Farney Educational Trust
Business Manager
Bolney
Posted about 14 hours ago
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Job Title: Business Manager
Reports to: The Principal
Core Purpose
You will lead all non-educational operations of the Charity. This includes full accountability for finance, infrastructure, facilities, and compliance, ensuring the smooth running of the organisation outside of direct teaching, therapy, and pastoral student care.
Key Responsibilities
Corporate Governance, Risk & Reputation
- Risk Management: Identify, record, and monitor corporate risks via the risk register. Instigate appropriate mitigation strategies as directed by the Board of Trustees.
- Insurance Oversight: Liaise with the Principal, the trustees, senior staff, and the Charity's insurers to secure comprehensive and effective policies, ensuring strict compliance with all terms.
- Statutory Compliance: Maintain the Trust’s Statutory Books and ensure all formal notifications and filings strictly comply with the Companies Act and the Charities Act.
- Policy Formulation: Draft, recommend, and update institutional policies across Finance, Operations, and Facilities to ensure alignment with changing legislation and sector best practices.
- Reputational Protection: Take swift and appropriate action to safeguard the public image, integrity, and long-term reputation of the Charity and its schools.
Financial Management & Strategy
- Team Supervision: Collaborate closely with the Finance Officer to manage all financial systems, records, internal controls, and policies.
- Budgeting & Forecasting: Oversee the timely preparation of budgets and forecasts for Board approval. Manage the delegation and monitoring of these budgets, making day-to-day operational decisions inside and outside budget limits.
- SLT Support: Provide expert financial advice to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and department heads regarding budget preparation, monitoring, and strategic workforce planning.
- Controls & Auditing: Ensure all financial commitments, contracts, and payments are reviewed and authorised against approved protocols. Conduct routine internal audits to monitor system effectiveness.
- Asset & Cash Management: Oversee the management of fixed and liquid assets. Track, analyse, and report actual and forecast financial results and cash flows monthly to the Principal, SLT, budget holders, Trustees, and Governors.
- Payroll & Pensions: Guarantee accurate monthly staff payroll processing in compliance with employment contracts, attendance records, and the Trust's Pay Policy. Oversee pension scheme administration.
- Income & Funding: Manage school fee income, make fee structure recommendations, and handle ongoing liaison with Local Authorities. Lead efforts to maximise alternative income streams via donations, grants, and external lettings.
- Annual Reporting: Work collaboratively with the external auditors and the Finance Officer to prepare the Annual Report and Accounts for Trustee approval and statutory filing. Act as the primary financial liaison with HMRC, the Department for Education (DfE), and Pension Authorities.
- Benchmarking: Keep abreast of external financial trends and benchmark the Charity’s income, operating costs, financial performance, and pay scales against peer organisations.
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Operations, Infrastructure & ICT
- Operational Alignment: Work collaboratively and communicate fully with the School’s SLT on all operational matters to ensure services seamlessly meet the day-to-day needs of students and staff.
- Health, Safety & Welfare: Oversee the development, implementation, and monitoring of robust Health & Safety policies. Ensure rigorous compliance with current Health, Safety, Welfare, and Environmental regulations to protect staff, students, and visitors.
- Contracts & Procurement: Draft for approval and ensure compliance with policies governing tendering, contract management, licensing, and service agreements to secure best-value services.
- Administrative Systems: Oversee the Charity’s administrative function, establishing and maintaining highly effective office systems and procedures.
- ICT & Data Governance: Oversee the ICT function, ensuring hardware, software, and systems meet organizational requirements. Protect data integrity and technical data security in strict compliance with the Data Protection Act and GDPR.
Facilities, Estates & Services
- Budgetary & Legal Compliance: Ensure all facilities, IT, and housekeeping provisions are operated efficiently within budget, meet the school's needs, and fully comply with statutory legislation.
- Maintenance & Refurbishments: Oversee routine maintenance, servicing, and refurbishments. Devise and implement procedures for preventative maintenance and long-term refurbishment of premises and plant machinery.
- Capital Projects: Serve as a core member of the Charity’s Development Committee. Partner with the Estate/Facilities Manager to progress capital projects, liaising with architects, engineers, external advisors, regulatory bodies, and contractors. Stay abreast of building and planning regulations.
- Utilities & Fleet: Oversee the supply of all utilities and services. Manage ongoing liaison with Local Authorities regarding Council Tax and Business Rates. Ensure the vehicle fleet is safely operated and maintained according to legislative requirements.
- Accommodation & Lettings: Manage staff residential accommodation and coordinate the commercial letting of the Charity's physical facilities to external organisations.
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Line Management & Leadership
- You will act as the direct Line Manager for the following key personnel:
- Estates/Facilities Manager
- Finance Officer
- ICT Manager
- Clerk to the Trustees
Management Duties:
- Safeguarding: Ensure that all Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment requirements are strictly complied with at all times across all managed teams.
- Development: Provide appropriate training, coaching, and mentoring to team members. Conduct regular appraisals, performance reviews, and setting of professional objectives.
- Team Motivation: Motivate and facilitate teamwork, cross-departmental collaboration, and good practice to achieve excellent standards of operational service delivery.
- Oversight: Provide strategic oversight of the Charity’s schools to ensure effective financial, administrative, and operational procedures and internal controls are maintained.
Candidate Profile
Experience & Qualifications
- Qualifications in Chartered Accounting or Management Accounting and NEBOSH or IOSH.
- Proven experience in a senior financial and operational leadership role (ideally within education, residential special schools, the public sector, or a registered charity).
- Strong track record of line-managing multi-disciplinary teams across finance, ICT and estate operations.
- Expert knowledge of budgeting, financial forecasting, corporate risk management, and statutory compliance (Companies Act/Charities Act).
Skills & Attributes
- Strategic thinker capable of translating high-level goals into daily operational reality.
- Empathetic and professional leadership style with a core focus on staff wellbeing and physical site safety.
- Exceptional communication skills to advise the Principal, Board, and external agencies effectively.
Additional Information
- This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities. The post holder may be required to undertake other duties that fall reasonably within the grade of the job, following discussion with their line manager (The Principal).
- This post is subject to an Enhanced DBS (with Barred List) check.
- Our school is committed to equality and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment.
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