Senior Finance Business Partner

Following an internal promotion, we're seeking an experienced and highly credible Senior Finance Business Partner to join our Finance team. This is a fast-paced, high-impact role where you'll work closely with school leaders to navigate complex challenges, drive improvement and support strategic decision-making. We're looking for someone who can quickly build trust, thrive in a dynamic environment and make a positive impact from day one.

About You:  

You're a qualified finance professional with strong commercial acumen and a passion for partnering with stakeholders to drive performance and improvement. You have a proven track record of building credible relationships, influencing decision-making and translating complex financial information into clear, actionable insight.

This is a highly visible, relationship-focused role. You'll regularly work alongside leaders in our secondary schools, typically visiting schools each week, with occasional visits to primary schools and other Trust locations. As such, you'll be someone who enjoys building relationships in person, quickly establishes credibility through sound judgement and is confident providing both support and constructive challenge to senior stakeholders.

Proactive, resilient and solutions-focused, you thrive in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift and competing demands are the norm. You enjoy bringing clarity to complex situations, balancing multiple priorities and identifying opportunities for improvement before issues escalate. Adaptable and highly organised, you're comfortable navigating change and driving continuous improvement. Most importantly, you're motivated by the opportunity to use your financial expertise to make a meaningful difference to the outcomes and opportunities available to young people.

In this role, you will:

• Act as a trusted advisor to school leadership teams, influencing strategic and operational decision-making.
• Lead budgeting, forecasting and long-term financial planning.
• Deliver insightful financial reporting that supports informed decision-making.
• Lead and support improvement initiatives that enhance financial processes, reporting and value across the Trust.
• Support procurement activity, business cases and income generation initiatives.
• Champion strong financial controls, compliance and best practice across your academies.

You’ll thrive in this role if you:

• Enjoy building trusted relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and quickly establish credibility with those you work with.
• Are commercially minded and confident providing both support and constructive challenge to decision-makers.
• Have a proactive approach, identifying opportunities and addressing issues before they escalate.
• Can translate complex financial information into clear, practical recommendations that drive action.
• Remain resilient and effective when managing competing priorities in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
• Enjoy bringing clarity and structure to complex situations and supporting leaders through change.
• Are passionate about making a meaningful impact through strong financial leadership.

About the Finance Department:

The Finance Department is a collective of over 20 finance professionals and play a pivotal role in strengthening Creative Education Trust’s ability to deliver exceptional opportunities for young people. As a strategic partner to schools, central teams and the Executive Board, the department provides the insight, leadership and financial stewardship that ensure resources are used wisely and aligned with the Trust’s ambition for improvement and long‑term sustainability. The Team’s work enables confident decision‑making and ensures every financial choice supports the mission to improve opportunities across all of the communities we serve.

Alongside its strategic leadership, the department maintains the robust financial operations that underpin the Trust’s resilience and effectiveness. From planning and reporting to the vital Accounts Payable and Receivable functions, the team ensures high‑quality, timely and transparent processes that uphold strong financial governance and support colleagues and partners with professionalism and reliability. Together, this purposeful approach empowers Creative Education Trust to operate with clarity, integrity and ambition - ensuring resources reach the classrooms and students where they make the greatest difference.