Chief Finance & Operations Officer Opportunity
with
Forward Education Trust
Welcome
Simon Dilkes
CEO, Forward Education Trust
Welcome from Simon Dilkes, CEO Forward Education Trust
It’s my pleasure to welcome you to Forward Education Trust (FET) and thank you for your interest in joining us as Chief Finance & Operations Officer (CFOO).
Our aim is to create a cohesive team of Trust Central staff, school leaders and school staff, working together as a single organisation, fiercely loyal to each other. We are committed to developing local school identity and ethos, within the context of our overarching Trust Strategic Plan. Our strategies for school improvement build on and enhance local skill, knowledge and reputation, raise standards in all our schools and respond to the needs and aspirations of those we serve.
The strategic role of CFOO involves drawing out and developing all that is best within our very different schools, as we build a shared culture of educational excellence, good financial management and operational efficiency. Our Trust’s educational priorities are rooted in commitment to inclusive, accessible education, but they can only be delivered through highly effective collaboration. The CFOO will work with Headteachers and leaders in our schools and across our Trust, with external business partners, and other stakeholders to drive financial efficiency and operational excellence, to support of our educational practices, in pursuit of our mission and strategic aims.
You will be empowered to make decisions and to be creative, within the framework of regulation and compliance. You will lead supportive and well-established collaborative networks in our Trust, where colleagues work together, and we learn from each other. Our Trust Board is very supportive, it has many passionate and committed trustees, from a variety of backgrounds, who support Executive and school leaders to achieve their very best.
Our schools clearly articulate our Trust values and give unequivocal evidence that people can see them in the decisions we make and the things that we do. Mutual respect must pervade all our relationships and together our staff will learn, practice and collaborate – a sense of team will identify how we nurture our talent, for the benefit of our young people. At all times, our schools are a safe place for our children, because our staff will know that this is their top priority. The CFOO has a key role to play in ensuring all of this. We care about our staff, their learning, development and well-being and we respond to feedback from our employee surveys on a wide range of matters relating to communication, workload, personal & professional development and wider support to our staff.
Anyone joining the Trust must share our values and live them in their daily lives. They are not just words - this is what we do. You will be supported to ensure that the well-being and education of our students is at the centre of everything we do and the decisions we make. We will also value you, your professional and personal development, and your well-being.
I would welcome the opportunity to talk to you about being our CFOO, to take us forward together.
About Forward Education Trust
The Trust is an established and developing MAT of 6 special schools in Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell. The schools cover the widest spectrum of Special Educational Needs students and work across all age ranges. It has a talented and committed staff group who strive to provide a safe and supportive environment to care for and educate the children. The Trust is at an exciting inflection point, with all the ingredients to be an exceptional Trust.
The Trust believes that its staff and leaders are its most important asset and that valuing them and utilising their many talents will deliver the best experiences for pupils. You will join supportive and well-established collaborative networks, where colleagues support each other and we learn from each other. The Trust will have a real interest in your future and will be keen to explore ways that you can develop personally and professionally.
Our schools
Hallmoor School
Age range: 4-19
Number on roll: 273
Specialism: SLD, MLD, ASC
Location: Birmingham
Brays School
Age range: 2-11
Number on roll: 106
Specialism: PD, PMLD, SLD and complex medical needs
Location: Birmingham
Leycroft Academy
Age range: 5-11
Number on roll: 172
Specialism: ASC
Location: Birmingham
Bridge School
Age range: 2-11
Number on roll: 90
Specialism: PD, PMLD, SLD, MLD, ASC
Location: Birmingham
High Point Academy
Age range: 11-16
Number on roll: 96
Specialism: ASC, SLCN, MLD
Location: Sandwell
The Heights Academy
Age range: 7-16
Number on roll: 48
Specialism: ASC and SEMH
Location: Solihull
Job Opportunity
Chief Finance & Operations Officer (CFOO)
Salary: £80,000 - £90,000 + Benefits
Location: Tile Cross, Birmingham, B33 9HU
Your new company
Forward Education Trust (FET) is a forward-thinking and evolving MAT of 6 special schools in Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell, with a head office in Birmingham. As with any appointment within the Trust, your role will contribute to its continued growth and success—ensuring that children and young people receive the highest standards of education and care, empowering them to achieve their full potential as they progress through their education into independent adult lives.
Your new role
This pivotal appointment will form part of the strategic leadership team, helping to shape the Trust’s overall strategy and financial direction while driving operational efficiency and effectiveness. As CFOO, you will provide robust financial governance and act as a strategic business partner to the headteachers. You’ll support and influence budgetary management and financial forecasting across the Trust. Additionally, you will lead several outsourced operational contracts—including Facilities Management, IT, Cleaning and Catering—overseeing procurement and the re-tendering of services to ensure value and quality.
The ideal candidate will be a qualified Finance Director, with a background in a Multi-Academy Trust or a similar educational setting. You’ll bring strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to build effective relationships quickly with headteachers and the executive leadership team. You should be able to demonstrate your strategic contributions in previous roles, as well as experience managing operational functions beyond finance—ideally through an outsourced model involving contract negotiation, procurement, and re-tendering. Experience in expanding a Multi-Academy Trust through acquisitions and developing integration plans would be a distinct advantage.
The Trust is on an exciting journey. Over the past 18 months, its highly regarded executive team has made significant progress—raising the standards of leadership and improving the quality of education and support for both staff and students. The Trust Board and CEO are highly supportive of Executive leaders within the Trust and will actively encourage and support personal and professional development for the newly appointed CFOO. Based in the Birmingham office three days per week, the role offers a competitive base salary, access to the Local Government Pension Scheme, a Trust-funded Health Cash Plan and a unique opportunity to positively impact the lives of disadvantaged children across the region.
Closing date for applications: Friday 26th September at 23:59
Candidates must be available for interview on: Tuesday 7th October
Start date: as soon as possible – or January 2026
Contact Tim Hall at Hays Senior Finance for a confidential discussion, to arrange a visit to one of our schools, to discuss making an application or to arrange an informal conversation with the Trust’s CEO, Simon Dilkes. Tim will provide candidates with a link to the Forward Education Trust Applicant’s website to complete a formal application. (Please note that Hays have been retained to support FET for this appointment and any direct applications, will be forwarded to Tim Hall).
Tim Hall
Hays Senior Finance
Tel: 07793 699582
Email: tim.hall@hays.com
FET value equality and diversity and are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants will be subject to safer recruitment practises including satisfactory references and the successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.
