Job title: School Business Manager
Job type: Permanent
Salary: £45k to £50k per annum dependent on experience
Location: Addlestone, Surrey
EslingKenny is currently recruiting for a secondary school with academy status which has won numerous awards on behalf of a well known education trust. The trust is responsible for the education of 12,000+ pupils and employs just over 1,400 staff. The Trust is organised into both phases and clusters to support specialist and cross-phase collaboration.
They are seeking a School Business Manager that will be the leading business management professional working as part of the Senior Leadership Team. As the Business Manager, you will assist the Headteacher in their duty to ensure that the school meets its educational and operational aims. You will be working in close cooperation with the Trust's central finance, capital, IT and HR executives.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
General Duties Leadership and Strategy:
- Work closely with the Trust's central team and cluster leader to support setting the strategic financial and business direction of the relevant schools
- Negotiate and influence strategic decision making within the schools' senior team Attend senior management / leadership team, full governing committee and appropriate governors' sub-committee meetings as necessary
Financial and Business Resource Management:
- Manage the business strategy for the school in conjunction with the Trust's Finance Director
- Evaluate information and consult with the senior teams and governors to prepare realistic and balanced budgets
- Submit the proposed budgets for approval in-line with the Trust's process and timetable, assisting with the overall financial planning process
- Use the agreed budgets to actively monitor and control performance to achieve value for money
- Identify and inform the Headteacher and Trust's Finance Director of the causes of significant variances and work with the Finance Director or Trust's Head of Finance to take prompt corrective action
- Propose revisions to the budgets if necessary, in response to significant or unforeseen developments
- Work with the Trust central team to benchmark systems and information to assess trends and make appropriate recommendations
- Work with Trust representatives to ensure all statutory legal requirements of the Education & Skills Funding Agency, Charity Commission and Companies House are met
- Identify additional finance required to fund each school's proposed activities including the maximisation of income through lettings and other activities
- Put formal finance agreements in place with suitable providers for agreed amounts, at agreed times and appropriate agreed costs and repayment schedules; monitoring the effectiveness and implementation of such agreements
Human Resources:
- Oversee the HR Administrator in the management of recruitment through to onboarding
- Ensure that safer recruitment processes are adhered to and that knowledge and understanding regarding these are kept up to date
- Oversee the accurate maintenance of the Single Central Record
- Authorising letters, contracts and other personnel documents prepared by the HR Administrator
- Monitoring of staff absence, including return to work interview completion, utilising this information to inform absence management strategies within the school in support of the Headteacher
Payroll and Pensions:
- Maintain the payroll system locally, ensuring policies and procedures are followed and appropriate support is maintained for all monthly payroll changes
- Work with payroll software provider, offering guidance and training to colleagues where necessary
- Oversee the school-based responsibilities relating to pension administration
Management/Senior Leadership Team:
- In the absence of the Headteacher, and supported by the Trust central team, take delegated responsibility for financial and business decisions
- Plan and manage change in accordance with the schools' development / strategic plans
- In some cases, to lead and manage administration staff in conjunction with the relevant members of the Trust's central team
- Along with other members of the senior leadership teams, ensure that colleagues have a clear understanding of school policies and procedures and the importance of putting them into practice, monitoring the way policies and procedures are actioned and provide support where necessary
Desired Skills Required But Not Essential:
- An awareness, understanding and commitment to the protection and safeguarding of children
- Minimum 2 Years of relevant work experience
- Accounting qualification or equivalent significant experience in financial management
- Proven track record of continuous professional development
- Experience in managing strategic financial plans, budgets, financial reporting and fixed assets
- Ability to demonstrate delivery of service and systems applicable for effective school management
- Ability to demonstrate a secure understanding of national and regional educational services and the delivery of appropriate strategies
- Ability to demonstrate meticulous attention to detail, analytical skills and problem solving
- Evidence of excellent interpersonal skills, and engagement with a range of stakeholders
Next Steps...
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV. Please note due to the high volume of applications we sometimes receive it is not always possible to contact every applicant. If you do not hear from us within 14 days, please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion but please continue to apply to more jobs represented by EslingKenny.
If this job isn't quite right for you but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion on your career - see our website for contact details.
EslingKenny Ltd is acting as a recruitment business in relation to this vacancy.