Head of Financial Planning & Analysis

About Us:

Newham College London is the largest post-16 education provider in Newham and has campuses in East Ham, Stratford, Plaistow, and the London City Institute of Technology (LCIoT) in Canning Town.  We serve over 11,000 students across a range of pathways – including 16–18 study, adult education, apprenticeships, and higher education. The Museum of Fashion and Textiles in Bermondsey is also part of the College group.

With nearly 800 staff, four main campuses, and an annual turnover of £60 million, Newham College is one of the borough’s largest employers and plays a key role in driving local economic and community development.

The Role.

As Head of Financial Planning and Analysis, you will lead the financial planning, budgeting, forecasting and cost control functions for Newham College, playing a key role in ensuring financial sustainability and deputising for the Executive Director of Finance as required.  This role includes responsibility for supporting senior leadership and budget holders with insightful financial analysis, leading and developing a collaborative Business Partnering team to enable robust financial planning and effective decision-making.

You will drive improvements in activity-based costing, enhance financial planning for curriculum activities, and work closely with our Management Information Systems (MIS) team to develop comprehensive financial dashboards.

The postholder will also manage a small team and work closely with the rest of the finance team on, for example, the production of statutory accounts and other mandatory reporting.

Key responsibilities.

• Lead the Annual budgeting process, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives;
• Develop multi-year financial plans and scenario modelling to support long-term sustainability and strong financial health;
• Prepare monthly finance reports including management accounts, KPIs and forecast for senior leadership and the board;
• Manage and develop a collaborative team of Finance Business Partnering teams to provide a high-quality service to budget holders, ensuring they understand their budgets, the risks and opportunities the budgets represent and support them in extracting the most value for the College from that budget;
• Lead on the development and implementation of financial policies and procedures, ensuring they remain up to date;
• Foster a collaborative and high-performing finance team culture, seeking to adopt best practice from across Further Education and the wider not for profit sector.
• Deputise for the Executive Director of Finance as appropriate

Our Ideal candidate should have the following qualifications, skills and experience.

• Essential Requirements
• Fully qualified accountant
• Significant experience in financial planning, budgeting and forecasting
• Strong understanding of VAT, statutory reporting and treasury management
• Experience in managing and developing finance teams
• Strong technical accounting knowledge with extensive experience putting it into practice
• Excellent analytical and financial modelling skills
• High level of digital literacy, including advanced Excel and familiarity with finance systems and reporting tools
• Commercially astute with good understanding of the operational drivers of strong financial performance and risk management
• Organized with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Ability to build effective relationships with stakeholders at all levels across the organization, and externally as required

Desirable Requirements

• Degree in a relevant field
• Proven track record of producing Executive/Board-Level financial reports and analysis
• Understanding of DfE/GLA funding rules and regulatory framework

Safeguarding of Children and Vulnerable Adults

In line with Keeping Children Safe in Education All employment offers are subject employment checks. These include (some of which are dependent on the role and the individual): Enhanced DBS including Children’s Barred List check, DfE teaching/management Barred List check, on-line searches, overseas criminal record check, evidence of identity and Right to Work in the UK, satisfactory references, confirmation of medical fitness, evidence of relevant qualifications and a check of previous employment history.

The College is committed to safeguarding and promotes the welfare of all learners and expects its staff to share this commitment. You will be required to become familiar with the College's policies, and comply with the requirements to safeguard and protect the welfare of children and young people and vulnerable adults. All staff are asked to complete mandatory training in relation to KCSIE and other key areas, and to read the relevant policies.

 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The College has a strong commitment to working towards the implementation of equality of opportunity in both service delivery and employment. The College’s mission and strategic objectives directly support this aim. All employees are required to actively support the development, dissemination and implementation of this aim and related policies and programmes.

Recruitment Process

The email account you use to apply will be used for all recruitment communication.  Please ensure that you use an email account that you regularly monitor.

All application forms must be fully completed, including a full record of education and employment history.  Incomplete applications will not be considered for shortlisting.

The salary for this position is inclusive of London weighting.  Please note that we advertise our salaries on a range to indicate the trajectory of progression that can be made. Appointments are usually made at the start of the salary range.

We regret that we are unable to respond to every application. Therefore, if you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has not been successful.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early, should we receive sufficient applications.

**Please note that we do not accept CVs**

Closing Date: 29 November 2026 

Interview Date: 8th December 2026