School Business Manager
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
School Business Manager
Salary: £45,000 per annum
Start date: September 2026
Location: Market Harborough
Advert closing date: Thursday 7th May at 12pm
Interviews to take place on Wednesday 13th May, venue tbc.
We are currently looking for a School Business Manager to support with the planning, creation, registration, opening and running of a new school, who will be opening their doors in late 2026.
The new school will be nurturing, inclusive and ambitious school for children and young people aged 5-19 with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. With a capacity of 72 students, our vision is to create a safe, enriching and aspirational environment where every learner can thrive.
The Role
The Role of the School Business Manager is an integral part of the Senior Leadership Team with responsibility for the leadership, management supervision and development of the support services within the school, ensuring an efficient, safe, healthy, clean, and comfortable environment is provided within budget and in line with strategic aims and objectives.
There is an expectation that you will act with a high degree of autonomy including responsibility and accountability for managing delegated budgets and resources. The role also involves creating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development plans aimed at bringing about continual improvement in the areas of responsibility.
As this new school is in the development stage, you will be instrumental in the recruitment and development of an effective team to secure the success of what we anticipate being an outstanding school.
Skills & Qualifications
Successful candidates are likely to demonstrate:
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A Management or Professional qualification in related area to role e.g. Management Diploma or Finance qualification is desirable.
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Knowledge and understanding of relevant regulations and standards for education
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Knowledge of current inspection frameworks used by regulatory and statutory bodies.
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Safeguarding and legislative procedures when working with children and young people
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Management and knowledge of EBITDA, financial systems, processes and budget preparation Excellent communication skills with a range of internal and external people, verbally and in writing
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Ability to form & promote positive relationships with and between young people, employees, parents and representatives of outside agencies
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Ability to define high, appropriate and attainable standards, and achieve them
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Effective team leadership and management
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Ability to assess situations accurately, resolve problems effectively and take decisions
For more information and an application pack, please contact Richard Lanning at Randstad on or
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your SEMH experience prominently as this specialist school focuses exclusively on Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs
📊 Quantify your budget management: 'Managed £2.8M annual budget, delivering 15% cost savings through strategic procurement'
🎯 Emphasise your school opening/setup experience as this is a brand new school launching in 2026
🤝 Showcase your Senior Leadership Team experience and autonomous decision-making capabilities
📋 Detail your knowledge of education inspection frameworks and regulatory compliance experience
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Established EBITDA reporting systems for new educational facility, delivering monthly financial dashboards and achieving 12% budget efficiency in first operational year
- •Led Senior Leadership Team through school setup phase, recruiting and developing 15-person support team while maintaining full regulatory compliance
- •Implemented safeguarding procedures and inspection framework compliance for SEMH provision, achieving outstanding rating in first statutory inspection
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Dear Hiring Manager,
Randstad Education's new SEMH school project represents exactly the leadership challenge I've been seeking — which is why I'm applying for the School Business Manager position. My background in education finance and EBITDA management, combined with experience in regulatory compliance and safeguarding procedures, positions me well to lead the business setup for this 72-student specialist provision.
My background in establishing financial systems and managing Senior Leadership Team responsibilities will be crucial during the pre-opening phase through to full operations in Market Harborough.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How would you approach setting up financial systems and EBITDA reporting for a new SEMH school?
- ›What inspection frameworks would you need to consider when establishing this new school?
- ›How would you structure the budget preparation process for a 72-student SEMH school?
- ›What safeguarding procedures would you implement from day one of school operations?
- ›How would you ensure compliance with education regulations during the school setup phase?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you had to set up new systems or processes from scratch
- ›Describe a situation where you had to work with high autonomy and accountability
- ›Give an example of how you've built positive relationships with multiple stakeholders
- ›Tell me about a time you had to resolve a complex problem in an educational setting
- ›Describe how you've led a team through a period of significant change or development
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you had to set up new systems or processes from scratch
Describe how you've led a team through a period of significant change or development