Finance & Administration Manager

Description*
About ISP
The International Schools Partnership (ISP) is a growing group of
committed colleagues, in financially responsible schools around the world, all
of which aim to be the school of choice in their local area. Learning is at
the heart of everything we do for our students, colleagues, and parents. We
are committed to getting better, all the time.
ISP was founded by an experienced team of committed educationalists and
operators who have worked together over many years. Our growing group of
private schools located in the UK, the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Switzerland
Costa Rica, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, India, Mexico, Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador and Peru educate children and students from ‎2-‎18 years of
age. We have now expanded to ‎56 schools that employ *over ‎8,000 sta
ff * and deliver multiple curricula to *over ‎50,000 students *
located across the globe.
We believe that successful schools are the ones that put learning at the heart
of everything they do, always aiming to create rounded individuals that can
forge successful careers and lives, in a rapidly changing world. Our goal is
to enable our schools to be the leading school of choice in their local area.
At ISP we continue to engage with schools around the world that are interested
in becoming part of our global group of schools and look forward to welcoming
more students and staff to the group.
*Role context
This position is responsible for the accounting, financial reporting, and
financial operations of the school, including the production of monthly
financial reports, maintenance of an adequate system of accounting records, a
comprehensive set of controls designed to mitigate risk, enhance the accuracy
of the school's reported financial results, and ensure that reported results
comply with international financial reporting standards.
This role is crucial to the sustained growth of the school, promotion of their
position as the 'school of choice' in their local area, and the effective
delivery of the Amazing Learning message that is at the center of the ISP
vision.
In coordination with stakeholders :
*
ISP Middle East Regional Team
*
School Leadership Team including the School Principal, and other relevant
stakeholders in the school and across the regional school network
*
Group Finance team
*
Third-Party Vendors
Main responsibilities include:
*
Integration of the School into the wider ISP network, ensuring policies and
procedures are adopted and ISP practices are followed
Reporting, Compliance and Control
*
Ensure the timely reporting of all monthly and annual financial information.
*
Ensure timely and accurate production of month-end numbers and reporting which
include Profit and Loss account, Balance Sheet and Cashflow.
*
Main point of contact with external auditors to ensure our audit process is
smooth and the annual statutory accounts are signed on a timely basis
*
Design internal control systems for all functions in the school to ensure the
safeguarding of regional assets and monitor and enforce internal controls.
*
Daily cash reporting and monthly bank reconciliations
Comply with government reporting requirements and tax filings
*
Maintain the fixed asset register by supervising the recording of all items in
the inventory, maintaining pertinent records and ensuring adequate treatment
of fixed asset acquisitions and disposals.
*
Manage payables, receivables and invoicing functions of the school
efficiently.
*
Monitor school debtor levels and proactively lead discussions with parents to
ensure debt is collected timely.
*
Liaise with banks, legal and tax providers as necessary.
*
Work closely with HR on people related processes such as payroll, performance
evaluations, annual salary increments
Financial Planning and Analysis
*
Preparation and submission of the school budget and in year reforecasts
*
Variance analysis on any significant deviations from the budget
*
Business partner to School Principal to ensure that targets set are
challenging but achievable
*
Work on mitigation plans for any underperformance
*
KPI and performance monitoring to identify any areas for improvement
*
Assist the group with gathering data and preparing reports for key personnel
as requested.
General Areas of Responsibility
*
Management of junior team members, helping them to develop and grow in their
roles
*
Work with school SLT to ensure that the school is on track to achieve its
targets. Monitor progress, raise any concerns and take action as and when
required.
*
Undertake such other reasonable responsibilities and tasks that may, from time
to time, be assigned by the Principal, Regional Managing Director & Finance
Director - Middle East and the International Schools Partnership.
Candidate Profile
*
The successful candidate will need to have a minimum ‎5 year's accounting and
finance operational experience. They will be a self-starter who uses
initiative, can manage a varied workload, is deadline driven and has the
commitment to seeing a change process through from start to finish.
*
Essential skills/experience:
* Bilingual English and Arabic speaker
* Certified accountant like CA, CPA or equivalent
* Strong technical accounting skills
* Advanced Excel skills
* Excellent communication and influencing skills
* Flexibility, multi-tasking mindset and an ability to deal with shifting priorities
* Comfortable managing a variety of financial and non-financial stakeholders
* Dealing with external advisors (bank, auditors, tax etc).
* Experience in the education industry is desirable but not required
Safeguarding & Safer Recruitment
ISP is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and
young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
All post holders are subject to appropriate vetting procedures and
satisfactory Criminal Background Checks or equivalent covering the previous ‎10
years employment history.