Candidate Information
Brief for the position of
Financial Controller
January 2014
Contents
Welcome Letter
Page 2
Background
Page 3
Our Vision and Our Values
Page 3
A Portrait of the College
Page 3
Organisation & Management
Page 4
College Management Team & Structure Chart
Page 5
College Prospectuses
Page 7
College Annual Accounts
Page 7
Terms and Conditions
Page 7
How to Apply
Page 8
Welcome Letter
Dear Applicant
I’m delighted that you’re interested in applying for this important position at Sussex Downs
College.
The College is a varied and dynamic organisation – placing learners at the heart of our work
and decision-making. We have a strong set of values and a positive hard-working team of
staff who work well together, and with partners, to deliver a broad curriculum offer from Entry
level to Higher Education, and for 14 year olds through to adult students. Our programmes
cover all 15 sector subject areas within the Ofsted Inspection Framework, and we have
particular expertise in the creative and cultural industries, sports related areas, science and
hair and beauty. We are the lead sponsor for a local 11 – 16 Academy, work in partnership
with the University of Brighton and have live contacts with over 1,000 employers. We have
grown from the seeds of three very different colleges – a sixth form college, tertiary college
and general FE college – and this varied heritage helps us to understand different groups of
learners, different professional challenges and to generate different solutions to problems.
We are striving for excellence in all we do and place great emphasis on our core values
(Integrity, Community Focused, Aspiration, Responsibility, and Equality). Following our most
recent Ofsted Inspection we have in place a range of improvement strategies and are
developing the ability of all teachers to become more reflective practitioners with high
expectations of what learners can achieve. We provide our staff with good terms and
conditions, high quality professional development and opportunities to be involved in
College-wide initiatives. We are committed to equality and diversity and being a more
sustainable organisation. The College is a member of the prestigious 157 group of colleges
and holds a number of kitemarks such as the Matrix Standard, Action for Inclusion,
unconditional Training Quality Standard, Investors in Careers and Positive about Disabled
People ‘two ticks’. We have been successful in competing for additional external funding for
some important projects, including a number sponsored by the European Social Fund.
I would be pleased to receive applications from individuals who would like to join a thriving
College with campuses in Lewes, Eastbourne and Newhaven in picturesque East Sussex. I
am looking for keen, dynamic people to help us in our drive to be at the forefront of sector
developments, to continue to respond to the needs of our communities and to help our
learners to lead fulfilling and productive lives. We believe that FE is at the heart of our
economic recovery and vital to the promotion of social justice and inclusion, and we are
committed to realising the potential of our sector and our College.
I hope you find the details in this candidate information pack useful. If you wish to find out
more, the College website has a wealth of useful information.
Melanie Hunt
Principal and Chief Executive
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Background
Sussex Downs College was established in 2001 by the merger of Eastbourne College of Arts
and Technology and Lewes Tertiary College. A second merger with Park College in 2003
made us the biggest college in Sussex and we are now one of the largest colleges in the
South East region. We currently have around 5,000 full-time students (mostly 16-18 year
olds), around 9,000 part time learners (mostly adults) and we work with over 1,000
employers. The College has over 1,000 staff and an annual turnover of c£35 million.
Our Vision and Our Values
The College Vision, Core Values, Core Purposes and Aims and Objectives are contained in
the Sussex Downs College Strategic Statement 2012 which can be found by typing the
following into your URL address bar:
http://www.sussexdowns.ac.uk/governance/key-documents/
Our vision is to:
 Be forward thinking
 Valued by learners, parents and employers that we serve for promoting high
expectations and for contributing to social, cultural and economic prosperity
 Build and sustain our reputation for excellence
 Support all our learners to achieve their potential, gain personal fulfilment and enhance
their employment prospects
Underpinning all that we do is a set of core values which describe the ethical basis on which
our aims and targets rest:


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Integrity
Community focused
Aspiration
Responsibility
Equality
A Portrait of the College
Sussex Downs College is proud of its achievements but also faces a range of challenges.
In our last Ofsted inspection (November 2012) we received an overall Grade 3 – requires
improvement. While this was a disappointing result, the report also highlighted significant
areas where we have done well and in the same year the College hosted other Government
agency inspections and won the seal of approval from all five of them.
We can be proud of our achievements including
 Offering more courses and teaching more students than any other college in East
Sussex
 Having some of the best A level results of any FE college in East Sussex and Brighton &
Hove
 Around three quarters of all our A-level subjects achieve 100% pass rate - is this still
 Students gain regional and national awards for the quality of their work and the level of
their skills
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 Our students leave the College with relevant qualifications that enable them to progress
to university, to further study and to employment
 Almost a quarter of students gain admission to the prestigious ‘Russell Group’
universities.
