Business & Finance Team

CFO Hayley is a qualified Accountant and is a fully qualified Chartered Management Accountant. Hayley is also a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and holds an NVQ Level 4 in Accounting. Hayley has ten years’ experience of schools finance, having worked in two secondary schools prior to joining Gawthorpe Community Academy, three of those years were working in Academy Trusts at Management level. Hayley has also worked outside of schools, holding several finance and premises related positions.

COO Tracey has an extensive range of comprehensive business leadership skills including financial management, comprehensive HR management and project management developed from a range of senior roles in education.  Previously Director of Business Operations for a secondary academy, Tracey has also supported a number of primary schools with all aspects of school business management. Tracey holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration, is an associate member of CIPD and AAT and has worked in a number of key senior leadership positions in education over the last 15 years.

PA to CEO Joanne has worked as PA to Sue Vickerman since September 2010, providing a bespoke admin service to support an ‘Outstanding School’, National Support School work, Teaching School Business Management and the Academy Trust. Joanne is qualified to an advanced level in secretarial and office management and prides herself on offering an exceptional high service. She has extensive experience of both secretarial and financial support with previous roles including Assistant Office Manager of Family Services and Assistant Manager of a banking institution.

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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.