Chief Operating Officer

The Economist Group; England; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Family accommodation

School-fee remission

Wider benefits package

Job summary

Wellington College seeks an exceptional Chief Operating Officer and Group Bursar to shape the next stage of the College's development. The role combines financial stewardship with operational leadership across a large residential community and its international reach.

The successful candidate will lead long-term planning, capital investment and estate development, while identifying growth opportunities and ensuring excellence in services across college life.

Qualifications

• Experience leading financial and operational functions in a large, complex organisation.
• Strong strategic, commercial and governance mindset with a track record of delivering growth and efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Lead long-term financial planning, investment and capital allocation.
• Oversee estate management and major capital development programmes.
• Ensure delivery of services underpinning College life and student experience.
• Identify opportunities for growth, partnerships and commercial development.
• Build trusted relationships with the Master, Governors and Wellington community.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Financial planning

Commercial judgement

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

Job description

Wellington College is one of the UK's – and indeed the world's – great coeducational boarding and day schools. Set within 400 acres of stunning parkland in Berkshire, less than an hour from London and Heathrow, the College is a remarkable place to learn, work and live.

Today, Wellington is a thriving residential community of some 1,100 pupils and approximately 600 teaching and professional staff. Wellington College Prep is similarly one of the country’s oldest preparatory schools, today with around 100 staff and 360 pupils within the group. Its boarding houses, classrooms, homes, theatres, playing fields and woodland sit within the same estate, creating a distinctive rhythm of life and strong sense of belonging. Beyond Berkshire, Wellington College also licences to brand eight premium schools across China, Thailand, India, and Indonesia, serving over 5,000 pupils globally.

At a time when Wellington is developing its international reach, pioneering new thinking around Human Flourishing and artificial intelligence, and exploring new commercial and external partnerships, we are seeking an exceptional individual to serve as Chief Operating Officer and Group Bursar and help shape the next stage of the College's development.

The COO is the second most senior role within Wellington and a close strategic partner to the Master and Governors. Financial stewardship sits at the core of the role, but its remit extends considerably further: providing leadership across the College's professional functions, commercial activities and the complex infrastructure that underpins this large residential community.

The successful candidate will lead long-term financial planning, investment and capital allocation; oversee the management and development of the estate and significant programme of capital investment (current endowment valued at £55.5m as of July 2026); ensure the effective delivery of the services that underpin College life; and help identify new opportunities for growth, partnership and commercial development. They will inherit an exceptionally strong financial and operational platform, but also genuine permission to help shape what comes next.

Candidates will bring financial sophistication, commercial judgement and broad senior leadership experience gained within a sizeable and complex organisation. They will be strategic and commercially minded, comfortable moving between big institutional questions and operational realities, and able to build trusted relationships with the Master, Governors, colleagues and the wider Wellington community.

Experience may have been gained in education, but equally could come from hospitality, heritage, major estates, visitor attractions, sport or other complex service environments. Direct experience of education or the charity sector is not required: more important will be the curiosity, humility and judgement to understand Wellington's distinctive environment, together with genuine enthusiasm for its educational purpose.

This is a rare opportunity to take on a role of unusual breadth and influence at one of the world's leading schools – combining financial stewardship and operational leadership with the opportunity to shape Wellington's strategy, growth and development for the future. The appointment includes substantial family accommodation within the College's estate, significant school-fee remission and a wider benefits package.

The closing date for applications is 11 October 2026.