School Business Manager

About the job

Key information

• Salary: £33,673 – £37,563 per annum
• Contract Type: Full-Time, Permanent (All Year Round, 52 weeks)
• Working Pattern: Professional autonomy with flexible and remote working during school holidays
• Closing Date: Monday 7 December at midday
• Interview Date: to be confirmed

 

Are you an experienced, resilient School Business Manager looking for your next challenge?

Beech Grove is a thriving, welcoming primary school. We recognise that smooth operational management is vital to our school’s success. We are seeking an accomplished School Business Manager to join our Senior Leadership Team and lead our non-teaching functions.

What will I be doing?

This position balances active, on-site leadership during term time with complete autonomy during school holidays. While you need to be on-site when the school is open to manage daily operations, the school holiday periods offer total flexibility. We do not expect you to work in school during the holidays; instead, you have the trust to manage your own hours and work entirely from home to deliver your year-round responsibilities.

This is a varied, fast-paced role in a busy primary school. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, you will be required to manage competing priorities and changing demands. We are ideally looking for an experienced leader who can hit the ground running, though we welcome applications from driven professionals ready to step up and strategically develop our business functions.

Key Responsibilities

As our SBM, you will have total oversight of the school’s non-teaching operations, keeping our environment safe, compliant, and financially sound:

• Finance: Managing the school budget, financial forecasting, procurement, processing payroll data, and ensuring strict compliance with financial standards.
• Human Resources: Leading support staff recruitment, managing personnel records, overseeing contracts, and advising the Headteacher on HR policies.
• Health & Safety: Serving as the competent person for H&S, managing premises/maintenance contracts, risk assessments, and compliance.
• Information Technology: Overseeing the school’s IT infrastructure, managing management information systems (e.g., SIMS/Arbor), and ensuring GDPR compliance.
• Leadership: Sitting on the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to shape the strategic direction of the school and line-managing our administrative and site teams.
• Data Protection: Acting as the designated Data Protection Lead for the school; overseeing GDPR compliance, managing freedom of information (FOI) and subject access requests (SARs), and serving as the internal point of contact for data governance.

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?

The Ideal Candidate

• Proven Experience: You must have direct, demonstrable experience working as an SBM or School Bursar in a UK school environment.
• Thick-Skinned & Adaptable: You thrive under pressure, can juggle competing priorities calmly, and are comfortable managing a high-volume workload.
• Expert Multi-Tasker: You are equally comfortable talking budget forecasts with governors as you are coordinating a boiler repair with the site manager.
• Qualified: Ideally, you hold a Level 4 (or higher) Diploma in School Business Management (CSBM/DSBM) or an equivalent finance/business qualification.

What is in it for me?

• A supportive Headteacher and Governing Body who trust your expertise.
• Tailored working patterns, including compressed hours and working from home.
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Continuous professional development opportunities.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Working as part of a strong team, which includes an Office Manager and Finance and Admin Assistant.

Supporting documents and information

Ready to Apply?

If you are a strong team player committed to making a real difference, we want to hear from you!

To request further information and an application form, please contact our school office on 01823 662438 or by email at office@beechgrove.somerset.sch.uk

Beech Grove School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects its staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All posts require a police check through the disclosure process.

Part of our safer recruitment process includes carrying out online searches for all shortlisted candidates. This process will involve recording any information that suggests a candidate may: be unqualified for the role; pose a safeguarding risk; risk damaging the school’s reputation. By submitting an application for the advertised post, you are giving consent for these searches to be carried out.

Apply on the Beech Grove Primary School website

Apply now