Finance Manager / Finance Assistant

Rome| International Education | PE-Backed Business

Our client is a private equity-backed international education business developing and operating premium schools across international markets. As part of its continued growth, the business is preparing to open a new school in Rome and is looking to appoint an Finance Manager/ Finance Assistant to support the Director of Finance & Operations during the pre-opening phase and beyond.

This is an excellent opportunity for a finance professional to join a growing education business at an important stage of its development. The successful candidate will play a hands-on role in establishing robust financial and administrative processes, supporting the opening of the school and helping to build the systems that will underpin its long-term operations.

The Role

Reporting to the Director of Finance & Operations, the Assistant Bursar will provide broad financial administration and operational support across the school.

The role will suit someone who is highly organised, numerate and detail-oriented, with the confidence to work independently and the flexibility to take ownership of a wide range of responsibilities in a developing organisation.

Key responsibilities

Financial administration

- Process supplier invoices, staff expenses and purchasing documentation.
- Maintain and reconcile accounts payable and receivable.
- Assist with monthly bank reconciliations.
- Maintain accurate financial records and documentation.
- Prepare financial information for management review, audits and compliance.
- Manage daily cash receipts, banking and petty cash.

Budgeting & reporting

- Support monthly and quarterly financial reporting.
- Assist with annual budget preparation and ongoing budget monitoring.




- Identify and report variances and support the DFO with financial analysis.

Procurement & purchasing

- Manage purchase requisitions and purchase orders.
- Maintain supplier records and support supplier vetting.
- Obtain and review quotations and assist with contracts and procurement processes.
- Ensure purchasing activity complies with internal procedures.

Student billing & credit control

- Manage student billing, fee statements, payment plans and refunds.
- Maintain accurate tuition receivables and payment records.
- Track deposits and allocate payments correctly.
- Monitor outstanding balances and support credit control activity.
- Maintain confidential student and financial information.

Compliance, systems & process improvement

- Maintain organised financial filing and documentation systems.
- Support compliance with internal policies, audit requirements and Spanish legislation.
- Assist with implementing audit recommendations.
- Support data protection requirements relating to financial administration.
- Contribute to the development and improvement of financial and administrative systems, processes and reporting.
- Provide technical, data and process support where required.

Pre-opening & operational support

- Help establish financial and administrative procedures ahead of the school's opening.
- Support the DFO with wider administrative and operational activities.
- Assist during audits, inspections and accreditation processes.




- Provide flexible support across the wider school operation when required.

About You

We are looking for an experienced finance administrator or accounting professional who enjoys working in a varied, hands-on role and is comfortable operating in a growing environment.

You will ideally have:

- A bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting or a related discipline.
- At least 3 years' experience in finance administration, accounting or business support.
- Experience in a school, education or similarly complex service environment would be advantageous.
- Strong numerical skills and exceptional attention to detail.
- Experience with billing, accounts receivable and credit control.
- Familiarity with Spanish invoicing, taxation and financial processes.
- Experience using finance systems, CRM platforms and Microsoft Excel.
- Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.
- Excellent written and verbal English and Spanish.
- An interest in data, systems and process improvement.
- The ability to write SQL or learn basic scripting would be advantageous.
- A high level of integrity and discretion when handling confidential information.

What We're Looking For

The successful candidate will be proactive, dependable and solutions-focused, with the confidence to take ownership rather than simply follow established processes.

As this is a pre-opening environment, you will need to be comfortable with ambiguity and change, willing to get involved across different areas and able to help build processes from the ground up.

This is a role with genuine scope to develop alongside a well-funded, PE-backed education business and a new international school operation.

📌 Financial Assistant (Lazio)
🏢 Morgan Mckinley
📍 Lazio