Job Introduction

The Financial Planning and Analysis Manager reports to the Finance Bursar and is a new key role in a Finance team of eight.  They will lead on financial planning, management and project reporting, decision support and finance partnering for the charity which operates Westminster School and Westminster Under School and its fundraising and commercial activity. Together the schools currently educate c.1,050 pupils and have c.400 staff across the charity as a whole. The Charity has an ambitious strategy, at the heart of which is the plan for both schools to become fully co-educational by the end of 2030. The move to co-education will commence at the Under School. The Under School will also expand with the purchase and development of a new building to add three new pre-prep years, from Reception to Year 2, raising pupil numbers by 250. The teaching and support staff body will therefore also expand. The Charity is embarking on a new fundraising strategy, with the aim of increasing fundraised income to support the development of the schools and significantly increase the bursary fund to expand the number of assisted places. In addition, it is planning to develop new commercial operations to generate net income from its buildings and spaces, including an activity base in the North of England, when they are not used by the schools, this will further support the bursary offering.

The role will be responsible for delivering key financial management information, further development of the long-term financial model and analytical information to support mid-term to long term financial decision making.   The role will support the Finance Bursar, Bursar & Chief Operating Officer and the Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee with the development of the charity’s financial strategy and will take ownership for the development of the long-term financial planning model, working with stakeholders across the charity, and for ensuring that the leadership have the information they need to demonstrate financial delivery against its budget and financial plans. The role holder will also be responsible for financial reporting on the charity’s major co-education project, including the major building developments, working with the Project Programme Manager and other key members of the project team including the external construction project managers.  This is a senior role in the finance team and the postholder will need to be both proactive and credible in building relationships, developing financial planning tools and strategies and ensuring the integrity and robustness of information provided to support organisation. 

Role Responsibility

These include but are not limited to: 

• Supporting development of financial plans and models that influence and support decision-making, including significant involvement in the annual budget setting and termly forecasting processes.
• Driving data integrity across the team, including development of a clear and well understood data structure.
• Driving partnership with key stakeholders, which include the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer, the Director of Development and the Head of Commercial to deliver insight and financial decision support.
• Delivering against and seeking to drive and shape a vision for the reporting roadmap that meets the leadership needs, to include development of dashboards and visualisation methods.
• Working with the Co-education Project Programme Manager and the independent construction Project Manager, develop the financial reporting for the major construction project work across each school and the wider co-education programme.
• Working with the Chief Accountant to ensure that month and year–end processes are completed in an accurate and timely manner and consistently looking for improvement.  On the implementation of the new iFinance System the charity will move from termly financial reporting to monthly financial reporting to support greater insight and financial planning.
• Supporting the Finance Bursar and Bursar & Chief Operating Officer through the preparation of reports for management, leadership and Governor meetings and on strategic projects and other matters as required. 

Hours of work

This is a full-time role, core hours are 09:00 – 17:00 with one hour for lunch.

The nature of this role would support hybrid working.  The role holder will be expected to work in the office based at Dean’s Yard, Westminster for a minimum of 3 days a week and to be flexible where needed at key times to attend meetings with staff or other stakeholder on the site or at third party offices.

The Ideal Candidate

Please refer to the attached person specification.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Westminster School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Package Description

Required for: as soon as possible

Location: Dean's Yard, Westminster School

Contract: full-time, temporary (12-18 month contract).

Salary: c.£60,000 per annum

Additional benefits:

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and discretionary Christmas stand-down period. Leave should be taken when convenient with the workload and deadlines
• Pension – Contributory Defined Contribution Scheme
• Free school lunch is provided
• Use of School gym (restricted hours)

The deadline for applications is midday, Friday 2nd February 2024. Interviews will follow shortly after the closing date.

About the School

Working at Westminster

Westminster School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of 750 pupils, 120 teaching staff and 108 support staff.

Westminster School is friendly and welcoming, and all newcomers quickly become part of the rhythm of life here.

There is a real sense of community here as, being a boarding school many members of staff and pupils live on site and the School’s premises are very much treated as a home away from home. School life starts before breakfast and continues way beyond the working day; as a result, there is always a lively atmosphere in and around School and always someone to share a tea and biscuit with in the Common Room. Support staff as much as teaching staff are encouraged to embrace the School’s day-to-day activities, whether that be attending an evening concert or a morning service in the Abbey.

At Westminster we will always select the best candidate for every position. We do know, however, that we can only truly choose the best person on every occasion if a broad and diverse pool of candidates see the job advertised and are encouraged to apply.

As such, we continue to work on how our job roles are encountered, and particularly welcome applications from groups who have traditionally been underrepresented here.

Westminster School is for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. We hope you are encouraged to apply.

The School

Westminster School is a selective day and boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 and girls aged 16 to 18. There are approximately 360 boys in the Lower School (Years 9 to 11) and 400 boys and girls in the Upper School (Years 12 and 13). One quarter of the pupils board, and the School is structured and run as a boarding school, with an extended day and week and a strong House-based system of pastoral welfare, for boarding and day pupils alike.

Westminster is an ancient school, whose origins can be traced to a charity school established by the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey. Its continuous existence is certain from the early 14th century. Henry VIII personally ensured the School’s survival by statute and Elizabeth I, who confirmed royal patronage in 1560, is celebrated as the School’s foundress. Westminster is rare amongst long-established schools in remaining on its original site in the centre of London. Its proximity to Parliament and Westminster Abbey, and the use of the Abbey for its chapel, together with the stimulating diversity of the South Bank and West End, account in part for its special atmosphere and outlook.

The School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence both in this country and internationally. Central to its academic ethos is the dialogue between teachers and their pupils, whether in the classroom or in tutorials, inspiring enjoyment of intellectual enquiry, debate and search for explanation and the development of skills of rational, independent thought well beyond any standard examination syllabus. The desired environment is happy, busy and purposeful; the pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged, with plenty of opportunities to develop initiatives and to articulate and defend their views, in line with the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the School’s Charter. That tradition is fully committed also to the nurture of each pupil’s spiritual, moral, emotional and physical development and wellbeing – with a particular emphasis on drawing out individual talent wherever it lies - and to the preparation of young people for fulfilled private and public lives beyond School.

Westminster School