About the role
We are seeking to appoint a talented, energetic and resourceful School Business Manager, who has a proven track record in financial and resources management, to lead our Office Team.
As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, you will be working alongside our Headteacher, the SLT, and our governors to ensure that the school continues to build on its strong reputation for providing an excellent educational offer for all its children.
Cottenham Primary School is a large, maintained school, located six miles north of Cambridge and serving the villages of Cottenham and Rampton. The school has just under 500 pupils on roll and has an annual budget of over £3 million. The school site is large and well resourced: supporting a happy and dynamic working environment.
What will you be doing?
The successful candidate will demonstrate the following skills and experience:
- Ability to provide strategic support to the Headteacher and Governing Body in all aspects of school business management.
- Understanding of key Human Resource issues, including recruitment, retention and employment law.
- Ability to take a leading role in the strategic planning of the school and develop the necessary tactics in order to ensure successful delivery of improvement plans, alongside leadership colleagues and governors.
- Manage financial management systems, including: whole school budget (including specific grants such as the Pupil Premium and the Sports Premium); accounting and reporting procedures; preparation of financial returns to external stakeholders; liaison with Local Authority and auditors; reporting to governors; and manage all financial tenders and contracts.
- Manage all aspects of the school’s Health & Safety obligations alongside the Assistant School Business Manager and support the Office Manager and Site Manager in managing premises maintenance, development and lettings of school site.
- Oversee the Appraisal cycle and training of all staff (including the professional development of the Office Team).
- Likely have a successful career history as a School Business Manager or have a financial or management accounting background.
About you
If you would like further information about this role and/or to visit our school, please contact the school office on 01954 250227 or via office@cottenham.cambs.sch.uk
An application form, Job Description and Person Specification can be . found on the school website at: http://www.cottenhamprimary.co.uk.
Requests for flexible working will be considered.
Closing date: Midday, Friday 12 June 2026. Interviews - to be advised.
About us
Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.
Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.
We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don’t meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don’t be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Through a Guaranteed Interview Scheme, we will offer an interview to all applicants who disclose a disability and meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy. On your application form you can indicate you are disabled. Some examples of reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.
Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.
