Operations Manager

Lyde Green Primary School; West of England; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 41,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Happy staff environment

Supportive trust and school community

Centralised specialist team access

High-quality CPD opportunities

Diversity and inclusion values

Service recognition for long tenure

LGPS with employer contributions

Sick pay

Job summary

Lyde Green Primary School is seeking a School Operations Manager to lead facilities, compliance and administration across both Willowherb and Honeysuckle sites.

Reporting to the Headteacher within Pathway Trust, you will coordinate records, safeguarding, HR support and events, building strong relationships with staff and external partners to ensure smooth, compliant operations.

Responsibilities

• Building Relationships: Develop and maintain productive working relationships with the Headteacher, School Leadership Team, Trust Partnership Team and school staff; engage with external contacts including Community Council, Caretaker Services and Friends of the school.
• Communication: Communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders in person, in writing, electronically and by telephone.
• Compliance: Ensure systems and processes for effective reporting and contingency plans; be the first point of contact for facilities, recruitment and the People team.
• Operations: Coordinate critical school records; liaise on safeguarding and data protection; support wraparound care and the admin team.

Job description

Job title: School Operations Manager

Location: Lyde Green Primary School

Contract: Permanent (37 hours per week - all year round)

Salary: PATH 8 £37,563 per annum

Reporting directly to the Headteacher and supporting the operations across both Willowherb and Honeysuckle sites, you will act as the vital link and enabler between the school and the Trust Partnership Team, ensuring the day to day operations of the school are seamless, compliant and fully support our vision of a great education for every child.

About the role

This role is designed to support the 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, School Leadership Team, Trust Partnership Team professional leads and with the school staff. You’ll also be dealing with external contacts, ie. Community Council, Caretaker Services and Friends of the school.
• 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 support the operations of our wraparound care provision, and take responsibility for the admin team and provide support to various school teams as required.

You will be stepping into this role at a really exciting time as we have expanded Lyde Green Primary onto two sites (Willowherb and Honeysuckle), and have recently become Pathway Trust. As a result we are reviewing key roles within schools which work closely with our Central Partnership Teams to provide clarity on responsibilities. Whilst we do not believe this will change the core focus and purpose of the role, the job description will naturally be reviewed and refined in the coming months as our new structures are embedded.

About Us

Lyde Green Primary is an oversubscribed and unique school, based at Lyde Green near Bristol. Since being built and opened around 10 years ago, the school has grown and changed rapidly, and now has entered the next stage of its journey by opening a second site, less than 1km from the existing site. Over time, the school will grow to a capacity of over 800 pupils, split across two outstanding two-form-entry facilities. In addition to the provision of 840 mainstream school places, we also have an equally unique 16 place Access Centre for pupils aged 4-7, with a primary diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Our core values of Be Excellent, Be Courageous and Be Kind underpin the work of the school. It is the common language that binds us together and gives both the children and staff a direction and purpose.

Our aim is to inspire and encourage a passion for lifelong learning in our children, sparking curiosity, promoting creativity and nurturing developing passions to ensure that our children grow and thrive on their journey through school.

Our dedicated team of staff model themselves as lifelong learners and put our children’s best interests at the heart of everything they do and they work hard to ensure children remain challenged, motivated and engaged with their learning throughout their time with us.

We can offer you:

• Happy, engaging students who thrive on inspirational leadership
• 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

Join us in Providing a Great Education for Every Child

Pathway Trust 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.