Senior Finance Assistant

• Ipswich School
• Address: Henley Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 3SG
• Salary: £30,000 per annum 
• Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm 
• Contract: Permanent, required as soon as possible 
• Reference: 7858

Ipswich School have the exciting opportunity to join the Finance Department as a Senior Finance Assistant.

Founded during the fourteenth century, Ipswich School is one of the foremost independent schools in East Anglia. It circa 1,000 pupils aged between 3 months and 19 and is co-educational throughout. The most recent Inspection of the Senior School rated it as Excellent in all categories, a judgement of which we are very proud. The school operates a 5-day week, with representative sports played during the week and on Saturdays.  

The Finance Department

The Director of Finance and Operations and her teams are responsible for the non-academic operation of the school.  The Finance department is a very busy department in the school, and we operate throughout the year. 

About the role

In this permanent, full-time role, the Senior Finance Assistant will support the Finance Manager in the effective and efficient operation of the school’s finance functions. Leading a small team of Finance Assistants, the postholder will take responsibility for day-to-day transactional processes, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and excellent service.

This includes handling the full cycle of purchase and sales ledgers and performing meticulous bank reconciliations. You will also be a key contributor to the month-end close process, assisting with the preparation of accruals, prepayments, and other essential journal entries.

You should be AAT qualified (or have equivalent financial experience) and have proven experience in handling a high volume of financial transactions and reconciliations. The role offers a balance of hands-on responsibilities and supervisory duties, with opportunities to develop and support your team while ensuring the smooth and accurate operation of the department's core functions.

Hours of work and benefits: 

• This is a permanent post (subject to satisfactory completion of a probationary period lasting 6 months).
• You will work throughout the year on Mondays – Fridays for a minimum of 37.5 hours per week.  Please note the normal core working hours in the Finance team are Mondays – Fridays between 8am – 5pm.
• You will be entitled to 25 working days’ paid holiday per year, plus public holidays.  On completion of 5 years’ continuous service with the school, your entitlement will increase to 30 days per year plus public holidays.  
• After 3 months’ service and/or in line with workplace pension legislation, you will be entitled to join a defined contribution pension scheme, with 10% employer contributions, and you will receive 3x death in service life cover.
• If there are pupil vacancies and you have a child or children who are eligible to attend the school who have satisfied the entry criteria as set out in the School’s Admissions Policy, and have been awarded a place, you could be entitled to generous fee remission after three years’ service.
• Salaries are paid monthly in arrears by BACS on the last working day of each month throughout the year.
• Free lunch is provided in the School Dining Hall during term time when the kitchen is in operation.
• Staff are able to use the school's swimming pool and fitness gym (in compliance with appropriate rules and regulations).
• You will have access to Smarthealth, the school’s wellbeing app for staff which offers 24/7 GP access and mental health support, and we also offer a Cycle to Work Scheme.

For more information and how to apply

To find out more about us, please visit our website. 

Please contact the HR Team by either calling 01473 408300 or by emailing [email protected].  

Please find an application form on the vacancies page of our website and return by email to [email protected].

Alternatively, please submit your application by post by marking the envelope Private and Confidential and send to: The Director of HR, Ipswich School, 25 Henley Road, Ipswich, IP1 3SG. 

Closing date: 12pm, 6 October 2025.

Interview date: 10 October 2025. 

Candidates may be contacted or invited to interview prior to the closing date, and we may close this vacancy early if suitable candidates apply. Therefore, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. 

Please advise us of any special requirements you may have if you are called for interview.  If your special requirements mean that you need to submit this application in a different format, please contact us

Ipswich School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.