Job Description – School Business Manager

Leads & Manages: Media, Admissions, Communications, School Office, Finance Administration, Site Management and Caretaker/cleaners

Title: School Business Manager (SBM)

Work Location: School Based

Reports To: Principal

Job Purpose

  1. The School Business Manager is the school & SFO’s leading support staff professional and works as part of the Senior Management Team (SMT) to assist the Principal in his/her duty to ensure that the school meets its educational aims.
  2. The School Business Manager is responsible for providing professional leadership and management of school & SFO support staff in partnership with teaching staff, to enhance their effectiveness in order to achieve improved standards of learning and achievement in the school.
  3. The School Business Manager promotes the highest standards of business ethos within the administrative function of the school & SFO and strategically ensures the most effective use of resources in support of the school’s learning objectives.
  4. The School Business Manager is responsible for the:
  • Financial Resource Management/Administration/Compliance/Reporting
  • Media & Communication Management/Administration/Compliance/Reporting
  • Human Resource Management/Administration/Compliance/Reporting
  • Facility & Property Management/Administration/Compliance/Reporting
  • Health & Safety Management/Administration/Compliance/Reporting
  • School Roll Admissions Management/Administration/Compliance/Reporting
  • Act as Secretary to the Board

General Duties Leadership & Strategy

  1. Attend Senior Management Team & Board and sub-committee meetings
  2. Negotiate and influence strategic decision making within the school’s Senior Management Team
  3. In the absence of the Head Teacher, take delegated responsibility for Financial and other decisions
  4. Plan and manage change in accordance with the school strategic plan.
  5. To lead and manage all non-teaching staff

Administration

  1. Manage the whole school administrative function and lead all support staff.
  2. Design and maintain administrative systems that deliver outcomes based on the school’s aims and goals
  3. Manage systems and link processes that interact across the school to form complete systems
  4. Define responsibilities, information and support for staff and other stakeholders
  5. Develop process measures that are affordable and that will enable value for money decisions for those managing resources
  6. Establish and use effective methods to review and improve administrative systems
  7. Use data analysis, evaluation and reporting systems to maximum effect by ensuring systems are streamlined to maximise efficiency and avoid duplication

Financial

  1. Evaluate information, report and consult with the Senior Management Team and Board to prepare a realistic and balanced budget for school activity
  2. Submit the proposed budget to the Principal and the Board for approval and assist the overall financial planning and reporting process
  3. Discuss, negotiate and agree the final budget
  4. Use the agreed budget to actively monitor and control performance to achieve value for money
  5. Identify and inform the Principal and Board of the causes of significant variance and take prompt corrective action
  6. Propose revisions to the budget if necessary, in response to significant or unforeseen developments
  7. Provide ongoing budgetary information to relevant people
  8. Advise the Principal and Board if fraudulent activities are suspected or uncovered
  9. Maintain a strategic financial plan that will indicate the trends and requirements of the school development plan and will forecast future year budgets
  10. Identify additional finance required to fund the school’s proposed activities
  11. Seek and make use of specialist financial expertise
  12. Maximise income through lettings and other activities, including additional income revenue and funding sources
  13. Present timely and fully costed proposals, recommendations or bids ensuring safe and transparent accountability.Expenditures over 50000kr will have a minimum of three alternative bids that will be kept on record indefinitely.
  14. Put formal finance agreements in place with suitable providers for agreed amounts, at agreed times and appropriate agreed costs and repayment schedules
  15. Monitor the effectiveness and implementation of agreements

Media & Communication

  1. Set up, monitor and maintain effective social media presence across multiple platforms
  2. Set up, monitor and maintain effective emergency communication systems
  3. Prepare press releases and maintain an awareness of marketing potential

Human Resource

  1. Ensure the school’s equality policy is clearly communicated to all staff in school
  2. Apply Child Protection procedures within the context of recruitment.
  3. Ensure that all recruitment, grievance, disciplinary and redundancy policies and procedures comply with legal and regulatory requirements
  4. Support the leadership team in the recruitment, performance management, appraisal and development for all non-teaching staff.
  5. Monitor the relevant legal, regulatory, ethical and social requirements and the effect they have on your school and staff
  6. Ensure people have a clear understanding of the policies and procedures and the importance of putting them into practice
  7. Monitor the way policies and procedures are actioned and provide support where necessary.
  8. Seek and make use of specialist expertise in relation to HR issues
  9. Evaluate the school’s strategic objectives and obtain information for workforce planning
  10. Identify the types of skills, knowledge, understanding and experience required to undertake existing and future planned activities

Facility & Property

  1. Ensure the supervision of relevant planning and construction processes is undertaken in line with contractual obligations
  2. Ensure the safe maintenance and security operation of all school premises
  3. Manage the maintenance of the school site including the purchase and repair of all furniture and fittings
  4. Ensure the continuing availability of utilities, site services and equipment
  5. Follow sound practices in estate management and grounds maintenance
  6. Monitor, assess and review contractual obligations for outsourced school services
  7. Ensure a safe environment for the stakeholders of the school to provide a secure environment in which due learning processes can be provided
  8. Ensure ancillary services e.g. snow clearance, cleaning, etc., are monitored and managed effectively
  9. Manage the letting of school premises to external organisations, for the development of the extended services and local community requirements.
  10. Seek professional advice on insurance and advise the SMT on appropriate insurances for the school and implement and manage such schemes accordingly.

Health & Safety

  1. Act as the school’s Health & Safety Coordinator and Fire Officer.
  2. Plan, instigate and maintain records of fire practices and alarm tests.
  3. Ensure the school’s written health & safety policy statement is clearly communicated and available to all people
  4. Ensure the health & safety policy is implemented at all times, put into practice and is subject to review and assessment at regular intervals or as situations change
  5. Enable regular consultation with people on health and safety issues
  6. Ensure systems are in place to enable the identification of hazards and risk assessments
  7. Ensure systems are in place for effective monitoring, measuring and reporting of health and safety issues to the Senior Management Team, Board and where appropriate the Arbeidstilsynet
  8. Ensure the maximum level of security consistent with the ethos of the school

School Roll Admissions

  1. Apply admission policy to student applicants
  2. Notify SMT of newly accepted students
  3. Notify IT and finance team of newly accepted students
  4. Advice parents about the programs offered, admission procedure, eligibility and costs involved.
  5. Provide assistance in completing the enrolment forms.
  6. Arrange orientation and induction programs as defined by the SMT
  7. Develop innovative communication strategies, recruitment strategies and enrolment plans in coordination with senior management to attract and enrol more students.
  8. Maintain a database of student information

Secretary to the Board

  1. Record and distribute minutes from meetings
  2. Maintain records and documentation for the board including bylaws, standard operating procedures
  3. Provide safekeeping of all official contracts and records in a secure location
  4. Published notices of scheduled meetings are required in the bylaws
  5. Prepare reports for external agencies
  6. Track board member terms and facilitate election process
  7. Ensure that key contact information for the organization’s leadership team is current