Job Description

Would you like to join a Primary School who have held their Outstanding status since 2011?

My client, based in the heart of St Albans, is seeking an experienced School Business Manager who can take on the dynamic and essential role of providing high-quality financial support and leadership on all operational matters across two sites.

Key Purposes of the Position:

• The School Business Manager plays a major role under the overall direction of the Headteacher in having a strategic and operational role throughout the school
• The School Business Manager is the school\'s leading support staff professional and works as part of the Senior Leadership Team to ensure that the school maintains its outstanding provision
• To promote the highest standards of business ethos within the administrative function of the school and strategically ensure the most effective use of resources
• To provide financial support to our satellite provision based off-site

The School Business Manager is responsible for:

• Financial Resource Management
• Administration Management
• Management Information and ICT
• Human Resource Management
• Facility & Property Management
• Health & Safety Management within the school

Strategic Direction and Development:

• Contribute to a clear vision for an effective school
• Contribute to the formulation, monitoring, evaluation and implementation of the school development plan.

Leadership and Management:

• Work with the Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to ensure the School Development
• Plan is well managed and financially viable
• Attend Governing Body Finance and Health and Safety Meetings, providing reports as required
• To lead and manage the Administration Team, IT, cleaning and Premises staff, to be effective in their
• roles and contribution to the school
• Undertake any other professional duties reasonably delegated by the Headteacher

Finance:

• To effectively manage the school\'s finances including budget monitoring, prompt payment of invoices and collection of payments, effective delegation of duties and frequent monitoring of the bank accounts
• Responsible for the completion of financial reports and returns within the LA deadlines, including month-end procedures, quarterly forecasts and year end returns
• Working with the school\'s external financial consultant to prepare the annual budget; for approval by the Headteacher and Governing Body
• Forecast future years\' budgets, based on the school\'s estimated funding and trends in expenditure, to enable the Headteacher to make strategic, long-term decisions
• To use financial management information and benchmarking tools, to identify areas of relative spend, assess trends, and directly advise the SLT and Governing Body accordingly
• To provide detailed financial management accounts for the Headteacher and Governing Body according to an agreed schedule, reporting immediately any exceptional problems
• To ensure the finance systems are compliant with the Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS)
• To monitor all accounting systems and resolve any problems including the ordering, processing and payment for all goods and services provided to the school
• To manage the school\'s payroll and HR service for all school staff
• To be responsible for seeking professional advice on insurance and advising the Governing Body on the appropriate insurances for the school, and handling any claims that arise
• To liaise and advise the Headteacher and Governing body on financial implications to school development/projects
• To negotiate, manage and monitor contracts, tenders, and agreements for the provision of supplies and service, ensuring value for money
• Apply for grants and investigate fundraising opportunities

Human Resources:

• Advise on HR issues within school and liaise with the external HR provider
• To take overall responsibility for all HR matters where appropriate including recruitment, induction and attendance monitoring issues
• To ensure that safeguarding procedures are followed during the recruitment process
• To review staff contracts of employment prior to issue
• To ensure confidentiality of staff records both in paper form and on the Arbor database
• To ensure the Single Central Record (SCR) is up to date
• To manage the pupil and staff census process

Premises:

• Supervise the premises team in the maintenance of the school site, reporting to the Headteacher
• To arrange the cyclical maintenance of the school\'s premises, ensuring the school is compliant with the LA guidelines
• To support the Headteacher in the implementation and management of major new projects including building projects

Health & Safety:

• Manage the school\'s compliance with health and safety regulations and put in place processes and procedures to ensure the safety of all in the school
• Create and monitor the effectiveness of relevant policies, keeping all under routine review
• Organise health and safety training for staff
• Ensure that internal and external Risk Assessments are updated annually and required actions are dealt with where appropriate

Administration:

• Lead the administration team to ensure pupil admissions and leavers processes are adhere to
• Keep records in accordance with the School\'s record retention schedule and data protection law, ensuring information security and confidentiality at all times
• Provide administrative support for the Headteacher and Governing Body
• Be the school\'s data protection officer, taking responsibility for monitoring data protection compliance and advising the school community on data protection issues

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