Job overview

Black Firs Primary School Business Manager

Grade 7 NJC 18-23 Actual salary £18,857 (FTE salary £31,538 - £34,436)

25 hours per week

Term time plus INSETS and additional 5 school holiday days per annum

About the school

Black Firs Primary School is a welcoming, friendly and inclusive school, where children are happy and have a desire to learn. The staff are dedicated and put the children at the heart of everything they do. We are all determined that our pupils will thrive, be happy and successful. We are a one and a half form school with a thriving 52 place Pre-School and have recently opened our 15 place two year old offer.

We share a clear vision for improving our children’s life chances through providing equality of opportunity, an engaging and purposeful curriculum and high-quality teaching and learning.

The leadership team are determined to provide our children with the best possible education and life opportunities and this starts with recruiting great staff who will inspire, motivate and help our children achieve their goals.

The Headteacher and Governing Body of Black Firs Primary School wish to recruit a School Business Manager. We are looking to appoint a skilled and highly motivated individual to work in this role with our Headteacher and our committed team. They will receive support from our HR, finance and estates teams within our multi-academy trust, The Learning Partnership.

 About the role

The Headteacher and Governing Body of Black Firs Primary School wish to appoint a School Business Manager to start as soon as possible to lead their financial operations. We are looking for an experienced professional, who has a self-driven approach to problem solving and high-level communication, literacy and numeracy skills. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone with enthusiasm and drive to join the team at Black Firs Primary School and become part of our ‘Black Firs Family’.

The successful post holder will work alongside committed colleagues in the school to provide strategic leadership and management at school level regarding all aspects of finance, administration, HR, and operational support.

Relevant experience of working with schools financial management would be beneficial, although not essential.

 Personal qualities

• Working towards or have administrative, financial or accounting qualifications equivalent to national qualifications level 6, or Advanced Diploma of School Business Management
• Ability to make decisions in relation to the development and operational delivery services within school
• Management experience involving varied activities across a range of functions including administration, finance and HR
• Business and financial management of school resources
• Financial preparation and planning, forecasting and expenditure of a school budget
• Successful team management and leadership
• Ability to produce management information reports
• Responsibility for generating income, including grant applications and facilities management
• Develop, implement and monitor school policies and procedures
• Analytical, judgemental and creative skills required to interpret varied and complex information 
• Knowledge of theory and practise of business and administration management including finance, procurement, administration, management of staff
• Effective use of specialist ICT packages
• Proven ability to prioritise own and team workloads to meet deadlines
• Ability to set clear objectives and targets
• Ability to relate well to children and adults
• Knowledge/experience of MIS systems (Arbor)
• Managing DfE submissions & compliance (Census/SWFC/SFVS/SCR)
• To lead on development of health and safety plans within the school
• Support the Headteacher with communication and advertising for the school through website and other channels such as social media.

We are looking for a person who:

•  Has a calm approach 
• Maintains confidentiality 
• Has a good sense of humour 
• Has an empathetic nature 
• Is enthusiastic 
• Has the ability to adapt to a variety of situations 
• Demonstrates initiative
• Works well as part of a team

Our school community places the highest priority on keeping our children safe. Applicants for the post will be subject to stringent vetting and induction processes and satisfactory pre-employment checks including references.

Please complete the application form on line and accompany with a supporting letter of no more than 2 sides of A4.

Visits to the school are warmly welcomed.

Please contact the school on 01260 272 935 or email office@black-firs.co.uk if you would like to come and visit the school and meet the leadership team.

Closing Date for Applications: Monday 23rd February 2026 12pm

Shortlisting Date: Tuesday 24th February 2026

Interviews: Friday 27th February 2026

The Learning Partnership is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All staff appointments are subject to satisfactory references and enhanced checks with the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS).

All posts involving direct contact with children are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. However, amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975 (2013 & 2020) provide that certain spent convictions and cautions are 'protected'. These are not subject to disclosure to employers and cannot be taken into account. Guidance and criteria on the filtering of these cautions and convictions can be found on the Ministry of Justice website.

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not be filtered, prior to the date of the interview. You may be asked for further information about your criminal history during the recruitment process. If your application is successful, this self-disclosure information will be checked against information from the Disclosure & Barring Service before your appointment is confirmed.

 The Learning Partnership is committed to the promotion of equality of opportunity and the elimination of discrimination; all applicants should note that they will be considered on the basis of suitability regardless of disability, gender, race, religion, age, sexual orientation and marital status or any other discrimination which is unfair or unreasonable.

We particularly welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities because we would like to increase the representation of these groups at The Learning Partnership. We want to do this because we know greater diversity will lead to even greater outcomes for children. We are proud to be an employer that holds Disability Committed and Menopause Friendly status.

The Trust is ‘happy to talk flexible working’. Flexible working increases workplace diversity by making roles accessible to those with caring responsibilities (primarily women), disabled staff, and both older and younger workers.

 Knowledge and skills:

         Working towards or have administrative, financial or accounting qualifications equivalent to national qualifications level 6, or Advanced Diploma of School Business Management

·        Ability to make decisions in relation to the development and operational delivery services within school

·        Management experience involving varied activities across a range of functions including administration, finance and HR

·        Business and financial management of school resources

·        Financial preparation and planning, forecasting and expenditure of a school budget

·        Successful team management and leadership

·        Ability to produce management information reports

·        Responsibility for generating income, including grant applications and facilities management

·        Develop, implement and monitor school policies and procedures

·        Analytical, judgemental and creative skills required to interpret varied and complex information 

·        Knowledge of theory and practise of business and administration management including finance, procurement, administration, management of staff

·        Effective use of specialist ICT packages

·        Proven ability to prioritise own and team workloads to meet deadlines

·        Ability to set clear objectives and targets

·        Ability to relate well to children and adults

·        Knowledge/experience of MIS systems (Arbor)

·        Managing DfE submissions & compliance (Census/SWFC/SFVS/SCR)

·        To lead on development of health and safety plans within the school

·        Support the Headteacher with communication and advertising for the school through website and other channels such as social media.