School Business Manager

About the role

The successful applicant will be expected to develop and improve the office management systems in place to enable the school to provide outstanding services to parents and the wider community.

In return we can professional, training and support. Staff wellbeing is high on our agenda and we operate a policy across the school that supports a work life balance for all our colleagues at Kenilworth.

Fiona Ajose: head@kenilworth.herts.sch.uk

Reports to: Headteacher

Responsible for: Admin Staff

Purpose and scope: The School Business Manager (SBM) holds a key post of responsibility within the school. Reporting directly to the Headteacher, the SBM is responsible for ensuring all non-teaching aspects of the school run efficiently and effectively. The SBM is a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) and is expected to contribute significantly to the continuous improvement of the school’s services.

This will include: -

· The promotion of the school aims, objectives and ethos

· Assisting in the monitoring and evaluation of performance and processes

· Ensuring specific day-to-day functions of the school run smoothly

· Establishing good working relationships with all stake holders and external agencies

Strategic leadership and management

To lead with the Headteacher on finance, human resources, ICT, premises management, whole-school administration and marketing.

· Produce timely and fully costed proposals for school improvement and development.

· Ensure an effective link between the school budget plan and the school development plan to achieve sustainable school improvement.

· Understand the implications of government policies and educational trends and developments.

· Plan for and implement new initiatives as appropriate for the school.

· Provide strategic support to the headteacher and governing body on all aspects of school business management.

· Lead in the training and development of financial, administrative and premises staff.

· Ensure teaching, admin, premises and support staff work effectively together.

· Take an active role in coordinating and managing the relationship of the interested parties and agencies involved in delivering effective extended school services. These include children, parents, school staff, the LA, the voluntary sector and national or regional organisations such as the police and health service.

Responsibilities in relation to financial resource management, working with the School Finance Assistant:

Prepare the annual estimates of income and expenditure for approval by the headteacher and governors.

· Obtain agreement of budgets and monitor them against accounts.

· Prepare regular management accounts for budget holders and report on the financial state of the school to the governors.

· Advise the headteacher and governors on investment and financial policy, preparing appraisals for particular projects and developing a long-term business plan or financial strategy for the future development of the school.

· Work with the SMT and the Governing Body to ensure that correct and robust financial controls and procedures are in place and the school complies with all the regulations and procedures within the LEA Finance for Schools procedures and meets requirements of Schools Financial Value Standard.

· Monitor all accounting procedures and resolve any problems, including:

· ordering, processing and payment for all goods and services provided to the school

· operation of all bank accounts, ensuring that a full reconciliation to trial balance is undertaken at least once per month maintaining assets register, preparation of invoices and collection of fees

· Prepare quarterly returns and year end accounts.

· Provide detailed management accounts for the governors and headteacher according to an agreed schedule, reporting immediately any exceptional variances.

Prepare all financial returns for any authorised external agencies.

Liaise with the LEA, bank, auditors, governors, financial advisers, etc.

Attend relevant governors’ meetings and present appropriate reports.

· Use financial management information, especially benchmarking tools to identify areas of relative spend, assess trends and compare spending with similar schools. Advise the SMT and governing body accordingly.

Liaise with and provide all information required by the internal auditor and implement any recommendations.

Oversee the preparation and audit of the final account for the school fund.

Bids, contracts and funding streams

To lead the development of income generation within the ethos of the school and ensure best value principals are adopted. Seek grants, write bids and develop trading services to fund school projects, including building improvements. Apply for additional LEA funding as appropriate such as high needs funding.

· Investigate and promote alternative uses for hire of school premises.

· Negotiate, manage and monitor contracts, tenders and agreements for the provision of support services. Purchase, either directly or indirectly, the school’s energy supplies Arrange school facilities to include:

· catering

· bookings for school facilities

· provision of facilities for additional tuition out-of-school hours.

· Seek professional advice on insurance and advise the governors on the appropriate insurances for the school. Implement the approved insurances and handle any claims that arise.

Personnel

Working with the Headteacher, lead and manage on personnel matters relating to all staff, including absence management.

· Line management responsibility for premises, administrative staff, including management, recruitment, professional development, appraisal and training of relevant staff.

· Responsibility for general personnel matters and for all staff contracts:

· the administration for all staff recruitment and selection and for contracts of employment

· the statutory checks for new staff –qualifications, references, medical checks; DBS

· the induction of all new staff

· maintain training records of all staff

· ensure that the best use is made of additional hours and be responsible for allocation of hours and pay claims

· Give advice on, and seek clarification on assessment of salaries, expenses, sickness and maternity procedures, redundancy and other personnel related matters.

· Maintain confidential staff records and to ensure that staff records held in the school by are kept confidential.

· Advise the Governors on the policy needed to show compliance with all legislation concerning employment protection, equal pay, sex, race and disability discrimination etc and the implementation of these policies in the sschool

Health and safety, facility and premises management. In partnership with the site manager:

Oversee the procurement, repair and maintenance of all furniture, fixtures and fittings.

· Oversee the school asset register and disposal of goods no longer fit for purpose.

· Contribute to be a central point of contact for the school’s disaster and recovery plan and to operate the

· elements linked to resource management responsibility.

· Negotiate, manage and monitor contracts, tenders and agreements as appropriate.

· Be responsible for the work of on-site contractors and arrange estimates for the cost/duration of work.

· Be responsible for the quality of work by contractors, site and cleaning staff.

· Manage the letting of the school premises to outside organisations

Responsibilities in relation to whole school administration

To develop a medium- and long-term strategic IT plan for classroom, administrations and financial infrastructure and provision, identifying and assessing new technologies.

· With the school admin team deliver a Public Relations service to the school both externally and internally, including development of external links and opportunities for marketing.

· Develop community links, promoting learning opportunities for pupils and use of school facilities.

· Lead the design and marketing of the school alongside the headteacher. Lead and manage the administrative function, working with the school’s administrative staff to ensure the

· effective delivery of administrative systems.

· To work with the admin team and Clerk to Governors in delivering appropriate liaison with the school governors, including arranging meetings and administrative support as appropriate. Review and manage administrative systems ensuring processes and communications are increasingly effective, implementing new systems as appropriate.

· Act as liaison with the DfE and LEA and to be responsible for the records and returns required.

· Ensure effective liaison with other schools and all interested parties and agencies.

· To be responsible for data protection and compliance with relevant regulations.

· To be fully aware of and understanding the duties and responsibilities arising from Keeping Children Safe in Education 2016 and working together in relation to child protection and safeguarding children and young people as this applies to the worker’s role within the organization.

· To also be fully aware of the principles of safeguarding.

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