Business Manager

Job Introduction

Role Purpose  As a member of the schools senior management team, develop, direct and coordinate the full range of school financial & administrative services. Take a proactive & partnership role in developing strategies for the longer term use & development of the school site. 

Accountabilities 

• Ensure support practices meet statutory and Local Authority requirements
• Coordinate allocation of budget to budget holders.
• Collaborate with office team to develop and maintain an up to date manual of financial & related procedures including the use of a range of IT applications.
• Prepare  the schools annual accounts  & associated information.
• Supervise & manage the administrative team and arrangements for the appointment of staff to the school
• Investigate, identify  & apply cost saving measures.
• Contribute  to the governance of the school  by advising the senior management team and the governing body when required.
• Oversight of management of the support staff team including those directly employed and contracted staff.
• Promote links between support and teaching staff. 
• Negotiate  & monitor  the performance of contracts for services e.g. cleaning & catering. 
• Prepare, review and implement  a site development, security, improvement and maintenance programme for the school. 
• Manage all staffing, buildings, ICT systems and equipment, vehicles etc to achieve uninterrupted service.
• Decide levels of expenditure within the parameters set by the Headteacher/Governing Body.
• Maximise the use of financial resources for the school. 
• Contribute to the development and implementation of the longer term vision and objectives of the school as part of the school senior mgt team.
• Project manage capital developments on behalf of the school, e. g. new buildings in conjunction with the County Architect.
• Develop and maintain an extensive range of customer/colleague contacts to develop and improve services and use of resources.
• Regular contact at senior level throughout HCC to achieve resolution of complex problems and develop partnership working.
• Maintain oversight of risk assessments to ensure health and safety  is observed on the site  whilst ensuring safe working practices and environment for all site personnel and visitors.
• Maintain an awareness of corporate and local policies and procedures and as  manager & team leader ensure these  are applied in the workplace  e.g. ensuring appropriate training for self and staff.   
• In liaison with the office team oversee the provision of first aid to pupils in the school. 

Key Decision Making Areas in the Role 

• Spending up to the delegated authority level.
• Allocation of physical resources i.e. space/accommodation, furniture, equipment.
• Allocation of responsibility to support staff.
• Prioritising use of time, systems, equipment and money.
• Managing the processing of income and expenditure analysis of reports and achievement of Best Value, including income sourcing, taking initiative on cost-cutting and fund raising.  
• Purchase and deployment of administrative IT equipment i.e. what is needed within the school and where it should be placed.
• Effective use of Information Technology.
• Effective deployment of staff.  

Role Dimensions – financial (e.g. budgets) and non-financial units (e.g. workload, customers/staff) 

• £2M and above school budget – contribute to the management of the school budget as a member of the Senior Management Team.  
• £7K and above – directly responsible to Headteacher but would be expected to draw up a draft budget   in consultation with the HT and draw up a 3 – 5 year financial projection.
• 75 plus staff,   700 plus pupils – Direct responsibility for 28 support staff , but liaison with other staff  e.g. Heads of Dept’s and other budget holders re finance, all staff re Health and Safety issues. 
• £60K plus - management of  ICT assets – direct responsibility for the management of the IT admin system, liaison with EDIT or other supplier over maintenance etc. 
• Building area of school/number of buildings e.g.16 acre site, 9,000 square metres floor area, spread over 8 buildings. 

Main Contacts – external/internal customer contacts and purpose 

• Support staff, governors, parents. Pupils and other schools, on a daily basis.  
• Own Team (frequent – to manage team and share information with team).
• HCC departments – Property Services, Finance, IT, Personnel (regular – to achieve resolution of problems/service improvements and to develop partnership working).
• Contracts and suppliers (frequent – agreeing on site work arrangements/briefing  re problem to be resolved/service or system usage required).   
• Other users Community - liaison with, Community Manager where applicable over lettings, energy costs, cleaning etc., and the public and the Site Manager/Caretaker costings and lettings.
• External businesses/partners- develop links and generate income streams.

Working Conditions – environmental and physical factors, physical effort or strain and frequency of occurrence. 

• Predominately office based job, but does include visiting all areas of the school during the course of the week.
• Some evening working. 
• Potentially some lone working. 

Role requirements for operational   effectiveness. 

• 5 years + experience of successfully managing staff, leading and developing administrative and financial functions, including sound budget control and advice to a variety of audiences at a senior level.
• Demonstrates significant experience beyond first degree level in business administration, accounting or related disciplines.
• Shows knowledge of & capacity to generate income  from various streams
• Able to assist with school based strategic planning and project management.
• Able to understand apply the principles of marketing.
• Knowledge of school and County procedures, Governor guidance, financial regulations.
• Demonstrating improved presentation skills.

If you are interested in applying for this position please can we request you visit our school website Saint James CoE Primary School | West End, Hampshire and apply here. You will find the application form on Menu/ Prospectus/ Staff Vacancies.

Safer Recruitment

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.

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