Wellington College Education (China)

Why Choose Wellington? 

1. Professional Growth: 

• Tailored professional development pathways for all staff. 
• Comprehensive CPD programs covering teaching methodologies, cultural awareness, and non-academic skills such as public speaking and finance. 
• Three specialized leadership programs for middle, senior, and high-potential leaders. 
• An internal coaching program designed to help you thrive. 

2. Exceptional Benefits: 

• Highly competitive salary package. 
• High-quality, fully furnished housing. 
• Annual return airfare for employees and dependents. 
• Comprehensive medical insurance for employees and dependents. 
• Full tuition support for up to two school-age children (3 years and above). 
• Full visa application support. 

3. Life in Hangzhou: 

• A modern, forward-thinking city surrounded by natural beauty and rich culture. 
• Home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, West Lake. 
• A thriving tech hub, hosting giants like Alibaba, with widespread cashless convenience. 
• Just 45 minutes by high-speed train to Shanghai. 

OBJECTIVES

The Head of Finance and Purchasing provides strategic leadership and governance for the School’s Finance and Purchasing functions. Working through department managers, the post holder ensures robust financial planning, effective resource allocation, strong internal controls, compliant procurement practices, and high-quality management information to support decision-making. The role is a key part of the non-academic leadership team, enabling the School’s educational aims through sustainable and transparent operations.

Under the leadership of The Bursar, the Head of Finance and Purchasing should:

• Operate a collegiate, outward facing Non-Academic Support team focussed on continuous improvement

• Set the overall direction for the School’s finance and procurement functions, ensuring responsive, customer-focused service that supports the School’s priorities.

• Provide high-level financial advice to the school senior leaders, shaping decisions on affordability, resourcing, and longer-term commitments.

• Lead the School’s planning and reporting cycles (budget, reforecast, multi-year modelling), delivering clear analysis and actionable insight.

• Maintain a robust control environment for spending and contracting, and oversight of key risks, also steer sourcing and supplier management to achieve best value, fair and transparent practice, and effective contract management.

• Ensure robust whole-school governance, risk management, and regulatory compliance, including effective internal controls, delegated approval limits, segregation of duties, and adherence to policies for all spending and contracting activity across the School

• Lead on team development and performance management, staff training and succession planning

• Support creation and delivery of an ambitious Non-Academic Strategic Development Plan

RESPONSIBILITIES

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND BUSINESS PARTNERING

• Act as senior financial adviser to the Bursar and School senior leadership on budgeting, investment, resourcing, and financial implications of strategic initiatives.

• Set and deliver the School’s finance and procurement strategy to support educational priorities, sustainability, and agreed growth plans.

• Translate whole-school strategy into robust multi-year financial plans, aligning resources to priorities and ensuring affordability and resilience.

• Provide strategic oversight of major cost drivers and identify opportunities to improve value, efficiency, and service quality across the School.

• Lead financial and commercial evaluation of major initiatives (e.g., new programmes, capex, systems, outsourcing), including options appraisal, and risk/benefit analysis.

• Establish whole-school expectations for financial discipline and procurement compliance, using data/KPIs to monitor performance, anticipate risk, and drive continuous improvement.

• Build strong relationships with academic and non-academic leaders to align strategic and operational plans with robust financial assumptions.

• Embed a culture of financial discipline and continuous improvement by coaching budget holders on good practice.

• Develop comprehensive annual school development plan for the responsible functions to serve the school long-term strategy.

• Undertake any ad hoc assignments as required by The Bursar.

FINANCIAL PLANNING AND REPORTING

• Lead multi-year financial planning to support sustainability, growth, and prudent risk management.

• Provide clear, insightful management reporting and analysis to support decisions across academic and non-academic functions.

• Ensure timely monthly/termly reporting, variance analysis, and financial performance reviews are completed with relevant stakeholders.

• Maintain oversight of cashflow planning and working capital management, ensuring sufficient liquidity and appropriate controls.

• Work closely with HR to ensure staff-related budgets and workforce cost trends are accurately planned, monitored, and aligned with the School’s long-term sustainability.

PROCUREMENT

• Define and implement procurement strategy and standards (sourcing, tendering, supplier selection, contract oversight, and ethical purchasing), aligned to whole-school priorities, budgets, and risk appetite.

• Ensure value for money and service quality through supplier performance management and competitive sourcing practices, reducing risk and improving outcomes.

• Oversee sourcing and tendering approach for major contracts, ensuring fair, transparent competition and robust evaluation decisions.

• Drive continuous improvement in procurement planning, systems, and spend analytics to strengthen control, visibility, and efficiency.

SYSTEMS, PROCESS IMPROVEMENT AND DATA QUALITY

• Drive continuous improvement and digitalisation across finance and purchasing systems and workflows.

• Ensure integrity of financial data, effective document retention, and reporting consistency.

• Develop and track service levels for both functions (e.g., reporting timeliness/accuracy, budget adherence, cashflow, procurement cycle times, supplier performance, savings), and identify the opportunity for continuous improvement.

COMPLIANCE, AUDIT AND RISK MANAGEMENT

• Ensure compliance with applicable government regulations and school requirements, including taxation, statutory reporting, invoicing (fapiao), and procurement/contract practices.

• Lead and coordinate the internal and external audits, ensuring timely preparation, evidence quality, and closure of findings.

• Lead and coordinate all government inspections, ensuring the school is well-prepared and that all processes run smoothly.

• Identify and manage corporate, financial and procurement risks (including fraud prevention), ensuring mitigation actions are in place and monitored, including ensuring adequate insurance policies are in place.

TEAM DEVELOPMENT

• Set direction, objectives, and performance expectations, and provide direct supervision, mentorship, support, and guidance for the Finance Manager and Purchasing Manager, empowering them to reach their full potential and drive positive changes within their departments that benefit the school.

• Utilize and develop the talents and abilities of the team at all levels, holding individuals and teams accountable for their work while inspiring and celebrating their achievements.

• Lead succession planning and uphold high professional standards across the team.

• Foster a collaborative, service-focused culture across non-academic teams.

GOVERNANCE

• Support the Bursar in ensuring the provision of effective and transparent reports and assurance to the Board to enable Members to carry out their responsibilities, and fully responsible for the pack preparation for Finance and HR Sub-committee meetings.

• Attend relevant governance meetings/committees as required (e.g., Finance Committee, Audit/Risk Committee), presenting reports and responding to queries with clear analysis and recommendations.

• Manage conflicts of interest and ensure probity.

• Lead the drafting, regular review, and updating of finance and procurement policies to ensure they remain effective, compliant, and fit for purpose.

• Provide financial due diligence and governance input for major initiatives (e.g., campus development, IT systems, service outsourcing), including options appraisal, total cost of ownership, and risk assessment.

• Chair meetings in the absence of the Bursar or as their most senior representative.

EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIP

• Act as the key liaison between the school, the landlord, and relevant government departments, representing the school’s interests and ensuring all communication is timely, professional, and constructive.

• Develop and maintain strong and professional relationships with all external partners to support smooth day-to-day operations and long-term partnerships.

• Manage and review property-related contracts

BASIC INFORMATION

• Bachelor's degree or above in Finance, Accounting, Business or related field; professional accounting qualification (e.g., ACCA/CPA/CIMA or equivalent) strongly preferred

• Fluent in Chinese and English both oral and written

EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 15 years’ working experience in the field of business

• Significant senior experience in finance leadership, including budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, and internal controls.

• Experience overseeing procurement/purchasing governance and working with contract and supplier management processes.

• Working knowledge of compliance requirements relevant to China operations (tax, invoicing/fapiao, audit, basic contract/commercial practices).

• Experience of managing multi-disciplinary teams within the organisation

• Understanding of high-quality education

• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development

EXPERTISE

• Excellent leadership ability and potential for growth, with demonstrable experience of leading teams to deliver quality customer centred outcomes. A skilled negotiator

• Strategic and commercially astute. Project management skills.

• Analytical, positive and constructive approach

• Proven cost management and large-scale budget leadership and/or accounting experience

• Demonstrable evidence of managing change and knowledge of legal requirements

• Extensive experience of use of computerised systems

• Team building & conflict resolution

• A track record of successful team leadership within and across multiple interconnected teams with a demonstrated ability to impact effective change within and across those teams.

• Experience of working in contexts that are diverse in background, culture, language, gender, and identity

• Experience working in schools - and especially in international schools - while not essential, will be a welcome addition to your candidate profile

PREFERRED APTITUDES AND SKILL

• Demonstrating practice that represents the five core values of Wellington

• A visible, personable role model and agile leader who can build up a trust relationship with different stakeholders

• Innovative, creative problem-solver and strong emotional intelligence

• Strong initiative, integrity and sound judgment

• Passionate about quality with an eye for detail & desire to reflect, improve

• Culturally sensitive and a calm, clear thinker, able to maintain composure and effectively make decisions and manage priorities under pressure.

• Highly motivated and engaging, able to bring energy, passion and conviction to your work every day.

• A strong sense of humour and love of working collaboratively with others.

• A team player willing to take a hands-on approach and deliver outcomes.

• Strong analytical and commercial judgement; able to translate data into decisions and recommendations.

• Strong organisational skills and ability to manage deadlines and competing priorities.

• Continuous improvement mindset and able to streamline processes and improve stakeholder experience.

• Strong strategic abilities and administrative and organizational skills with the capacity to guide whole-organizational development while maintaining direct operational responsibilities.

• A highly accomplished communicator (both verbally and in writing, in both formal and informal settings) able to work with and across multiple stakeholders and influence across functions to build understanding and value.

• Strong interpersonal skills and a proven ability to operate effectively and efficiently in a diverse environment with a broad range of stakeholders. The right candidate will be able to listen with empathy and care, yet also have the strength of purpose and conviction to have challenging conversations and hold individuals and teams accountable.

• An ability to work within regulatory frameworks and a fast learner able to quickly understand new requirements and adapt accordingly.

• Excellent leadership skills - able to manage, coach, mentor, and supervise employees - as both individuals and in teams - through the lens of contextual and situational leadership.

• Highly developed skills in analysis with the ability to take complex problems and distill them into the strategic questions that need to be asked in order to move the school forward.

This job description may be adapted to best fit the skills and needs of the appointed candidate. Over time, the job description may be modified through consultation between the post holder and the management.

As an employer of choice, Wellington College Education (China) is committed to making professional learning and personal development central to its ethos and approach. WCEC fully recognises its responsibilities for safeguarding children. Our safeguarding policy applies to all staff, governors and volunteers working in the Group.