posting of month-end journals, ensuring bank and control account reconciliations are carried out monthly in line with the Ark month-end pack

Prepare the annual budget and reforecasts for approval by Ark

Key Requirements:

Right to work in the UK

Experienced part-qualified accountant or fully qualified accountant (ACCA, CIMA or ACA)

A high level of numeracy, demonstrated through relevant qualifications or experience

Experience of running effective administrative and financial systems, ideally within a school environment

High level of proficiency with Microsoft Excel and the wider MS Office suite

High level of proficiency with Sage intact (accounting system), Concur (invoicing system) and IMP (budgeting system)

Experience using financial databases and confidence and interest in learning new technologies

Line management experience (desirable)

Experience in managing and negotiating contracts, tenders and agreements (desirable)

Understanding of relevant legislation, policies and procedures and the ability to apply this understanding to real situations

Knowledge and understanding of the education sector (desirable)

Strong organisational and time-management skills and the ability to delegate appropriately

Ability to manage and maintain effective working relationships with parents, governors, community members and other stakeholders

High standards and a keen eye for detail

Benefits

27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays

Full office closure between Christmas and New Year

As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to. Depending on your role you may also be entitled to LGPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year

Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform

Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests

About Us

Ark is an education charity that exists to make sure that all children, regardless of their background, have access to a great education and real choices in life. Our network of 39 schools reaches traditionally underserved communities in Birmingham, Hastings, London and Portsmouth. We educate 30,000 pupils and have nearly 3,000 teaching staff across our network. We also incubate and scale innovative ventures, which we roll out beyond our network of schools for the benefit of teachers, pupils and the education system as a whole. Current Ventures include Ark Curriculum Plus, which equips teachers with the subject expertise needed to ensure students succeed, and Ark Start, a growing chain of nurseries offering affordable, high-quality early years education.

Recently, Ark moved to new offices at EdCity – a unique not-for-profit development in West London, in partnership with Hammersmith & Fulham council. EdCity is designed to bring mission-aligned organisations together to focus on improving the lives of children, especially through education. It offers leased offices, a range of venues for training and events, and an innovation hub for the education sector to connect, collaborate and learn together.

Diversity and inclusion:

We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments, please click on this link.

Safeguarding statement:

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.

Please note we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this role may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response. We strongly encourage to submit your application at your earliest convenience.

For any questions, please contact recruitment@arkonline.org.