Finance Payments and Admin Officer

We are seeking a detail-oriented and proactive Finance Payments and Admin Officer to join a busy Finance Business Partnering team within a large public sector organisation. The role focuses on delivering high-quality financial processing and administrative support, either within Education & Schools or Agency Staffing Payments.

This is a great opportunity for someone with strong Excel and finance admin experience to contribute to the smooth running of critical payment functions and liaise with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

Depending on the team allocation (Schools or Resources), your duties may include:

• Manage the monthly schools advances process, ensuring timely and accurate payments.

• Respond to queries from schools and Council officers, escalating complex issues where necessary.

• Collate monthly school VAT returns and submit them for inclusion in corporate VAT claims.

• Gather and verify financial data for monthly, quarterly, and year-end reporting.

• Liaise with schools and third-party organisations to ensure compliance and accuracy.

• Process agency staffing payments accurately and in line with internal procedures.

• Ensure all costs are correctly coded and supported by valid documentation.

• Collaborate with HR, finance teams, and external staffing partners to resolve payment issues.

• Assist with year-end processes, including agency accruals and account closure.

• Support wider administrative processes across the finance function.

• Provide professional and customer-focused finance support services.

• Respond to internal and external queries efficiently and with a high standard of service.

• Maintain accurate audit trails and ensure compliance with internal controls.

• Use finance systems and Excel to record, monitor, and analyse payment data.

• Identify opportunities for improving processes through automation or simplification.

• Support the induction and training of new or temporary staff when required.

• Experience in a finance-related environment, particularly payments and admin.

• Strong Excel and IT skills.

• Excellent communication, numeracy, and customer service skills.

• Ability to manage high volumes of work under tight deadlines.

• Proactive approach to resolving queries and managing stakeholders.

• Advanced Excel (e.g., VLOOKUPs, pivot tables).

• Experience with accounts payable or public sector finance systems.