Chief Operating Officer (COO)

This is an exciting opportunity to help lead and shape the UK’s longest established and world leading practice-based film school, located in the heart of London’s Covent Garden and benefitting from new premises and equipment following an extensive revamp during 2024.

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a key role leading on all non-academic business of the School. Reporting to the Director as part of the Senior Leadership Team, and working closely with the Board of Governors, the COO provides strong financial and operational management to underpin the day-to-day running of the school’s activities, as well as ensuring the School is well placed to meet the key challenges ahead.

A key priority is to complete work on the transformation following the recent move to new premises in Covent Garden. The role requires a high degree of financial planning and commercial acumen and ensuring that an engaging change management programme continues to flow across all aspects of the School.

The School is a not-for-profit educational charity, and the COO needs to work within the framework of the Charity Commission guidelines and the changing regulatory regime for higher education. We are registered with the Office for Students and receive World-Leading Specialist Provider funding from them. The COO will play a key role in maintaining the operational functions and profile of the school, and in preparing the bid for future funding.

The successful candidate will demonstrate strong and proven financial management skills, commercial acumen and be able to build strong partnerships across a range of areas. Day-to-day, you will need to establish a strong set of operational deliverables and ensure progress towards and delivery of all goals.

The COO will have highly effective communication skills and a track record in excellent stakeholder management and team building. They will be working with the Director to ensure the School continues to deliver its strategic change programme, taking staff, students, alumni and partners on the journey, whilst continuing to maintain its presence as a prestige institution.

The post-holder will play a key leadership role and will therefore need to demonstrate evidence of strong leadership skills, with the ambition and vision to drive the school’s services to meet future strategic challenges.

The functions reporting to the COO are Finance, Facilities, HR, IT, Registry and Programme administration.

Further information & how to apply

For further information on this role and for details of how to apply, please click the ‘apply’ button to be redirected to our website. Closing date is 9am Friday 7 February 2025.

We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential; please contact us if you require any assistance or adjustment so that we can help with making the application process work for you. We offer a guaranteed interview to applicants with a disability, who meet the essential criteria for the role.

Applicants must be able to provide proof of their ongoing right to live and work in the UK. It is a condition of any offer of work for the School, which we may make to you, that you have, or gain, permission to work in the UK. By law, you will not be able to start working for us until you are able to provide evidence that this permission has been granted.

LFS is an equal opportunities employer. Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we especially encourage applications from people who identify as disabled and/or identify as LGBTQIA, black, Asian or are from minority ethnic backgrounds as these groups are under-represented at all levels of staff at LFS.

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