Finance Manager - West Alternative Provision College

About Us

Sussex Alternative Provision College (WSAPC) is one of the largest and most diverse registered Alternative Provision organisations in the country, supporting hundreds of children and young people across West Sussex every year.

Our work spans primary, secondary and post-16 education, supporting pupils who are permanently excluded, at risk of exclusion, unable to attend school due to medical needs, experiencing significant barriers to learning, or requiring specialist intervention to successfully access education. We operate across multiple sites and services throughout the county, working in partnership with schools, families, health services and local authority teams to ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed.

At Sussex APC, we believe that every child deserves a sense of belonging, regardless of their starting point or the challenges they face. We are ambitious for our pupils and committed to helping them develop the confidence, skills and resilience needed to achieve positive futures.

We are looking for people who share our values and believe that relationships, compassion and high expectations can change lives. In return, we offer a supportive and collaborative working environment where professional development is encouraged, innovation is welcomed and every member of staff plays an important role in improving outcomes for children and young people.

If you are motivated by purpose, committed to inclusion and want to make a genuine difference every day, WSAPC offers a unique opportunity to be part of something special.

West Sussex Alternative Provision College is looking for an experienced and confident Finance Manager with a strong background in school or education finance to provide leadership across our College-wide finance function.

Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, this is a key role within our Central Business Team with significant responsibility for the financial management, reporting, compliance and assurance that underpin our organisation. We are looking for someone who can combine strong technical finance skills with leadership, professional judgement and the confidence to drive improvement. You will take ownership of the day-to-day leadership of the finance function, ensuring our systems are robust, our financial information is accurate and meaningful, and that leaders and budget holders have clear and timely information to understand their financial position and make well-informed decisions.

As a publicly funded organisation, probity, transparency and accountability are central to this role. You will play a key part in ensuring our financial reporting and controls provide appropriate assurance, statutory and regulatory requirements are met, and public funding is managed responsibly, transparently and with a clear focus on best value.

This is an office-based leadership role, based within our Central Business Team in Burgess Hill. It is not a remote position, although the postholder will work across our organisation and will need to travel between WSAPC locations when required.

This is not simply a transactional finance role. The Finance Manager will lead and develop the finance function across WSAPC, working closely with the COO to provide strong financial management, reporting, compliance and assurance across a large and complex educational organisation.

A significant part of the role will be ensuring that our financial position is clearly understood at every level. You will lead the production of accurate and timely accounts, budget monitoring, variance analysis, forecasting and financial risk reporting, translating complex financial information into clear and meaningful information for those responsible for oversight and decision-making.

You will establish effective reporting arrangements for budget holders, supporting and appropriately challenging colleagues to understand expenditure, manage their budgets and take ownership of their financial responsibilities. You will also have a key role in maintaining our financial compliance and assurance framework, including audit and year-end processes, statutory and regulatory…