The Finance Directorate plays a leading role in shaping the future of the Council, by being responsive to customer and stakeholder needs through an empowered, flexible and commercially focused team and by aligning resources to provide a professional service appropriate to future organisational needs.
This is in addition to keeping WSCC safe and secure through appropriate financial control. The Directorate will ensure that the basics are done well with emphasis on challenging the County Council and its maintained schools, to spend their money better, especially in the context of becoming more strategic and forward looking.
The Opportunity
Salary: £53,350 to £57,005 per annum, (£46,783 to £49,989 per annum, pro rata’d)
Working Pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week
Contract type: Permanent,term time only (39 weeks per year)
Location: Based County Hall, Chichester and working from home (Countywide travel required)
Interview date: w/c 10 March 2025
As the School Resource Manager, you will provide reliable, efficient and effective flexible support to our Schools within West Sussex. This will include advising governing bodies and Head Teachers on proper control and compliance with School Standing Orders on Procurement and Contracts, Finance Regulations and the West Sussex Scheme for Financing Schools in the management of delegated funding and resources.
You will also work with governing bodies and Head Teachers of schools in financial difficulty to develop licensed deficit budget recovery plans for approval, to monitor the progress of approved recovery plans and coordinate reports to the Schools in Financial Difficulty (SiFD) Group.
In addition, you will contribute to the development and review of the West Sussex funding policy and formula for maintained schools, academies, free schools and other learning providers, and also the review of the West Sussex Scheme for Financing Schools, Financial Regulations and School Standing Orders on Procurement and Contracts.
You will need to be able to travel independently throughout the county, occasionally to remote locations, and flexible to work outside of normal working hours.
What are we looking for?
As well as being a financial subject matter expert with experience of school structures and budget planning you will also need to be a:
1. Strategic thinker – someone who can think beyond the surface of a task/issue and provide a strategic view and added value to the service we provide.
2. Relationship manager – someone with the ability to successfully manage key client relationships and act as an advocate to Schools.
3. Critical friend – someone with the ability to challenge, persuade, negotiate and influence the service that you support.
4. Bespoke Training – Deliver induction training to Governors and Head Teachers, creating a forum for continuous learning and a toolbox of resources.
For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.
Working for us
As well as adding real value to our service users and our communities, as an employer we recognise our employees are central in being able to achieve this. To recognise this we want to help support your development and provide an great place to work ensuring you can fulfil your full potential, have access to a range of benefits including:
5. an excellent
6. 6 annual leave weeks pay as part of your pro rata’d salary
7. a range of flexible working options, depending on your job role
8. maternity, paternity, dependency and adoption leave
9. volunteering opportunities
10. training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
11. a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform (see our Staff discounts page if you are a business looking to offer a discount)
12. health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans