Temporary Finance Administrator; Maternity Cover

We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic, dynamic and motivated Finance Administrator who will support the Finance team to oversee the purchasing and billing systems ensuring that processes are carried out in a timely manner in accordance with financial policy.

Birkenhead School, founded in 1860, is an HMC independent day school providing education for boys and girls drawn from the whole of the Wirral and as far afield as Chester and North Wales. Situated in the leafy suburb of Oxton, the School enjoys excellent facilities. The main campus has a village green atmosphere, with classrooms and laboratories looking out over the cricket square.

Birkenhead School prides itself on being a family school. It is attractive to parents to have all their children in one school, and it is a great advantage for the School to be able to establish strong, long‑lasting relationships with families. A key feature of the School is its strength of community, which runs through the student, staff and parental bodies.

The School is embedded within the wider Wirral community, has strong links with local business and charities.

A dedicated, talented and collegiate staff body is required to achieve these aims. The school's informal motto is Respect, Responsibility and Resilience, to which we have recently added inclusivity, compassion, integrity, humility and courage as defined school values. Birkenhead School recruits on attitude as much as the quality of individual qualifications on paper.

Finance is a busy team within the School and consists of the Finance Manager, Assistant Finance Manager, Finance Officer (Purchases), and Payroll/Finance Administrator. The team plays a fundamental role in the success of the School's operations including analysing, identifying and implementing strategies to reduce the time and money spent on day‑to‑day operations. These tasks include processing purchase orders, payroll management, bill payments and the collection of school fees.

The team also compiles all management accounts and other financial reports throughout the year.

This is a temporary position to cover a period of maternity leave.

• Processing orders, invoices and staff expenses
• Allocating orders and invoices to correct nominal codes / cost centres
• Ensuring payments have appropriate authority levels
• Setting up new suppliers on the finance system
• Maintaining supplier payment terms
• Preparing BACS run for payment to suppliers and sending supplier remittances
• Resolving purchasing/payment queries and supplier statement discrepancies professionally
• Assisting the financial aspects of school trips planning and accounting
• Setting up new billing accounts on the finance system and billing portal
• Administering billing accounts on Parent Pay
• Liaising with auditors at year end
• Ensuring the necessary administration and filing is performed accurately and timely
• Answering both phone and written correspondence, providing a high level of customer service
• Undertaking duties to assist in the smooth running of the finance team and contribute to its resilience

• Good standard of education (GCSE Maths and English or equivalent)
• Good IT skills and confident in the use of Microsoft Office and accountancy packages
• Experience of working within Accounts Payable
• Maintain confidentiality in all aspects of work
• Good organisational skills and attention to detail
• Skill in establishing priorities and managing workloads
• Friendly, helpful and approachable
• Valid driving licence with access to a vehicle (primarily for banking)

The full list of responsibilities can be found on the Information for Candidates, available on the School website under Employment Opportunities.

This is a temporary part‑time post (30 hours per week) working year‑round, ideally covering 5 days per week.

A letter of application indicating relevant skills and experience for the role, together with a completed application form, including the names and email addresses of at least two referees, should be sent for the attention of the Bursar via Cheryl Wallace (Personnel and Compliance Manager).

Candidates are welcome to contact the Finance Manager, Miss…