Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us click here. 

We are responsible for the entire range of children’s education, health and social care services in all three boroughs. We use a Signs of Safety practice model and approach which ensures the voice of the child is at the heart of everything we do. There’s never been a better time to join AfC, we are growing our workforce, implementing new flexible working arrangements and have increased our virtual wellbeing offer.

We now have the following job opportunity available and we would be delighted to receive your application to continue our story.  You can download the Job Profile which is shown within the "Documents" heading on the left hand side, above the map.

This is a key leadership role within our Business Services Directorate and will oversee the organisation’s finance and business intelligence functions.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced finance leader who is inspired to use their experience and knowledge to help us improve outcomes for children and young people. The successful candidate will help shape our finance and data intelligence strategies and will be supported by and oversee our established finance and business intelligence teams. The teams deliver a mix of management information, statutory and technical finance / data functions which are all tailored to the needs of a successful children's services organisation. You will work closely with our leadership team to use data to inform decision making and drive improvements in how we deliver services.

At AfC we are keen to promote delivery models that meet the needs of our services in a flexible way and also support employee wellbeing and work life balance. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to share their time between our main office in Twickenham as well as work from home for part of the week. Some travel to our other office locations in Kingston and Maidenhead may be required on occasion.

For further information about this role, please contact Lucy Kourpas by email lucy.kourpas@achievingforchildren.org.uk for an informal discussion.

About you

We are looking for a self motivated, qualified accountant who can help us drive improvement through the use of high quality data and intelligence. You will have experience of leading a successful team and of the main corporate and management accounts finance functions. Knowledge of children's services is desirable but not a prerequisite and there will be training and development opportunities for the right candidate. The key qualities we are looking for are:

• A proven track record as a successful leader including the development of successful teams.
• Knowledge and experience of key finance functions which should include budget monitoring, end of year statutory reporting and budget setting
• Proven ability to use data, information and evidence to create meaningful insight that can inform strategy or policy development, decision-making and the continual improvement of services.
• Experience of working closely with non finance professionals to support them to balance service priorities with budgetary envelopes and find creative solutions to complex issues.

About our benefits We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to work remotely. In AfC you will also have access to:

• A strong welcome and induction
• Laptop, phone and systems so you can work remotely
• Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
• Really good holiday package (up to 34 days per year!)
• Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
• A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme, offering support for the whole family
• A range of staff benefits and discounts managed via your own app
• Positive and supportive working environments
• A fantastic learning and development offer
• A career pathway supporting you with next step career opportunities

To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children click here.

Important Information

Start dates: Achieving for Children have fixed start dates, candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.

Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.