Chief Operating Officer
The Kingston Academy
Kingston Upon Thames
- Expired
- Salary:
- £53,000 - £75,000
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- Summer 2018
- Apply by:
- 28 April 2018
Job overview
The Kingston Educational Trust is looking to appoint a Chief Operating Officer. The successful candidate will work closely with the Head, our Trust, Senior Leadership and the professional services team to ensure the School delivers against its vision as it grows from a start up operation to full capacity in 2021. They will not only need to be highly financially literate, ideally with an accountancy qualification, but will also be tasked with ensuring that all activities across a broad portfolio of strategic planning, finance, HR, compliance, risk management, IT, administration, marketing and stakeholder relations, to serve the vision and strategic direction of the school.
Key responsibilities are as follows:
- To act as the school’s leading support staff professional and assist the Head Teacher in her duty to ensure that the school meets its educational aims.
- To be responsible for providing professional leadership and management of school support staff in partnership with teaching staff, to enhance their effectiveness in order to achieve improved standards of learning and achievement in the school.
- To promote the highest standards of business ethos within the administrative function of the school and strategically ensure the most effective use of resources in support of the school’s learning objectives.
- To be ultimately responsible for the Financial Resource Management and Financial Operations, Administration Management, ICT, Human Resource Management, Facility & Property Management and Health & Safety Management of the School.
The Chief Operating Officer will also be appointed as the Trust's Chief Financial Officer.
We are looking for a candidate to start in this role as soon as possible.
The recruitment round for this role is being run in parallel with recruitment for splitting this role in two: Finance and Procurement Manager and Operations Manager. The calibre of applicants will determine whether a single appointment or two appointments are made.
Visiting the SchoolPrior to submitting your application, you are very welcome to visit the school in for a tour and to meet with the Head Teacher, Ms Sophie Cavanagh. Should you wish to do so, please contact her PA, Justine Free, on 0208 465 6208 or email jfree@thekingstonacademy.org.
Application ProcessPlease complete an online application by Sunday 29th April.
Candidate Assessment Day: Friday 4th May (candidates should keep this day free when applying for this position). As part of this assessment, candidates will be required to:
- complete in-tray exercises re: finance and HR
- complete a written safe-guarding task
- meet with a panel of our pupils
- complete a panel interview with representatives from Kingston Educational Trust and the School Senior Leadership Team. Candidates are asked to prepare a 10 minute presentation in two parts for delivery at the start of the panel interview:
- Explain what guides your work as a Chief Operating Officer in an Academy for the short and medium term.
- An effective Chief Operating Officer must have demonstrable impact upon pupil outcomes. Explain how you would achieve this through your various remits.
We look forward to receiving your application.
Attached documents
About The Kingston Academy
The Kingston Academy is an ambitious and outstanding new mixed, mainstream secondary school located in a newly renovated traditional school building and significant, state-of-the-art new extension in Kingston upon Thames, near to the River Thames.
The Kingston Academy was established in 2015 by the Kingston Educational Trust, a partnership between Kingston University, Kingston College and the Royal Borough of Kingston. The school initially opened with a single cohort of Year 7 pupils and has grown every year with an additional year group. It will eventually comprise all year groups including a Sixth Form in 2021-22.
The school's first full Ofsted inspection took place in May 2018 and the resulting report declared the school to be outstanding in all categories with no areas identified as needing improvement.
The announcement of the new cohort for September 2019 revealed the school to be heavily oversubscribed, drawing from a catchment area of less than 1km from the school.
Headteacher
Ms. Sophie Cavanagh
Values and vision
The Kingston Academy has an ethos of inclusion, where all are welcomed and every individual is valued for who they are and what they can bring to the school. The focus on learning and communication is powered by a STEM-focused curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
The secondary school helps to build a strong sense of identity, encouraging students to be global citizens and to value their place in the wider world. Teachers are offered continuing professional development, which allows them to keep up with new technologies and best practices.
'Teaching successfully challenges all groups of pupils to aim high and achieve their best.' Ofsted, June 2018
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