Trust Director of Operations and Compliance

Brighter Futures Learning Partnership Trust, Doncaster, DN3 2JY

21 days remaining to apply

Job start date
1 September 2025
Closing date
13 June 2025 at 12pm (midday)
Date listed
21 May 2025

Job details

Job role: Other support roles
Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern: Full time: 37 hours per week, Monday to Friday. All year round
Contract type: Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary: £64,229 - £68,590

What skills and experience we're looking for

The Director of Operations and Compliance, working closely with the Central Team and the Trust’s academies to facilitate the smooth and safe day-to-day operation of academy sites, ensuring the Trust’s estate and business operations are managed in line with statutory and regulatory requirements whilst upholding the mission, vision and values of the Trust.

The post-holder will also support the Executive Leadership Team across a range of business support services, specifically having oversight of all Estates as well as working closely with the Trust HR, IT and Finance Leads. They will be expected to be up to date with compliance frameworks, ensuring high quality, efficient, collaborative and responsive administrative support around business and operational matters.

This is a high-profile post within an existing Multi Academy Trust. The environment is sometimes pressurised so flexibility, a calm approach and a ‘can do’ attitude are required to carry out the role effectively. The postholder’s integrity and discretion must be without question in order that BFLPT’s business is conducted to the highest standard. Positive interactions with staff and pupils are an expectation.

The DOC will support the CEO in the strategic development and operation of the Trust.

They will:

Be responsible for the smooth day-to-day running of Trust operations, and compliance with relevant statutory requirements, working alongside the CEO and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to ensure timely financial returns.
Oversee and lead the non-academic operations and central service functions of the Trust including HR, IT, Estates and Facilities.
Develop and implement the Trust’s risk management framework, working with the Trust’s, CFO, CEO and Trust Board.
Ensure our academies maintain the highest standards in all aspects of health and safety and safeguarding.
Support academy compliance, including ensuring Trust and school policies continually meet statutory requirements.
Support schools with timely completion of returns/reports for the Trust, and DfE.
Undertake aspects of project management and oversee the work of the Estates Manager in all aspects of site management.
Support the CEO and CFO with bid writing and the preparation of bid documents.
Oversee and support the administration of all Trust complaints.
Ensure the Trust meets requirements set out by Companies House, the Charity Commission, and the Department for Education.
Embed trust-wide accountability and quality assurance procedures to achieve compliance.
Development of an effective trust-wide marketing and communications strategy.
Develop effective relationships with partners beyond the Trust, ensuring that the Trust continues to play a key role in the wider school system.
Deputise for the CEO if required.
Uphold, promote and model the vision and values of the Trust.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities listed below are indicative of the tasks of the OCD will perform and are not intended to be an exhaustive list. The postholder will be expected to take on additional responsibilities appropriate to the role as they arise.

Strategic Leadership and Trust Development

The DOC, with the CFO, will be accountable for providing strategic vision and leadership across non-educational trust functions, and for supporting the delivery of the Trust’s vision and values.

The DOC will:

Embody the Trust’s values.
Contribute to, and support the delivery of, the Trust’s strategic aims.
Contribute to the Trust’s strategic planning, taking ownership of aspects of key documents such as the business plan, the long-term strategic plan, risk assessments and self-evaluation documents.
Develop the Trust’s central services to meet requirements and support continuous improvement.
Support the growth and development of the Trust, including due diligence and supporting schools as they join the Trust.
Contribute to the Trust’s risk assessment and risk management efforts and take appropriate steps to mitigate identified risks.
Develop and embed the Trust’s ethos and values, supporting the creation of a culture that embodies these values.

Compliance and Health and Safety

The DOC will be accountable for ensuring that the Trust remains compliant in all relevant legal and statutory responsibilities, and that the Trust effectively safeguards all members of its community.

