This is a Permanent, Full Time vacancy that will close in {x} days at {xx:xx} BST.
About this Role
Location: Central Trust Office (Wimborne/Dorset Area)
Salary: £100,000 - £115,000 per annum
Contract: Full-Time, 37 hours per week, all year round
Reporting to: CEO
Following internal staff changes, we have created a brand new role for a dynamic and experienced Chief Finance and Operations Officer (CFOO) to deliver on our ambitious plans.
This is a key Executive role in an established, high performing Trust with a clear sense of direction and purpose. You will be responsible for leading functions including finance, estates, ICT, compliance and risk, and procurement, ensuring each is forward thinking, responsive and strategically aligned with our Trust's mission and values.
In our Trust, we see our central teams as an extension of our school leadership teams, true partners in the work of school and business improvement. Our role is to empower our heads and their teams to be the very best they can be. We are committed to building capacity through thoughtful, well-designed and proactive support that removes barriers, enabling leaders to focus their energy where it matters most: on teaching and learning and nurturing every child to flourish. For these reasons, we expect you to get to know our schools well so you can help them achieve the very best in financial performance.
You will inherit finance and IT shared services that have recently undergone organisational change. You will help shape the next phase to ensure all functions provide high-quality support, embed excellence, and grow a culture of professional trust.
You will bring strong academy trust experience, alongside a proven ability to lead impactful business operations and build high performing teams. Most importantly, you will share our ambition to be dynamic and forward thinking in all areas of our work, shaping a Trust that is continually learning, developing and delivering for its schools and communities.
If you are excited by this challenge and ready to make a meaningful contribution, we would love to hear from you.
Please refer to the attached recruitment pack & job description for further details about this opportunity and full details about the role and requirements.
To arrange a confidential conversation, please contact info@initiolearning.org to speak with the Interim CEO.
Application Deadline: 14th June 2026 (midnight)
Shortlisting: 15th June
Interviews Scheduled: Wednesday 1st July
Initio Learning Trust provides:
A supportive and welcoming environment with a genuine commitment to professional development.
A flexible, equal opportunities workplace.
Access to the local government or teachers pension scheme.
Employee benefits including a Health Cash Plan and Cycle to Work scheme.
About Initio Learning Trust
Initio Learning Trust is a multi-academy trust based in Dorset. We are responsible and accountable for the education of over 7000 pupils from 3 to 19 years of age and for the employment and support of over 1000 staff in 19 schools across Dorset, from Bridport in the West of the county to Verwood in the East.
We believe in enabling every person to thrive within their role, and our core values of Ambition, Collaboration and Respect underpin the pride we take in offering genuine professional development opportunities for all our staff; and in our focus on staff wellbeing.
Initio Learning Trust is a Disability Confident Committed Employer and aims to provide an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment process. If you would like to discuss any changes or support you may need as part of this process, please call or email the recruiting manager (see contact details above).
Initio Learning Trust values and respects the diversity of our workforce, and encourages employees to be their unique selves. Having a diverse and inclusive workforce underpins our core values of collaboration, ambition and respect, and we welcome applications from all sectors of the community regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, social background, religion or belief. Applicant shortlisting is done without reference to any personal data including your name.
Applying for a job with us - other things you need to know
This role is UK based and your Right to Work will need to be verified.
Initio Learning Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
In line with current safer recruitment guidance, we may collect further information for applicants who are shortlisted for interview including criminal record and social media checks, references and verification of qualifications.
All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, and, where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed for all applicants.
We are covered by the ‘Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975’, which means that we are allowed to ask all candidates to disclose both spent and unspent cautions and criminal convictions to us when applying for a vacancy (except for those which are considered ‘protected’ under the Act).
Anyone who is barred from engaging in regulated activity with children should not apply for any of our vacancies, as doing so may be an offence—which we will report to the Police.
If shortlisted for an interview you will be required to disclose cautions and criminal convictions (except for those which are considered ‘protected’ under the Act).
Fluency in English is required for all student and public-facing roles, in accordance with the “fluency duty” (Immigration Act 2016). Please refer to the Job Description for further details.
