Business & Finance Team

Hayley Hill

Tracey Fallon

Joanne Batty

Alison Ramsey
Business Operation Officer Alison has worked at Gawthorpe Academy since 2007, starting in the classroom as a teaching assistant and then moving to Gawthorpe’s Children Centre as receptionist. Alison then returned to Gawthorpe academy in the role of Office Manager before joining the MAT team in September 2018 as Business Operations Officer. Alison is currently undertaking a degree in business in her spare time and is educated to a high standard. She has extensive experience of office systems and support with previous roles as Nursery Manager and Accounts Clerk for a large supermarket chain.

Joanne Merritt
HR & Payroll Officer Joanne worked at Towngate Primary Academy as Office Manager before joining the MAT team in September 2019 as HR & Payroll Officer. Joanne has a Degree in Business Studies and 20 years payroll experience having held leadership positions in a large logistics company and a multi-national postal service and courier company. Joanne has expertise in managing multi-disciplined teams processing large weekly and monthly payrolls, project management skills and extensive experience in payroll implementation and deployment of service improvement projects.

Dave Galley
Finance Officer Dave has worked in finance for over thirty years and specialized in the Education Finance sector for over twenty of these. He has a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience to call upon, gained from working in Local Authorities, Academy Trusts, Schools and as a self employed Financial Consultant, in varying roles. This experience includes; Budgets, Management Accounts, Financial Monitoring, Bank Reconciliations and Cash Flow Management, using a number of different Finance and Budgeting packages.

Sara Billington
Finance Assistant Sara commenced her employment with the Trust in 2020. She has over 25 years of finance and cash management experience to call upon. She has vast knowledge and experience in managing cash flow, cash management, bank reconciliations and accounts management. Sara has extensive experience in customer relations from her previous employment with a major retailer.

Alex Swithenbank
Estates, Health and Safety Officer Alex is a former Marine Engineering Officer, serving with the Royal Fleet for over five years. In his later years of service, Alex turned his specialisation towards shipboard Health and Safety. Alex joined the Trust early in December 2019 and is working towards a full Diploma in Applied Health and Safety and graduate membership to IOSHH. Alex’s background offers strong leadership, a key understanding of facilities maintenance and management as well as large scale project delivery.
