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:
- A Management or Professional qualification in related area to role e.g. Management Diploma or Finance qualification is desirable.
- Knowledge and understanding of relevant regulations and standards for education
- Knowledge of current inspection frameworks used by regulatory and statutory bodies.
- Safeguarding and legislative procedures when working with children and young people
- 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
- Ability to form & promote positive relationships with and between young people, employees, parents and representatives of outside agencies
- Ability to define high, appropriate and attainable standards, and achieve them
- Effective team leadership and management
- 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 education experience prominently as this specialist role focuses on Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs
📊 Quantify your budget management: 'Managed £2.1M annual budget, achieving 98% accuracy in forecasting'
🎯 Emphasise your Senior Leadership Team experience and autonomous decision-making capabilities
🌐 Showcase knowledge of education inspection frameworks and regulatory compliance experience
🤝 Detail your team recruitment and development achievements, especially in education settings
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 financial systems and EBITDA reporting for new 180-student academy, delivering £1.2M annual budget management with 99% accuracy
- •Led recruitment of 15-person support team across facilities, finance and administration, achieving full staffing 8 weeks ahead of school opening
- •Implemented safeguarding compliance framework meeting Ofsted requirements, resulting in 'Good' rating at first inspection within 18 months
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Letter preview — tailored to Randstad Education
Dear Hiring Manager,
Randstad Education's new SEMH school in Market Harborough represents exactly the leadership challenge I'm seeking, combining my financial systems expertise with passion for supporting vulnerable learners. My experience in EBITDA management and education inspection frameworks positions me perfectly for this Senior Leadership Team role.
My background in establishing operational systems from inception, particularly in educational settings, has prepared me to lead the business functions of your 72-student capacity school. I understand the unique requirements of SEMH provision and the importance of creating robust financial controls whilst maintaining focus on student outcomes.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How would you approach setting up financial systems for a new SEMH school from scratch?
- ›What experience do you have with EBITDA reporting in educational settings?
- ›How do you ensure compliance with safeguarding regulations in school operations?
- ›Describe your knowledge of current education inspection frameworks
- ›What financial controls would you implement for a 72-student capacity school?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you had to build a team from the ground up
- ›Describe a situation where you had to make difficult budget decisions
- ›How have you handled conflict between staff members and external agencies?
- ›Give an example of when you implemented a new process that improved efficiency
- ›Tell me about a time you had to work with high autonomy and accountability
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 build a team from the ground up
Describe a situation where you had to make difficult budget decisions