Job Title

We are looking for an education funding specialist to lead the education funding team within the Education Division of the Children and Families Directorate. This opportunity has arisen because of the promotion of the current post-holder. The team delivers valued services to schools in the city via a service level agreement, as well as supporting teams within the Division and Directorate such as SEND and the Virtual School.Why work for Newcastle City Council?Newcastle City Council offers you an exciting opportunity to work in a vibrant city with proactive and committed people who have a genuine desire and motivation to support positive outcomes for the residents of Newcastle, striving to achieve the values of being Proud, Fair and Ambitious.What do we offer?As an employee of NCC, you will have access to:- a competitive salary- access to Local Government pension scheme- generous annual leave in addition to Bank Holidays, with the ability to buy additional leave annually- family-supportive policies- a bespoke induction- various flexible working options- agile working, enabling both home-working and office-based working- a generous flexi scheme- access to occupational health services, mindfulness sessions and other wellbeing initiatives- access to various salary sacrifice schemes – covering cars, white electrical goods and tax-efficient saving contributions towards your pension- discounted travel passes.Newcastle is a great place to work. The devolution deal with government to create the North East Combined Authority also means that the strong relationships that we have with our near neighbours of Gateshead, North Tyneside and Northumberland will become even more fruitful in the coming years. Our ‘Children and Families Newcastle’ initiative will bring together statutory and VCSE partners in a whole-city approach to early intervention and prevention: ensuring a wide range of support and activities are available locally through vibrant community hubs; integrating service provision into a holistic, person-centred offer and empowering families to take the lead in addressing priorities at the earliest opportunity. What an exciting time to come and join us!To give you some context for this exciting opportunity, you will find some relevant reading on the Council’s website. From this landing page, you will find our annual reports (this will provide you with details of the city’s school estate and the composition of the education division within the Council); the Newcastle Plan for Children and Young People 2024-2027; Schools Forum documentation; and s251 information.We have high aspirations for the services that we provide for our educational settings in the city. You will know that funding in the education sector is a complex mix of general funding from the Council, Dedicated School Grant funding from the ESFA and other grant funding from a variety of sources, each with their own sets of guidance. Allied to this, are the requirements around commissioning processes and formal commissioning agreements which include elements of finance. We are looking for an experienced leader and innovator who can deliver on these high expectations in the rapidly changing field of education. Is that you?As the appointed post-holder, you will lead on shaping service delivery of the financial services to school team to ensure that it is fit for purpose in the agile world of education funding and commissioning. The team comprises this post plus 3FTE school funding specialists, 2FTE accountancy assistants, 1FTE Principal Accountant (Education Funding) and 1FTE Education Funding Officer.You will be a key decision-maker in the Education Division and play a key role in designing and supporting the strategic direction of the service. You will work effectively with external partners such as DfE and the North East Combined Authority.It’s a challenging role, presenting opportunities for creativity and service development within the current educational financial climate. You will have the support of all the senior leaders and elected members of the Council who have highlighted improvement in the educational achievement of vulnerable learners as one the key priority areas for the council over the next five years.In return for your hard work and enthusiasm, we promise to stretch, challenge and develop you as a professional and, more importantly, you will be working as part of a dedicated, highly supportive and highly skilled team all focussed on ensuring that Newcastle a city where all babies, children and young people grow up well.(Newcastle Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership)If you’d like an informal conversation about this role please contact Mark Patton, Assistant Director: Education on (0191) 211 5300 or by email .Application deadline : 5pm onFriday 9 May 2025Shortlisting :Monday 12 May 2025Recruitment process , involving a desk-top exercise, a presentation and a formal interview:Friday 16 May 2025 . Please note that this recruitment process will be face-to-face at the Civic Centre in Newcastle.Apply online at.uk , select 'Apply Now' and complete our online application form. Any communication sent to you regarding your application will be sent to the email address you have set up on your Northeast Jobs account, so you will need to ensure that you check your inbox.Closing date: Friday 9 May 2025#J-18808-Ljbffr