Director of Business Delivery & CFO
Permanent Director of Business Delivery / CFO
Location: South West England (hybrid/onsite as required)
Start: September / October 2026
Salary: Competitive
Contract: Permanent
About the Trust
We’re supporting a Multi Academy Trust that delivers high-quality, inclusive education and services to children and young people across a range of provisions and phases. The Trust is committed to improving outcomes for all learners, including children and young people who are disadvantaged and/or have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).
The Opportunity
The Director of Business Delivery / Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a key executive appointment, responsible for ensuring the Trust has the operational capacity, governance, and resources to deliver the very best educational provision across every setting. Reporting into the CEO and working closely with the Chief Education Officer and the wider Executive Leadership Team, you will lead the Trust’s non-educational functions, including:
- Finance and procurement
- People Services / workforce (HR)
- Estates, facilities and compliance
- ICT and data/GDPR oversight
- Trust-wide improvement projects that strengthen delivery and impact
You will also be accountable for evidencing and reporting performance against the Trust’s operational and workforce standards (including associated KPIs), providing clear insight and assurance to Trustees and relevant committees.
Key Responsibilities:
- Provide strategic leadership across business delivery functions, aligned to the Trust’s mission and values.
- Lead financial planning, budgeting, modelling/benchmarking and value for money, with clear reporting to Trustees.
- Ensure strong operational delivery across contracts, estates and ICT, including compliance and risk management.
- Lead the Trust’s people strategy including reward, policy, development, performance, attendance and complex ER cases.
- Develop and line manage a multi-disciplinary business delivery team (up to c.8 direct reports).
Person Specification:
Essential
- Senior executive leadership experience across finance/operations/people (public sector and/or multi-site environment).
- Strong financial governance: budgeting, management accounts, controls, audit-ready reporting, risk management.
- Confident leading People/HR strategy (employment law, organisational design, performance/attendance, complex ER).
- Oversight of estates/facilities and ICT/data/GDPR with a clear compliance mindset.
- Strong communicator (able to simplify complex information for Trustees), highly organised, analytical, and able to manage competing priorities.
- Qualifications: GCSEs (incl. English & Maths) plus degree-level qualification, and a relevant professional qualification (ICAEW/ACCA/CIMA/CIPFA or CIPD L7+).
Desirable
- MAT/education sector knowledge (incl. Academy Trust compliance) and/or charity reporting exposure.
- Familiarity with education finance/HR/payroll systems.
- Active interest in SEND.
