Description

The Financial Controller, Poland is responsible for managing all financial matters in ISP’s school in Poland.

This role will be located in Warsaw.

The role will report directly into the School Principal, with a dotted line to the Supervisory & Management Board. The role is the school’s main finance point of contact with these boards.

The role will also support the Principal to drive revenue growth and profitability, improve margins through the more efficient use of resources and better procurement.

Key Responsibilities

Core Finance

• Ensure general ledger and financial statements are complete and accurate.
• Ensure that payables, receivables, and invoicing functions of the school are complete, accurate and fully reconciled.
• Ensure the school has a clear, adequate and effective billing and collection process.
• Establish and maintain strong controls around credit collections for the school. Monitor school debtor levels and proactively lead discussions with parents to ensure debt is collected timely.
• Establish a robust system of control for the purchase of goods and services.
• Ensure we are getting the best value for money from the school suppliers by implementing the school’s procurement policy.
• Ensure maintenance of the fixed asset register and ensure adequate .
• Ensure general ledger reconciliations including deferred income and cash and relevant Balance Sheet accounts are performed.
• Design, maintain and enforce a robust internal control system and compliance environment for all functions in the school and maintain a documented system of policies and procedures.
• Responsibility for ensuring that local cash management is optimised.
• Liaise with banks, audit, legal and tax providers as necessary. Comply with government reporting requirements and tax filings.
• Ensure the schools always have adequate insurance cover.
• Work closely with HR on people related processes such as payroll, performance evaluations, annual salary increments.
• Make sure finance system users are trained and are using the systems correctly and to their full potential.

Financial Reporting

• Ensure the timely reporting of all monthly and annual financial information per the reporting timetable, including but not limited to:
  • KPI reporting.
  • Monthly budget variance reports and work with the School Principal on corrective actions to ensure the budget is met.
  • Monthly review of actual expenditure for capital projects versus approved budget spend, highlight deviations and implement controls to avoid overspend.
  • Reporting of cash collections and debtors reporting.
• Establish processes to ensure accurate data collection and review of monthly KPI data for the schools’ enrolments and the schools’ headcount.

Financial Planning & Analysis

• Preparation of the annual budget and bi-annual P&L and cash flow forecasting process for the school, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the underlying assumptions and communication with all functional areas across the school.
• 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.
• Support the school with the utilisation of the School planning & reporting system.
• Support the Principal with the Annual Fee Setting process.
• Produce monthly cash flow statements versus budget and forecast cash projections, to ensure the school has adequate funding and assess the impact of significant cash outflows on cash forecasts.
• Provide financial analysis for decision support including capital investments, pricing decisions, and contract negotiations.

Operational & Commercial Support

Undertake such other reasonable responsibilities and tasks that may, from time to time, be assigned by the Principal.

Skills, Qualifications and Experience

The successful candidate will need to have a minimum 5 years’ accounting and finance operational experience in a commercial environment. 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.

• Qualified accountant (ACCA, ACA or equivalent)
• Strong technical accounting skills including a good knowledge of IFRS
• Strong budgeting/forecasting experience
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships at senior levels of the school and wider organisation and influence key stakeholders
• Excellent written and verbal communication and influencing skills
• Flexibility, multi-tasking mindset and an ability to deal with shifting priorities
• Comfortable managing a variety of financial (group and regional finance, bank, auditors, tax etc) and non-financial stakeholders (school teams, parents, etc)
• Advanced Excel skills
• Demonstrable understanding of working with information systems and implementing ERPs
• Experience in the education industry is beneficial but not required
• Fluent in written and spoken Polish and English

About ISP

The International Schools Partnership (ISP) is creating a leading learning-centred international family of private 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. The group has grown rapidly over the past 9 years and is now one of the largest schools’ groups globally and currently has over 71 schools, operating in 18 countries, structured into 9 regions, delivering multiple curricula, and building on local brands and reputations, with ambitions to be 100+ schools, within 5 years.  With over 50,000 students and 9,000 staff, it is a complex group and one which is growing very rapidly both through investment in its existing schools, opening new schools and through acquiring schools.

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.