School Business Manager (SBM) | Progressive Community...

CORE PURPOSE

We require an exceptionally strategic, highly organized School Business Manager (SBM) to serve as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and oversee the non-teaching operations of our vibrant community academy. Reporting directly to the Headteacher, the successful candidate will assume total operational and strategic responsibility for the school’s financial management, estate compliance, administrative infrastructure, human resources administration, and health and safety systems. You will ensure that all resources are optimized to directly support outstanding educational outcomes, maintaining a safe, financially sustainable, and highly efficient learning environment for our students and staff.

THE SCHOOL

Our academy is an academically ambitious, highly supportive state school situated in the Outer London Borough of Barnet. We are dedicated to cultivating a mature, inclusive learning environment where high expectations and outstanding community care go hand in hand. Widely recognized for our strong behavioural standards, proactive leadership, and cohesive staff culture, we offer an exceptionally collaborative professional atmosphere. Our school site features a blend of modern, purpose-built learning environments and extensive grounds, requiring a sophisticated and forward-planning approach to estate management. We operate with highly structured centralized systems, ensuring that our support staff, administrative teams, and premises departments are fully integrated, respected, and valued across the wider academy.

KEY TASKS & DAILY OPERATIONS

• Strategic Financial Leadership: Lead the development, monitoring, and execution of the school's annual budget in close alignment with the School Development Plan (SDP). Manage monthly payroll, cash-flow forecasting, procurement benchmarking, and tender negotiations to ensure strict adherence to ESFA/LA regulations and achieve maximum "best value" across all service contracts.

• Estates, Compliance, & Safety Oversight: Line-manage the premises team and monitor the maintenance of the academy's physical assets. Oversee statutory compliance files—including fire safety, asbestos, legionella, and electrical testing—and advise the Headteacher and Governing Board on risk assessments and health and safety legislation.

• Support Staff Team Management: Direct, motivate, and manage the administrative, finance, and site operations teams. Standardize high-quality administrative procedures, design efficient digital communications, and coordinate professional development and performance appraisals for all non-teaching staff.

• HR Administration & Safeguarding Compliance: Oversee the administrative execution of safer recruitment, pre-employment screening, and contract generation. Partner with the Headteacher to meticulously maintain the school's Single Central Record (SCR), ensuring complete, inspection-ready compliance with all statutory safeguarding standards.

• Income Generation & Lettings: Drive school income generation by identifying grant-funding opportunities, managing community lettings of our premium facilities, and optimizing resources to support both academy budgets and local community initiatives.

PROFILE REQUIREMENTS

• Qualifications: A recognized professional qualification in School Business Management (such as DSBM, CSBM, or equivalent Level 4/5 qualification), or a relevant professional degree/qualification in Accountancy, Business Administration, or Human Resources.

• Operational Experience: Proven, successful experience managing complex budgets, financial systems, estate operations, and diverse support teams, ideally within an educational, public sector, or high-footfall organizational environment.

• Strategic & Collaborative Ethos: Outstanding communication, analytical, and digital systems skills, possessing the leadership capacity and hands-on approach required to balance high-level financial strategy with day-to-day practical problem solving as part of a busy senior leadership team.

REGIONAL CONTEXT

• An Academically Prestigious North London Borough Connecting Communities: Based in the historically significant and culturally diverse London Borough of Barnet, the school capitalizes on an exceptional regional identity defined by a reputation for outstanding academic standards, leafy suburban spaces, and a thriving local economy. Blending highly desirable residential neighbourhoods with progressive, multicultural town centres, Barnet provides a fantastic, real-world landscape for strategic school management. Operating within this highly collaborative educational network allows the School Business Manager to connect directly with regional local authority frameworks, local business partnerships, and a deeply supportive community of local families.

• Connectivity & Infrastructure: The campus benefits from premium North London transport infrastructure, offering straightforward commuting routes via the strategic M1 motorway corridor, the A406 North Circular Road, and the A1. Public transit networks operate continuously via comprehensive Transport for London (TfL) bus networks and the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line. Additionally, Thameslink rail connections link the borough effortlessly to St Pancras International, Hertfordshire, and the South East, making the school highly accessible for commuting educational professionals across London and the Home Counties.

APPLICATION INTAKE

Please submit your current CV to begin the application process.