Chief Operating Officer
Inspiring Futures Through Learning, Milton Keynes, MK11 4BA44 days remaining to apply
Start date details
TBC
Closing date
22 September 2025 at 9am
Date listed
6 August 2025
Job details
Job role
- Other leadership roles
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- £115,000.00 - £130,000.00 Annually (FTE)
Chief Operating Officer job summary
Chief Operating Officer
37 hours per week, 52 weeks per year
Full time, Permanent
Salary: £115,000 – £130,000
Inspiring Futures through Learning (IFtL) is a respected and growing multi-academy trust, dedicated to delivering outstanding education and lifelong learning opportunities across our family of schools. As we look to the future, we are seeking an exceptional Chief Operations Officer (COO) to join our Executive Leadership Team and help lead the Trust through its next exciting phase of development and growth.
This is a pivotal role for a strategic and values-led leader who thrives on making a tangible difference—one who brings clarity, rigour, and ambition to operational leadership.
About the Role
Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, the COO will play a critical role in driving operational excellence across the Trust. The role provides the necessary leadership capacity for our continued growth, allowing the CEO to focus on educational outcomes and strategic vision.
You will be responsible for leading and modernising the Trust’s non-educational operations, including:
- Finance and Strategic Resource Management
- Estates and Capital Projects
- IT, Digital Infrastructure, and Data Systems
- Governance and Compliance
- Risk Management
- Strategic Project Delivery
What You’ll Deliver
- Operational leadership across critical Trust functions to enable high-quality services and sustainable growth.
- Oversight and strategic direction of financial planning, ensuring robust compliance and value for money.
- Delivery of a long-term estates strategy, including capital programmes that meet the future needs of our schools.
- Modernisation of IT and data systems, ensuring security, innovation, and improved user experience.
- Strengthened governance and risk management frameworks, aligned to regulatory expectations and best practice.
- Leadership of complex strategic projects, delivered on time, within budget, and aligned to our Trust vision.
- Scalable operating models and infrastructures to support our growing Trust.
About You
You will be a senior operational leader with a proven track record of success at scale. You will bring:
- Extensive senior leadership experience in complex, multi-stakeholder environments—ideally within education, public services, or regulated sectors.
- Strategic financial leadership, including budgeting, compliance, and long-term planning.
- A strong grasp of estates, digital transformation, and risk management disciplines.
- Deep understanding of governance frameworks and operational compliance.
- Demonstrable success in programme and project management across diverse portfolios.
- A resilient, collaborative leadership style and exceptional stakeholder engagement skills.
You will be aligned with the values and vision of IFtL, with the capability to inspire confidence, drive innovation, and maintain operational excellence across a high-performing Trust.
Why Join IFtL?
At IFtL, we honour tradition while embracing innovation. We are committed to delivering the very best for the children and communities we serve. Our Trust is founded on the principles of collaboration, integrity, and continuous improvement. As COO, you will be at the heart of a strong and united Executive Team, shaping the infrastructure that supports outstanding learning.
This is your opportunity to make a profound impact on the future of education—ensuring our operational foundations are not just solid but sector-leading.
Closing date: 9am, 22nd September 2025
Interview date: 30th September 2025
Please see the job description for further details.
We can offer:
As part of the Inspiring Futures through Learning, successful candidates have access to enhanced family leave, Employee Assistance program, bespoke CPD and auto enrolment in LGPS/Teacher pension. All IFtL employees have access to a benefits platform which offers discount on gym membership, cinema tickets, cycle to work scheme and much more.
For more information, please contact Lynette Houghton (Chief People Officer) on lhoughton@iftl.co.uk.
Our children and young people come from a wide range of backgrounds, and so do our colleagues. We aim to reflect and celebrate diversity in our workplace in order to create an inclusive culture that adds real value to our vision of inspiring the futures of us all through learning together.
Inspiring Futures through Learning is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All employees are expected to share this commitment, to follow IFtL’s safeguarding policies and procedures, and to behave appropriately towards children at all times, both in work and in their personal lives.
All school-based posts are defined as Regulated Activity and therefore this post is subject to an Enhanced with Barred List Criminal Records Bureau check
#WelcomeToIFtL #BelongingInIFtL #IFtLFamily
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.
Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.
Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children
You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
Applying for the job
This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.
CVs will not be accepted for this application.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About Inspiring Futures Through Learning
- Type
- Multi-academy trust
Head office location
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