The DOC will:

Ensure that the Trust, and each of its schools, is compliant with current health and safety legislation
Support the CEO and other senior Trust leaders with their responsibility for health and safety
Ensure the Trust meets requirements related to health and safety
Work with the Estate’s Manager to review academy schools’ Fire Logs at regular intervals, ensuring compliance. Liaise with Headteachers to ensure appropriate Fire and Critical Incident Drills have been carried out at regular intervals.
Oversee the Trust’s Asbestos and Legionella Management Procedures and review academy schools’ Asbestos and Legionella Management Plans at regular intervals. Support the Duty Holder in ensuring appropriate Action Plans are maintained and up to date.
Liaise with the Trust Estates Manager and CEO to ensure recommendations from Health and Safety, Fire and Mechanical and Engineering audits/reports are acted upon in an appropriate, timely and cost-effective manner.
Together with the Trust Estates Manager, carry out regular inspections of the Trust’s estate, including individual academies, to assess the site condition and ensure safe operation
Work with the Trust’s data protection officer (Veritau), ensuring the Trust complies with data protection legislation
Manage all data requests and data breaches in line with statutory guidelines and Trust policy
Embed trust-wide accountability and quality assurance procedures to achieve compliance
Identify potential high risks in areas such as health and safety and data protection and working with schools to ensure suitable mitigation is in place
Ensure that schools joining the Trust have suitable processes in place around data protection and health and safety, and updating the Risk Management Framework accordingly
Maintain a strategic overview of Trust and academy policies, and act in a timely manner to update policies as required by changes in legislation or guidance and ensure updates are swiftly shared with schools
Work with the Trust clerking service and the Executive PAs to ensure that GIAS and Companies House is accurate for all schools

Resource and services management

The DOC will support the work of the central team and will be accountable for the development, delivery and quality of the Trust’s non-educational functions and services, including IT, premises and facilities, and catering.

The DOC will:

Develop, implement and monitor strategies and operational models for central services that are fit for purpose, high quality and facilitate continuous improvement
Ensure, through strong business planning, that the Trust has the human, material and financial resources it needs to operate effectively and meet its aims
Provide line management for operations staff, and be responsible for their professional development
Oversee and review contracts for services, ensuring that these are fit for purpose and provide value for money
Work with the CEO and IT Manager to monitor the Trust’s ICT strategy, ensuring that it supports Trust and academy needs and aims across all Trust functions
Oversee the management of ICT infrastructure for the Trust and its academies
With the Trust IT Manager, manage the Trust’s ICT assets, including developing and implementing appropriate asset disposal procedures
Oversee the management of the Trust’s buildings and premises, including regular maintenance and investment in capital improvements
Manage capital works projects, ensuring that they support the Trust’s aims and deliver value for money
Develop, implement and monitor the Trust’s policy regarding the letting of its premises
Working with Trust leaders re local purchasing, contract monitoring and benchmarking
In partnership with the CFO, ensure appropriate buildings, contents and employer’s liability insurance arrangements are in place for the Trust at all times and report any changes in scope or usage to the CEO.
Oversee and ensure delivery of delegated capital projects to a high standard, safely, on time and on budget.

Leading and managing the Trust

The DOC will be accountable for supporting the efficient, effective and compliant management of the Trust and its academies, and for providing motivational leadership at all levels of the Trust’s organisation.

The DOC will:

Develop effective relationships with Trust stakeholders in order to support the Trust’s development and growth.
Develop, implement and monitor Trust policies within their remit.
Provide appropriate and timely reports to the Trust Board and other Trust leaders to support effective leadership and governance.
Ensure that the Trust has the appropriate management systems and structures to carry out its work effectively, identifying opportunities to improve the Trust’s overall effectiveness and implementing appropriate strategies to achieve improvements.
Monitor and develop organisational progress, providing information to the board as appropriate.
Lead the operational process of adding new schools to the Trust, including due diligence and on-boarding procedures.
Act as a representative of the Trust in external networks and forums, raising the profile of the Trust, engaging with the wider sector, and ensuring that the Trust is alert to information, changes or opportunities that could impact on its work.
Identify, monitor and mitigate operational risks through effective work with other Trust leaders.

General

This job description is a representative document. Other reasonably similar duties may be allocated from time to time commensurate with the general character of the post and its grading. The person appointed will be expected to work flexibly and the exact nature of the duties described above is subject to periodic review and is liable to change.

Employment Conditions

The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment.

Data Protection

The post holder is responsible for ensuring that workplace responsibilities are carried out in compliance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act and the Employment Practices Data Protection Code, especially concerning confidentiality, treatment of personal information and records management.

What the school offers its staff

BENEFITS – We offer a comprehensive benefits package featuring a substantial government pension scheme and up to 28 days of annual leave. Our work schedule is thoughtfully designed to align with family needs, including consideration of school holidays. This approach facilitates a balanced work-life integration, supporting both professional and personal commitments.

