Broster Buchanan is delighted to be engaged exclusively to recruit an Executive Business Manager for an academy group based in Cambridge.
The Executive Business Manager is a superb opportunity to shape and support the successful futures of five schools, each at a different stage in their journeys. There is a real focus on developing people and empowering innovation; education leaders enjoy unrivalled opportunities to learn and to grow whilst staff across the board are appreciated and celebrated. There is commitment to nurturing the unique ethos of each school whilst ensuring that the groups mission of bringing out the ‘Best in Everyone' shines through. Each of the schools has developed its own identity, values and objectives and in so doing created a more individual and appealing offer to our local families and communities.
The Executive Business Manager will provide overall leadership and line management to the business support functions in each Academy; developing high performing support teams which are highly motivated and focussed on the education outcomes and strategic vision of each Academy and Cluster.
The Executive Business Manager will be a member of each Academy SLT, and where in place, the Cluster SLT and contribute fully to Academy Development Plans and the 5-year strategic planning cycle across the Cluster. The role will:
- Negotiate and influence strategic decision making within each Academy's Senior Management/Leadership Team and Governing Body.
- Ensure that all resources are managed effectively and efficiently.
- Present timely and fully costed proposals, recommendations or bids.
- Plan and manage change in accordance with each Academy's development/strategic plan.
- Lead and manage the key support functions in each Academy.
- Take a lead role on bringing new schools into the cluster in partnership with Central Office colleagues and the Cluster SLT.
- Be responsible for the overall leadership of each Academy's accounting function and the staff working in that function, ensuring efficient operation in line with agreed procedures, and maintaining those procedures by conducting at least an annual review
- Support the development and monitoring of a long-term people strategy for each Academy and across the Cluster in consultation with the SLT and LGBs, taking strategic and professional advice from the HR Business Partner; other specialists and senior managers within the central People team as needed.
To apply for this role you could come from a range of different backgrounds; you may be finance qualified (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) or from a HR or a schools management background but you will also be:
- Educated to degree level or equivalent.
- Business management qualification or other relevant qualification for the role.
- Experience as a member of a Senior Management Team where the contribution of wider strategy and policy-making has been essential.
- Experience delivering change management programmes.
- Experience of schools' education finance, HR and other aspects of education administration.
- Experience leading and/or managing budgeting and reporting processes in an organisation.
- Extensive experience managing and motivating staff with proven ability to create a united and highly effective team.
- The ability to lead and motivate staff within a performance management framework.
- Experience of having contributed to policy and structure formulation, implementation, evaluation and review.