Head of Finance

Hays Senior Finance is proud to be working in partnership with The College of West Anglia (CWA) who are looking to appoint a Head of Finance to join their team in a pivotal role in the organisation.

CWA is one of the largest colleges in the Eastern region, with a vision of 'changing lives through learning'. Currently there are around 750 full-time and part-time staff and a student cohort of over 8000. With a turnover of circa £28million, the college serves a mainly rural catchment area covering Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and South Lincolnshire. The main campus is in King's Lynn and there are two other main campuses located in Milton and Wisbech in Cambridgeshire

As part of their commitment to improvement, the college has completed several major building projects to improve all campuses, including refurbishment of the landmark 'tower block' and a new creative industries facility at the King's Lynn campus, two new technology buildings at the King's Lynn and Wisbech campuses, a new build and refurbishment of the main building at the Wisbech campus and an overhaul of buildings at the Cambridge campus. A £6.5million centre for Higher Education opened at the King's Lynn campus in September 2016.

CWA has an excellent track record in developing the skills and talents of their students. This is achieved through a combination of great teaching by a team of highly-trained, industry-experienced staff and excellent facilities designed to prepare students for employment and further study. Their strategic ambitions are to deliver outstanding learner success, impact positively on local social & economic prosperity, develop a high performance culture and ensure financial resilience.

The Head of Finance is a key role which will provide operational leadership and management of the College's Finance service, resulting in the delivery of great value services that will support the drive for financial excellence. You will ensure resources are in place for the effective operation of the Finance team, which will involve business partnering with the responsible department Managers. You will advise on all financial matters and ensure business decisions are aligned with the financial strategy and work to enhance financial culture and performance.

The ideal candidate will be a finance professional and be ACA, ACCA, CIPFA, CIMA qualified or equivalent, with previous experience of leading a finance team. You will have gravitas, drive and ambition and above all you will have a strong degree of commercial and financial acumen, with the ability to liaise with high level key stakeholders and create insightful financial information that will drive business performance. You will be highly commercial, a strong team manager and be able to communicate effectively at all levels within the organisation. You will also be able to demonstrate an ability to work within constraints whilst retaining the vision to put learners at the heart of decision making

You will drive achievement of their medium term delivery plan and lead on the delivery of allocated strategic delivery plan objectives. You will lead and coordinate the budget compilation process for the organisation ensuring sound monitoring and controls are in place. You will also lead on the development of the financial system to support these aims.

CWA has a hands-on, problem solving, team culture so it is essential that you have the ability to roll up your sleeves and be involved in the day to day operations as well as coaching and influencing others to continue to innovate and improve their financial processes.

This is an exciting time to join CWA and if you feel you have the drive and the passion to help them to achieve their mission and vision, then they can offer you a role that is not only hugely satisfying but brings great benefits and a stimulating and supportive working environment.

In return CWA are offering a competitive salary, including excellent benefits such as; Local Government Pension Scheme 22.2% employer contributions and 35 days annual leave (exclusive of bank holidays).

In addition to this you will also receive an additional 5 days leave (pro-rata) when the College is closed. Flexible and agile working arrangements including working from home for the right candidate will also be considered.

For more information about the role and organisation please visit: microsites.hays.co.uk/college-west-anglia or for an informal discussion please contact Senan Pierce, Senior Business Director at Hays Senior Finance who is the retained consultant working in partnership with The College of West Anglia.

All job offers are made subject to the satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks which includes satisfactory references, medical questionnaire and clearance from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Closing date for all applications