School Operations Manager in Bristol

The Castle School is looking for a dynamic School Operations Manager to join our dedicated team. Reporting directly to the Headteacher, you will act as the vital link and enabler between our school and the Trust Central Team, ensuring our day-to-day operations are seamless, compliant and fully support our vision of a great education for every child.

About the role

This role is designed to support our Headteacher, working alongside the School Leadership Team to streamline operations and maximise the capacity of school resources. This role will predominantly focus on facilities, compliance and management of the administration function as well as some HR and organisation of school events. This role is an embedded and respected role across the trust, valued by the schools and the Senior Leadership Teams but there is still an opportunity to make it your own. You will have an eye for detail in relation to systems and operational processes, and will be methodical in your approach to safety and compliance.

The key aspects of this role are:

• Building Relationships: It’s vital that you develop and maintain productive working relationships with the Headteacher, Leadership Team, Partnership Team leads and with the school staff. You’ll also be dealing with external contracts, ie. Friends of Lyde Green (FOLG), the chair of the Community Council.
• Communication: You’ll need to communicate effectively with all internal and external stakeholders in person, writing, electronically and by telephone.
• Compliance: You’ll ensure systems and processes are in place for effective management of essential reporting and contingency plans. You’ll be the first point of contact for facilities, recruitment, and the People team.
• Operations: Coordination of critical school records will be your responsibility. You’ll act as liaison in relation to safeguarding and data protection matters. You’ll manage the site estate team, take responsibility for the admin team and provide support to various school teams as required.

You will be joining us at a really exciting time with the arrival of our new Headteacher at The Castle School, and as our Trust merges with TPLT to become Pathway Trust. To ensure this role is perfectly aligned with our expanding trust and provides the best possible support to the school, the job description will be naturally reviewed and refined in the coming months as our new leadership and structures embed.

The ideal candidate for this role will be:

• Highly organised with the ability to manage their time effectively
• A self starter who is capable of acting on their own initiative
• Able to influence stakeholders at all levels and demonstrate strong relationship management skills
• Confident in managing and implementing change
• An exceptional communicator who is personable and able to build effective working relationships

Benefits:

• Happy, engaging students
• A supportive trust and school community
• Strong collaboration across the trust family of schools and access to a centralised team of specialists across all areas of school operations
• A commitment to high‑quality CPD, with dedicated time and budget for your development
• A values‑driven ethos where diversity, equity and inclusion are lived every day
• Recognition of continuous service (modification order) to protect employment rights and entitlements
• Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions and death‑in‑service cover
• Occupational sick pay to support you during illness or unexpected emergencies
• Family‑friendly leave packages to help maintain a healthy work‑life balance

Equal opportunities statement: CSET is committed to equal opportunities and encourages applicants from all backgrounds and communities, as we recognise the importance and benefit this has for our pupils.