Organisation & Management
SDC has three main ‘Colleges’:
Sussex Downs Lewes College
Sussex Downs Park College
Sussex Downs Vocational College
Each College is led by a Curriculum Head (e.g. ‘Head of Sussex Downs Park College’), and
supported by Curriculum Managers.
The main purpose of these three colleges is be to deliver a relevant curriculum, to recruit,
enrol and induct learners to meet targets, and to deliver high quality teaching, learning and
assessment leading to successful outcomes for learners – both qualification success and
successful progression to further learning or employment. Each college is continually
developing ways of involving stakeholders (including learners and staff) and reporting on
developments, progress and outcomes.
The Financial Controller is responsible for managing the work of the College Finance Team.
A key part of this role is to work with the Deputy Principal Corporate Services (DPCS) to
maintain, develop and improve financial accounting and financial and management systems
and information. In addition the postholder will take the lead for financial forecasting and
reports, internal budget management, overseeing financial control procedures and producing
the annual budget and accounts. You would also lead on most aspects of the day to day
finance function within the College.
The current organisation chart for both the College Management Team and Structure and
the Finance Department is attached.
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FINANCE TEAM STRUCTURE
Jonathan Morris
Deputy Principal
Corporate Services
John Bassett
Financial Controller
John Cripps
Tami-Mari Davis
Management Accountant
Finance Manager
Michael Groves
Financial Accountant
Ashlie Archer
Sarah Atkins
Cashier Supervisor
(1 FTE)
SL & PL Supervisor
(1 FTE)
Paula Morris
Deputy Supervisor
(1 FTE)
Dawn Compton
Deputy Supervisor
(1 FTE)
Tina McArthur
Finance Assistant
(0.5 FTE - W/T/F)
Agnieska Slusarcyzk
Finance Assistant
(1 FTE)
Sam Vine
Finance Assistant
(0.6 FTE - M/T/W)
Iain Gower
Finance Assistant
(1 FTE)
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College Prospectuses
Please type the following into your URL address bar to view the 2013/14 Brochures:
http://www.sussexdowns.ac.uk/about/download-a-prospectus/
College Annual Accounts
A full copy of the annual accounts can be found by typing the following into your URL address bar:
http://www.sussexdowns.ac.uk/governance/annual-accounts/
Job Description and Person Specification
As per separate documentation.
Conditions of Appointment
Vetting and Safeguarding
The College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all or our learners and
expects staff to share this commitment. If appointed to a post where you will be working with or
responsible for children, young people or vulnerable adults, you will be required to complete an
enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Disclosure which will need to be approved by the
College before we can fully confirm any appointment.
In addition, all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references, health checks,
qualifications and immigration status being satisfied.
The terms and conditions that are specific to this post are provided below:
Management Contract
This post is part of the College’s management structure and the terms and conditions will be as per
the contract of employment for managers.
Salary
The salary for this post will be c£50k depending on the skills and experience of the successful
candidate.
Contract
The post is full time, full year.
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Probation
All new management staff are subject to a 10 month probationary period.
Performance Management
All employees at the College are expected to take part in an annual appraisal process which
involves the review and setting of operational targets as well as a professional development plan
agreed between you and your manager.
Pension
Depending on your role and circumstances you will be entitled to participate in the Teachers’/Local
Government Pension Scheme subject to terms and conditions from time to time in force.
Annual Leave Entitlement for Management Staff
Full time management staff are entitled to 37 days per annum. Holiday entitlement accrues from
the start date, pro rata to the number of full months completed. Holidays are generally taken
during the main student closure periods.
Working Hours for Management Staff
You will be expected to work such hours as are reasonably necessary for the proper performance
of your duties and responsibilities, with 37 hours per work as the norm for a full-time post. This
may include evening and weekend work.
Notice Period for Management Staff
Following completion of the probationary period, the notice period for management staff is three
months on either side.
How to Apply
The closing date for this post is Friday 24 January 2014 (by noon) and completed application
forms should be posted to:
HR Department
Sussex Downs College
Cross Levels Way
Eastbourne
East Sussex
BN21 2UF
Or e-mailed to: [email protected]
Interviews are provisionally scheduled to take place on Wednesday 12 February 2014..
Information regarding interview arrangements will be sent to the shortlisted candidates
H:\JOBDESC\Candidate Information Pack Financial Controller Jan 14.docx
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