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Privacy Policy
Initio Learning Trust Vacancy Privacy Statement
As part of the registration process, you should have read our Candidate Account Privacy Notice. We also need you to know how we process your application data for this vacancy.
The following explains how we, Initio Learning Trust (Data Controller) intend to use the information you provide in your application, along with your rights, our reasons for requesting it and who will have access to it.
Who collects this information
In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Initio Learning Trust is the Data Controller and ultimately responsible for ensuring the data you provide is kept secure, processed correctly and that you understand your legal rights in relation to the data you provide.
The recruitment software we use via this website is supplied by Iris Software Group Limited (4th Floor Heathrow Approach, 470 London Road, Slough, SL3 8QY). They are defined as a Data Processor under the GDPR. They will only process your data in accordance with our instructions.
Who collects this information
In accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), Initio Learning Trust is the Data Controller. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about you and that we are ultimately responsible for ensuring the data you provide is kept secure, processed correctly and that you understand your legal rights in relation to the data you provide.
The recruitment software we use is supplied by Iris Software Group Limited (4th Floor Heathrow Approach, 470 London Road, Slough, SL3 8QY). They are defined as a Data Processor under the UK GDPR. They will only process your data in accordance with our instructions.
What information do we collect from you?
We collect information that is specifically provided by you as part of an application process. We will collect the following (but not limited to):
Name, address, email, telephone number
Answers to application questions
CV (if applicable)
Equal opportunities monitoring information (defined as special categories data) - this information is anonymised, and is purely for statistical analysis and monitoring purposes
Any other information you wish to provide in support of your application.
We also collect further information from applicants who are shortlisted for interview in order to to support robust decision-making, expedite safer recruitment checks and promptly appoint the best candidate.
This information usually includes:
Personal identification documents
Proof of Right to Work in the UK
Self-declaration of relevant criminal convictions
Details collected through any pre-employment checks including criminal records; this may include online searches and social media checks.
Verification of qualifications
We may also ask your nominated referees for details of any conduct, grievance, performance issues, appraisals, time and attendance.
Why do we collect your information?
Generally, the purpose of us collecting your data is to support robust decision-making, expedite safer recruitment checks, and promptly appoint the best candidate.
Details you provide:
Will be held on our computer systems and may be downloaded by us
Will be used to deal with your application including obtaining references.
Will be made available to us and our processors
Will be used for communication with you regarding the vacancy
Will be used to satisfy legal requirements
Will be held and may be used to contact you about other vacancies
May be used for statistical analysis
We also collect data in order to carry out equal opportunities monitoring and to ensure appropriate access arrangements are put in place if required.
If you fail to provide certain information when requested, we may not be able to take the steps to enter into a contract with you, or we may be prevented from complying with our legal obligations.
We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose.
How do we collect your information?
We may collect this information from you, your referees, your education provider, by searching online resources, from relevant professional bodies, the Home Office and from the DBS. We may gather information that is available publicly from online search engines and social media.
How do we use your information?
We will only use your personal information when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your information in the following circumstances:
Where we need to take steps to enter into a contract with you
Where we need to comply with a legal obligation (such as health and safety legislation, under statutory codes of practice and employment protection legislation)
Where it is needed in the public interest or for official purposes
Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests, rights and freedoms do not override those interests
Where it is necessary for the purposes of a "Recognised Legitimate Interest" under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (such as safeguarding vulnerable people or the prevention and detection of crime);
Where you have provided your consent for us to process your personal data
Where it is relevant to inform the recruiting manager of potential reputational damage and/or safeguarding concerns obtained from online searches.
How we use sensitive information
Sensitive personal information (as defined under the UK GDPR as “special category data”) requires higher levels of protection and further justification for collecting, storing, and using this type of personal information. We may process this data in the following circumstances:
In limited circumstances, with your explicit written consent;
Where we need to carry out our legal obligations in line with our data protection policy;
Where it is needed in the public interest, such as for equal opportunities monitoring (or in relation to our pension scheme);
Where it is needed in relation to legal claims or where it is necessary to protect your interests (or someone else’s interests) and you are not capable of giving your consent.
Criminal convictions
We may only use information relating to criminal convictions where the law allows us to do so. This will usually be where it is necessary to carry out our legal obligations. We will only collect information about criminal convictions if it is appropriate given the nature of the role and where we are legally able to do so.
