School Business Manager

Main purpose

The Business Manager is a member of the school’s senior leadership team and is responsible for managing the strategic operation of the business functions of the Southover Partnership, including compliance, financial management, health and safety, human resources, premises, IT, and general administration.

The successful candidate will advise on and implement the day-to-day support that enables the Southover Partnership to operate effectively and efficiently, and which allows other members of the leadership team to focus on teaching and learning.

Duties and responsibilities

Leadership and strategy

· Under the direction of the Executive Headteacher (EHT), lead on all financial matters in the Southover Partnership, to enable successful financial performance and to ensure financial decisions are clearly linked to the Southover Partnership’s strategic goals

· Oversee recruitment processes and procedures

· Attend all senior leadership team meetings and report to Trustees where appropriate

· Allocate resources in line with the Southover Partnership school improvement plan and carry out long-term resource planning that reflects the school’s 5-year plan

· Take all decisions in line with the vision and values of the Southover Partnership, and encourage others to do the same

· Oversee and implement a marketing plan for the Southover Partnership, which utilises the Southover Partnership website, signage, the prospectus, and communications with current and prospective parents in collaboration with the EHT and Heads of School

· Monitor developments in technology and consider how it can be used to enhance the Southover Partnership’s business procedures and processes

· Implement the organisation’s fundraising and income generation strategy, choosing fundraising priorities in line with the Southover partnership strategic vision

· Be responsible for performance appraisal for all administrative staff, including supporting professional development

· Alongside the wider leadership team, ensure staff well-being is a priority and that the systems and processes are in place to support staff to be effective in their role

Compliance

· Manage the Southover Partnership’s compliance with statutory obligations including the SCR, and advise others on the relevant legal, regulatory and ethical requirements

· Track all the Southover Partnership policies and ensure they are updated in accordance with the policy review schedule

· Monitor and update the risk register

· Ensure that the Southover Partnership has adequate insurance cover at all times to include employer's liability, public liability, buildings and equipment cover, personal accident, professional indemnity, travel insurance and other relevant cover. (Professional advice should invariably be sought)

·To support the EHT to ensure that the school is compliant with all parts of the ISI guidelines.                                                                                                                 

Financial management

· In partnership with the EHT & SLT, create and manage the Southover Partnership’s budget and forecast future years’ budgets ensuring it is balanced, realistic, represents an effective use of funds and enables the EHT to make strategic, long-term decisions

· Submit the budget to the Trustee Board annually, & provide and present financial reports at least termly for the Trustees, providing insightful information to aid short- and longer-term decisions, including the consideration of financial risks

· Monitor the budget all year round, by providing monthly management accounts and reports to the EHT, advising where revisions or changes are needed, annotating all material variances and taking actions to rectify negative variances

· Manage day to day financial operations, including cash flow, invoicing, debt collection, payroll, payments and other transactions

· Ensure spending on petty cash and company cards is within the limits of the finance policy. Oversee the reconciliation of these accounts

· Review all monthly postings as part of the month end process, calculating and posting cut off adjustments e.g. accruals, prepayments and deferred income

· Deal with any customer and supplier account queries that have been escalated by the team

· Authorise supplier BACS payments and ensure all other external payments (e.g. PAYE and pensions) are up to date

· Comply with financial reporting requirements and submit statutory returns to the Charity Commission and Companies House

· Prepare accounts ready for audit, liaising with the auditor to ensure a prompt sign off of the annual accounts

· Oversee the Southover Partnership bank accounts on a day-to-day basis, ensuring money is banked, invoices are paid promptly, money owed is collected, and clear records are kept

· Lead on procurement processes, managing tenders where appropriate, conducting due diligence, benchmarking and evaluating suppliers, negotiating deals and ensuring value for money 

· Ensure the effective and efficient operation of staff involved in finance, delegating tasks to finance/administrative staff where appropriate; in particular, bookkeeping tasks, Local Authority contract management and resource ordering, to ensure best value

· Ensure that where applicable, Gift Aid is claimed on all charitable donations

· Maintain a strategic financial plan that will indicate the trends and requirements of the Southover Development Plan and will help formulate future year budgets

· At least annually, review calculations of fees and charges made to local authorities and schools to ensure they are appropriate and financially sound

Fundraising

· Investigate and recommend potential funders and funding streams to EHT and Trustees and follow up as required

Human resources

· Manage the Southover Partnership’s payroll provision with the payroll provider and approve monthly payrolls, ensuring all staff are paid correctly in a timely manner

· Manage day to day administration of the Pension scheme re starters, leavers and ad hoc forms, updating pension provider with monthly payroll contributions

· Ensure that recruitment, appraisal, disciplinary and grievance policies are administered in accordance with employment law

· With the EHT, conduct reviews of the Southover Partnership’s staffing structure to ensure effective deployment of staff and financial efficiency

· Ensure compliance with all relevant aspects of employment law including employment protection, equal pay, minimum wage, Working Time Directive, pensions or discrimination on the grounds of sex, race or disability

· Act as the EHT’s adviser on employment matters, including disciplinary procedures and ensure that the Southover Partnership has appropriate disciplinary and grievance procedures. Liaise with the external HR adviser where appropriate

· Participate in the recruitment of staff and handle related administration. Be responsible for ensuring the recruitment procedures are in line with Partnership policies

· Ensure that all relevant staff have contracts of employment including variations and maternity leave arrangements. Keep the Southover Partnership 's standard contracts & terms and conditions of service up-to-date as new legislation takes effect

· Lead on and monitor the effective use of staff access to support, counselling, Occupational Health and Education Support services both internally and externally in accordance with the Partnership policies and procedures

· Work with members of the Partnership Leadership Team to ensure that staff development needs are identified and that appropriate programmes are designed to meet such needs

Health and safety and facility & property management

· With the EHT, supervise the maintenance of the Southover Partnership’s sites

· Supervise the Facilities, Site and IT Officer to ensure Southover Partnership’s compliance with health and safety regulations, and put in place processes and procedures to ensure the safety of all in the Southover Partnership  

· Manage the Facilities, Site and IT Officer to:

· Ensure a safe, properly maintained and secure environment on all sites for the stakeholders of the Southover Partnership in which safe and effective learning can be provided

· Ensure the supervision of relevant planning and construction processes is undertaken in line with contractual obligations

· Ensure the continuing availability of utilities, site services and equipment

· Monitor, assess and review contractual obligations for outsourced services

· Ensure ancillary services e.g., cleaning, etc., are monitored and managed effectively

Office administration, IT & management information systems

· Keep records in accordance with the Southover Partnership’s record retention schedule and data protection law, ensuring information security and confidentiality at all times

· Administer Governor Hub

· Attend and support the Finance and Governance sub-committee and full Trustee Board meetings & ensure that the administrative support for school governance is carried out to a high standard

· Be the Southover Partnership’s lead on data protection, taking responsibility for monitoring data protection compliance and advising the Southover Partnership community on data protection issues

· Direct the work of the Facilities, Site and IT Officer to ensure the management of IT and management information at the Southover Partnership is efficient and up to date.

The School Business Manager will be required to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people and staff, and follow the Southover Partnership policies and the staff code of conduct.

Please note that this list of duties is illustrative of the general nature and level of responsibility of the role. It is not a comprehensive list of all tasks that the Head of Business and Finance will carry out. The postholder may be required to do other duties appropriate to the level of the role, as directed by the EHT.