Early Education Entitlement and Funding Officer

About the role

As a Early Education Entitlement and Funding Officer you will be required:

• To manage high volume early education entitlement claims and payments through our funding portal/s, undertake eligibility checks, maintain accurate records of claims and payments and resolve claimant queries
• To be responsible for collating and submitting key datasets for the statutory annual Early Years Census return
• To increase provider understanding of statutory and operational guidance through support, information, advice, guidance materials, self help tools and training
• To issue and monitor of funding agreements, undertaking a range of compliance checks and supportive audit activity to proactively secure provider compliance
• To identify compliance breaches, issue actions and monitor progress through follow-up audits and support council external audit processes as required

For further information about this role, please contact Elanor Hughes (Roberts) by email elanor.roberts@achievingforchildren.org.uk for an informal discussion.

About you

The successful candidate will be:

• Confident and competent in a range of high volume financial claims and payments processes, using complex databases and collating financial data
• Knowledgeable about the early education entitlement policy and associated statutory and operational guidance
• A passion for developing accurate, efficient payment processes and data sets
• Excellent attention to detail and a commitment to using digital solutions to improve systems and processes
• A team player who is collaborative, flexible, reflective and innovative

About our benefits

We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:

• 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years.
• Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
• Stable and supportive leadership
• Hybrid and mobile working (between home and work) with latest technology to facilitate this
• Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
• Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
• A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
• A range of staff benefits and discounts
• An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway

To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children

Important Information

Start dates: Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.

Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.