Laetare Catholic Multi Academy Trust is a new and growing Catholic Multi Academy Trust, but it isn’t structured in the usual way.
Rather than being tied to a single diocese or geography, we bring together schools from different Religious Orders across England. Each school has its own identity and history, and our role is to support them to flourish while protecting what makes them distinctive.
We’re only just over a year old, but already:
•we have five schools
•educate close to 6,000 young people
•employ around 700 staff
We are continuing to grow, with more schools expected to join us, and are starting to build a model that will support that growth nationally.
This is a new post and an important one for the Trust.
We are looking for an experienced and qualified finance professional to lead on financial management across all of our schools and Trust.
You’ll work closely with the CFOO and school leaders, providing strategic and operational finance support across the Trust, ensuring strong financial controls, improving systems and processes, supporting budgeting and forecasting, and ensuring high-quality financial reporting and compliance.
The role combines strategic leadership with operational oversight and would suit someone who enjoys both improving the bigger picture and working confidently with detail. Full details of responsibilities are included in the attached job description.
The role is set up to be flexible. You’ll be mainly home-based, but with regular travel to schools, currently in the North West, and this will evolve as the Trust grows.
As part of our longer-term plans, we are developing a North and South hub model. The intention is to keep strong local links with schools while also working as a national organisation.
For the right person, this offers a good balance: flexibility, autonomy, and the chance to be part of something that is still taking shape.
We’re looking for someone with strong financial management and accounting experience who is comfortable working both strategically and operationally.
You’ll be a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or CIPFA) with experience of management accounting, budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting within a medium-sized organisation.
You’ll also need:
• excellent analytical and organisational skills
• the ability to build strong working relationships quickly
• confidence working with senior leaders and budget holders
• experience improving systems and processes
• strong attention to detail and professional integrity
• the ability to work independently and adapt within a growing organisation.
Over time, the role will involve leading and developing a small finance team, so this would suit someone who is comfortable being hands-on while also helping build longer-term capacity across the Trust.
This is an opportunity to help shape the finance function within a growing national Trust at an early stage of its development.
You’ll play a key role in building systems, processes and ways of working that will support future growth, while also contributing directly to the financial sustainability and operational effectiveness of our schools.
There is real scope to influence how things develop and to grow the role as the organisation evolves.
Laetare Catholic Multi Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All roles are subject to the usual pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS.
Please complete the attached CES recruitment forms and send completed copies to [email protected].
