Business Systems Manager

We are seeking an experienced Information Systems Manager to own, lead, and evolve the core business systems landscape within Berkhamsted school, a multisite independent school environment all based in Berkhamsted town. This is a pivotal role, bridging IT, Data, Finance, HR, and Academic teams, ensuring business‑critical platforms are reliable, well‑governed, secure, and delivering real organisational insight. You will have end‑to‑end ownership of systems including iSAMS (MIS), iTrent (HR & Payroll) and Sage (Finance), working closely with internal stakeholders and external partners to drive continuous improvement, automation, and high‑quality reporting.

This is a high‑impact role offering real ownership, autonomy, and the chance to modernise and improve how data and systems support education. You’ll work closely with senior leaders, influence strategy, and help shape the future of business systems across the school. Berkhamsted is a well developed, well funded and digitally progressive organisation with a substantial IT team as evidenced by their annual IT Conference. Always with a view to the future they facilitate excellent rounded education whilst building digital literacy and resilience. It was one of the first schools to implement 1‑1 devices which has enabled digital learning across the school. In addition to a close knit team of IT professionals, you’ll receive excellent benefits including access to facilities, free lunches during term time, excellent pension and a host of other benefits. This is primarily an onsite role, easily accessible by car from M25 and M1, and mainline train stations from London or Midlands, however Hybrid may also be considered in time or for the right candidate.

Key Responsibilities

• Business Systems Ownership
  • Act as product owner for core platforms: iSAMS, iTrent and Sage, plus associated integrations and portals
  • Plan and deliver upgrades, patches, and annual cycles (e.g. payroll year‑end, iSAMS rollovers, Sage updates)
  • Ensure system availability, performance, licensing compliance and vendor SLA management
• Data, Reporting & Insights
  • Lead the analytics roadmap using Power BI, delivering executive dashboards and governed datasets
  • Maintain and evolve SQL‑based reporting (SSRS, SAP Business Objects)
  • Champion data quality, ownership, and standards across student, staff and finance data
• Integrations & Security
  • Own integrations between business systems and identity platforms (Entra ID / Azure AD), finance, HR and academic tools
  • Ensure secure access models, SSO/MFA configuration, and least‑privilege principles
  • Support audits, compliance requirements, and statutory returns
• Leadership & Collaboration
  • Line manage Business Systems staff and embed strong service discipline
  • Partner with Finance, HR, Data and Academic leadership to translate operational needs into system improvements
  • Manage third‑party suppliers, consultants and implementation partners
• Continuous Improvement
  • Identify and deliver automation and digital process improvements using low‑code tools (Power Platform)
  • Lead small to medium‑scale projects with clear benefits, governance and change management

What We’re Looking For

Essential Experience

• Proven ownership of a school MIS (ideally iSAMS but will also consider Schoolbase, sims, arbor, bromcom etc) and related HR/Finance systems
• Strong working knowledge of SQL, reporting tools, and data models
• Experience delivering system upgrades, migrations and integrations with third‑party vendors
• Hands‑on capability with tools such as Power BI, PowerShell, T‑SQL, APIs, IIS and SharePoint
• Confident stakeholder manager with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly

Desirable

• Experience in the education sector, ideally multisite
• Exposure to Power Platform, Dataverse, or Azure data services
• Familiarity with Agile, Kanban or ITIL ways of working