Business Manager

The Organisation

St Mark’s Anglican Community School is an independent, co-educational Kindergarten to Year 12 school located on a spacious 11-hectare campus in Hillarys, Perth. Established in 1986 as the foundation school of AngliSchools, St Mark’s has built a proud legacy of providing high-quality, inclusive and caring education grounded in the Anglican tradition.

Home to close to 1,900 students and more than 250 staff across Primary, Middle and Senior schools, St Mark’s is recognised as a centre of excellence in teaching and learning, pastoral care, worship and service. The School is guided by its values of Faith, Inclusion, Respect and Excellence, and its motto, Seek Truth and Wisdom.

The Position

The Business Manager is a senior executive leadership role with responsibility for the strategic and operational stewardship of the School’s financial, physical and human resources, as well as risk and compliance functions. Reporting directly to the Principal and working closely with the Executive Leadership Team and School Council, the Business Manager provides strategic, financial, operational and risk advice to the Principal and School Council. The role leads multiple teams and all non-educational business and operational functions, including finance and budgeting, assets and facilities, human resources (non-teaching staff), compliance, risk management, work health and safety, and governance support, including the preparation of financial reports for the Board. The Business Manager also serves as Secretary to the School Council.

A key focus will be overseeing the delivery of the School’s 10-year, $30 million Master Plan, including capital development applications, project oversight and long-term resource planning. The role will also contribute to the development and execution of the School’s next strategic plan, while shaping school culture, driving continuous improvement and ensuring responsible stewardship of resources aligned with the School’s mission, values and Anglican identity.

About You

You will be a strategic and commercially astute leader with significant senior financial and operational management experience, ideally gained as a CFO, Business Manager or Deputy Business Manager within a large school environment. Candidates with CFO experience and broad corporate services leadership in large not-for-profit organisations, or across the education, healthcare or aged care sectors, will also be considered. You will hold relevant tertiary qualifications in business, finance, accounting or related discipline, together with membership of a recognised professional accounting body.

This role requires a true business partnering style and a highly visible, engaged strategic leader who can uplift capability and capacity across the corporate services function. You will be comfortable reviewing current structures, spans of control and ways of working, and shaping a fit-for-purpose operating model that supports accountability and enables the School’s mission with a strong focus on learning and students.

You will bring demonstrated capability in financial stewardship, budgeting, compliance and risk management, together with experience leading multidisciplinary teams across corporate services functions. Experience overseeing capital works or major projects will be highly regarded given the School’s significant Master Plan program.

Above all, St Mark’s is seeking a values-driven leader who is approachable, collaborative and service-oriented in style. You will be an innovative and strategic thinker, able to build trust quickly, empower others and delegate effectively, and provide high-quality advice to the Principal, School Council and senior leaders across the School community.

For more information about this opportunity, a detailed Candidate Prospectus is available by emailing ***email_hidden***. After reviewing the Prospectus, you can make further confidential telephone enquiries to Lester Blades’ Partner, Jemma Buckner, at +61 8 9221 0744.

Applications may be made in Word format to [email protected] quoting Reference LB303399 by 5pm on Sunday 31st May. Early applications are encouraged. Please include a one-page cover letter with your application outlining why you believe you have the skills, experience and achievements for this key position.

Candidates’ rights under the Privacy Act will be observed at all times.

Only candidates with valid work rights in Australia can be considered.

A Working with Children Card and Nationally coordinated Criminal History Check will be required.

ABOUT LESTER BLADES

Lester Blades is a Western Australian owned executive search and board advisory firm with local specialisation and international reach. We focus on uncompromising excellence in service to clients in the identification of Non-Executive Directors, CEOs and a range of other senior executive and functional leadership roles.