Chief Financial Officer

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (CFO)

Location: Our Shared Services offices in Newquay
Contract status: Permanent
Hours: 37 hours/week however part-time working would also be considered 52 weeks
Salary Range: 69957 - 85029 FTE
Start date: September 2026

Are you our next financial mastermind

We are looking for an excellent finance leader to be our next CFO and help us achieve our mission of Building Excellent Schools Together. You will join our trust at a pivotal time; a time where school budgets are being evermore squeezed and a time where the need to make our funding go further and work harder for us has never been more important.

About our trust

Kernow Learning is a primary specialist multi academy trust of 21 schools in Cornwall. All our schools celebrate their individuality whilst holding our trusts shared values mission and philosophy close to their heart. We believe that our trust has already achieved much; through a mix of collective synchronicity and autonomy our schools are working together to provide collective strength so that they can stretch their offer beyond expectations in their drive for excellence.

In addition to our schools we are proud to host a DfE English Hub Teaching School Hub Voice21 Centre of Excellence and an Associate College of National Institute of Teaching; the only one in Cornwall.

About our Shared Services

Our trust has a centralised Finance Services Team supporting our schools to ensure that they are appropriately resourced and ensuring that our trust remains efficient compliant and viable. This team sits within our wider Shared Services Team that performs a wide range of functions and services across a number of areas including finance estates IT and HR as well as our English Hub and Teaching School Hub and our Initial Teacher Education programme KITE (Kernow Initial Teacher Education).

About you

You will be a phenomenal finance leader. A leader that is able to quickly establish themselves as a team player; a leader who is a motivator with the ability to forge strong relationships and provide clear direction in order to secure success for everyone. You will dream big and achieve big; by ensuring that our finances are superbly managed you will help secure bright futures for all our children.

Our next CFO will be an experienced and highly qualified accountant with a demonstrable record of managing large and complex budgets. You will be able to evidence the ability to foresee future difficulties and barriers as well as being able to bring a strategic mind to navigate successfully around these. Our next CFO will have the courage to innovate but will also have the wisdom to ensure that we always operate within tight financial regulations. The successful candidate will want to make a difference; they will be committed to maximising our funding to ensure that every child in every school is able to achieve their best after all we are Building Excellent Schools Together.

If you think that you can bring financial brilliance to our trust and lead our Finance Services Team with both love and rigour then we would love to hear from you. If you think that you can bring innovation strategy and a forensic eye for detail then we would love to hear from you. If you think that you are a team player a motivator and an inspirational coach then we would love to hear from you.

To apply for this role visit our trust website at or our vacancies page at where you can complete our application form and read our Information Pack for Candidates.

Closing date: midnight on Thursday 21st May 2026
Interviews: anticipated week beginning 25th May 2026

Kernow Learning is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and follows the Safer Recruitment process. The successful applicant will be expected to share this commitment and will be subject to checks including an enhanced DBS and prohibition checks. An online presence check will also be undertaken for all shortlisted candidates.

Contact: Contact our HR Team at or call

This is not a Cornwall Council vacancy therefore please contact the organisation direct for further information.

Organisation address: Kernow Learning The Old Cricket Pavilion Treninnick Hill Newquay TR7 2JU

Contact detail: Kernow Learning

Email:

Website: Experience:

Chief