Who do we share your information with?
We may need to share your data with third parties, including third party service providers where required by law, where it is necessary to administer the working relationship with you or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so. These include the following: -
The DBS;
Academic or regulatory bodies to validate qualifications/experience (e.g. the TRA);
Referees;
Other schools;
Recruitment and supply agencies.
We may also need to share some of the above categories of personal information with other parties, such as HR consultants and professional advisers. Usually, information will be anonymised but this may not always be possible.
The recipients of the information will be bound by confidentiality obligations. We may also be required to share some personal information with our regulators or as required to comply with the law.
How long do we keep your information for?
Except as otherwise permitted or required by applicable law or regulation, the Trust only retains personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes they collected it for, as required to satisfy any legal, accounting or reporting obligations, or as necessary to resolve disputes.
If you are not appointed, your information will only be retained by us for 6 months from the date the offer is made to the successful candidate.
If you are successfully appointed, your personal information will be retained whilst you are an employee and used for payroll, pension and employee administration in accordance with the Privacy Notice for Staff (which is available on our website and will be issued on appointment).
How secure is your information?
We have put in place measures to protect the security of your information (i.e. against it being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way). In addition, we limit access to your personal information to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know.
Your rights: Access, correction, erasure and restriction
As part of the application process, you have set up a candidate account in Networx.
Networx is dedicated to providing reasonable access to visitors who wish to review the personal information retained when you apply via their website site and correct any inaccuracies it may contain.
Once registered, you may access your profile, correct and update your details, or withdraw your details at any time. To do this, you can access your personal profile by using the secure login. In all cases we will treat requests to access information or change information in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
Under certain circumstances by law you have the right to:
Access your personal information (commonly known as a ‘subject access request’). This allows you to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you. Please note that under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, the Trust is only legally obligated to provide confirmation and personal data that can be located following a reasonable and proportionate search for the requested information. Within your Networx candidate account, you can also use the Download Data feature to generate an XML file of the current data we hold on you that you have provided and/or have access to within the account.
Correction of the personal information we hold about you. This enables you to have any inaccurate information we hold about you corrected. Please note that where records reflect historical events, professional opinions, or safeguarding reports, these represent a factual record of what was reported or understood at that specific time. In these circumstances, the Trust cannot erase or alter the original historical record. Instead, we will fulfil your right to rectification by appending a supplementary statement to the file.
Erasure of your personal information. You can ask us to delete or remove personal data if there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. Please note that this is not an absolute right. The Trust cannot erase personal data where we are required by law to retain it (for example, statutory pupil records, attendance registers, or safeguarding files), or where it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.
Restriction of processing your personal information. You can ask us to suspend processing personal information about you in certain circumstances
Object to processing in certain circumstances. Please note: You have an absolute right to object to your data being used for direct marketing
Challenge significant decisions made about you based solely on automated processing, and obtain human intervention.
Transfer your personal information to another party.
Your right to withdraw consent
In the limited circumstances where you may have provided your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your personal information for a specific purpose, you have the right to withdraw your consent for that specific processing at any time. To withdraw your consent, please update your preferences within your Networx candidate account.
Where you exercise your right to object or withdraw your consent we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent where we are permitted or required by law or regulatory requirements to do so. In such a case, we will not process more personal data than is required under the circumstances.
How to raise a concern
We have appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO) to oversee compliance with data protection and this privacy notice. If you have any questions about how we handle your personal information you can contact the DPO, details below:
Data Protection Officer: Tracy Broadbent
Address: Allenbourn Middle School, East Borough, Wimborne, BH21 1PL
If your concern amounts to a formal complaint regarding the Trust's handling of your personal data, it will be managed in accordance with our statutory obligations. The Trust will acknowledge your data protection complaint without undue delay and the Data Protection Officer will provide a formal written outcome within one calendar month of receipt, as outlined in our main Data Protection Policy.
You also have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commission, the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues.
Write to: Information Commission, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Changes to this Privacy Notice
We reserve the right to update this privacy notice at any time, and we will provide you with a new privacy notice when we make any substantial updates. We may also notify you in other ways from time to time about the processing of your personal information.
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