Description:
The Business Manager is a key member of the Senior Leadership team in Artemis Education’s newest school in the heart of Doha, Qatar. Reporting directly to the Founding Principal, the Business Manager will be responsible for ensuring excellence in all aspects of the business of running the best school in the country.
Duties and Responsibilities
Financial Management
- Prepare for approval by the Principal and Board the annual estimates of income and expenditure. Obtain agreement of budgets from the Principal/Board and monitor accounts against budgets.
- Advise the Principal on financial policy, preparing appraisals for particular projects and developing a long-term financial strategy for the future development of the school.
- Use financial management information, especially benchmarking, to identify areas of relative spending and advise the Principal accordingly.
- Manage the school accounting function ensuring efficient operation according to agreed procedures.
- Monitor all accounting procedures including: Payroll of staff. Ordering, processing and payment of all goods and services provided to the school. Operation of all bank accounts, ensuring a full reconciliation is undertaken once a month. Preparation of invoices and collection of fees and the recovery bad debts.
- Resolve promptly any financial problems.
- Oversee the preparation of detailed accounts for the Principal/Board and have the accounts audited annually.
- Report on the financial state of the school to the Principal/Board informing them immediately of any exceptional problems.
- Maximise income from lettings and extended school services.
- Administor and maintain accurate petty cash records.
Health & Safety Management/Risk Management
- Ensure effective risk management strategies are in place, for example in health and safety and in any third-party service contracts.
- Know the elements of fire safety and the associated risks to the school through the process of risk management and ensure the facilities are compliant with Civil Defense regulations.
- Know about Health and Safety regulations, particularly the main issues specific to the school and how they relate to students, staff, visitors, contractors and other users of the school premises and facilities.
- Ensure all regular licenses are maintained and ensuring the school is fully compliant
Facility, Property & Resource Management
- Negotiate, manage and monitor contracts, tenders and agreements, ensuring ‘best value’ at all times.
- Appoint and oversee the work of the Facilities Management Company.
- With the agreement of the Principal, manage the letting of the school premises to outside organizations and school staff, and the development of extended school activities with particular reference to the local community.
- Ensure the school utilizes its resources through strategic planning, including consideration of all financial implications.
- Produce timely and fully costed proposals and ensure they are sustainable, for example through five-year budgets.
- Understand the implications of government policies and educational trends and developments and relay this appropriately to the Principal.
Human Resources Management
- Be responsible for general personnel matters, including administration relating to staff recruitment, CRB and medical clearance of new staff and issuing contracts of employment.
- Advise the Principal/Board on assessment of salaries, expenses, sickness and maternity procedures.
- Maintain staff records and ensure that these records held in school are kept confidential.
- Provide leadership and guidance for all non-classroom-based support staff, including line management responsibility.
- Develop an understanding of the role and of the ICT manager and be responsible for the line management of this person.
- Develop an understanding of the role of the Marketing and Admissions Department and be responsible for the line management of this department.
- Manage the professional development, appraisal and training of all non-classroom-based support staff
Administration Responsibilities
- Be responsible for archiving of both financial and personnel records
- Be responsible for the safe disposal of all archived records after the prescribed time scale
- Maintenance of an assets register
Qualifications and Skills
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent (advanced) diploma
- Experience in a senior level position within a service-oriented industry
- Experience of start-up environment in the Middle East
- Expert knowledge of accounts and administrative procedures
- Fluent English communication skills (with a working knowledge of Arabic an advantage)
Competencies
- Attention to detail
- Time Management
- Multi-tasking
- Ability to handle pressure
- People Influencer
- Networking
- Cultural sensitivity
- Confidentiality