Thank you for considering joining our trust. We are privileged to be the CEOs of the Brighter Futures Learning Partnership Trust (BFLPT) and to be working with like‐minded headteachers, leaders, staff and board members who understand how important education is to life chances and social mobility. The BFLPT Board is determined to see a high‐performing multi‐academy Trust which delivers exceptional and enriching learning experiences for all its children, young people and staff. We believe that by working collaboratively, we will create an educational platform on which to build the strong foundations needed for educational success.

There could not be a better time to join our Trust, which includes a diverse and successful range of schools; four Doncaster primary schools, an infant school, an 11-16 secondary school (Hungerhill) and Doncaster University Technical College. Hungerhill School benefitted from being a Teaching and National Support school for many years; its legacy of strong collaboration is still recognised today both locally and nationally with strong student outcomes above national averages. Doncaster UTC opened in 2020 in a state-of-the-art building which supports the strong employer led curriculum designed to create the engineers and technologists of the future. The school has already won several national and local awards and is recognised by Baker Dearing Trust as being one of its flagship schools. More recently we have been awarded a second Free School Bid and the Trust will open a second Doncaster UTC specialising in Green Technologies and Health Care Sciences. We are excited about the future and the many expanding professional development opportunities for our staff.

In September 2021 we implemented a new Primary Knowledge Curriculum in all primary and infant schools and all our schools are heavily invested in the development of a mathematics mastery curriculum and lead on a number of projects supported by the South Yorkshire Maths Hubs.

We are extremely proud that our Ofsted reports have acknowledged that all our schools are good or better. The reports demonstrate that our schools are delivering better student/pupil outcomes by working together, sharing leadership and teacher knowledge and resources. All of this, of course, could not be achieved without our strong body of exceptionally hard-working and committed support staff. This has been testament to the strong investment in staff and pupils; our standards are high, but we take the investment in our staff very seriously.

We are also part of a network of national schools who are reshaping their curriculum, drawing on research and cognitive based science which will ensure all our children make accelerated progress. We employ a number of Ofsted trained consultants across the Trust who are supporting our subject leaders to design and shape the best learning experiences for our young people and in doing so, we are providing very bespoke support and training for teaching staff who want to invest in themselves. We are very proud of our story so far.

Our robust teacher development programmes and associate staff performance management systems allow for internal recognition and support to help encourage colleagues to thrive and develop within role. We are also very clear about reasonable, professional expectations, so that colleagues understand what is required of them, and are confident in their ability to deliver.

We also have many associate staff who are being supported to develop themselves through additional professional courses as we believe this is the hallmark of an outstanding Trust.

The successful candidate will be based at The School Bungalow in the Trust accommodation but may be required to work elsewhere within the Trust, as may reasonably be required by the Headteacher/Principal, CEO for the discharge of their duties.

Further details and application forms are available by visiting our website at brighterfutureslpt.com. (CVs will not be accepted for this post). If you feel you are the person we are looking for, you should fill in the enclosed application form and add a concise letter of no more than two sides of A4 (this must be submitted as a separate document and not included in the body of an email) addressing the following:

Why you are applying for this position.
How your experience to date will enable you to successfully take on the role.

Closing date for applications at 12 noon on Friday 13th June 2025.

Interviews will be held on Wednesday 18th June 2025.

*Please note that if you have not been contacted by Monday 16th June 2025 you have not been shortlisted for interview.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response. All candidates are advised to refer to the job description and person specification before making an application.

As BFLPT we promote diversity and applications are welcome from all, irrespective of sex, sexuality, race, religion, marital status, age or disability.

The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants will undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with previous employers.

All posts involving direct contact with children are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. However, amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975 (2013 & 2020) provide that certain spent convictions are ‘protected’.

These are not subject to disclosure to employers and cannot be taken into account. Guidance and criteria on the filtering of these cautions and convictions can be found on the Ministry of Justice website.

The school/UTC will carry out on-line searches as part of their due diligence checks on shortlisted candidates who will also be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not be filtered, prior to the date of the interview. You may be asked for further information about your criminal history during the recruitment process. If your application is successful, this self-disclosure information will be checked against information from the Disclosure & Barring Service before your appointment is confirmed.

Shortlisted candidates will be emailed a self-disclosure form together with a flow chart detailing what is ‘protected’ under the Act and should not be disclosed. This MUST be returned before interview.

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.