School Business Manager

School Business Manager – Aurora Chaldon School
Location: Redhill, Surrey
Contract Type: Full-time, Permanent
Hours: Full-time, 40 hours per week
Salary: Up to £53,000 dependant on experience

Closing Date: Wednesday 3^rd December at 5pm

The Aurora Group

The Aurora Group is an innovative provider of education and care for children, young people and adults with special educational needs and disabilities. As part of our growth strategy, we’re pleased to have recently opened our brand-new school, Aurora Chaldon School in September 2025.

Our school caters to young people aged 11-16 who require support with social communication, emotional regulation and sensory processing, typically associated with Autism. All our students have access to a broad and exciting curriculum, allied to the national curriculum, personalised to meet their needs, interests and passions. With a model of small classes, high levels of classroom support and a supernumerary multi-disciplinary intervention team we are able to give students “every opportunity to achieve”    

We are looking for a School Business Manager to join us as early as possible. The SBM will be part of the Senior Leadership Team with the responsibility of ensuring the smooth, efficient and economical running of each of the support departments (including Finance, Administration, HR, Facilities and Site Maintenance, Health and Safety, Housekeeping and Catering) to keep our school is safe, compliant, financially sound and delivering great outcomes for our young people within our budget.

The Role 

There is an expectation of the post holder to act with a high degree of autonomy including responsibility and accountability for managing delegated budgets and resources. 

The role also involves creating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development plans aimed at bringing about continual improvement in these areas.

Please note that duties will vary and you will be expected to contribute to the overall aims of the team when required. Please see the link below for our full job description:

Job Description - School Business Manager

Successful candidates are likely to demonstrate:  

• Knowledge and understanding of relevant regulations and standards for education
• Knowledge of current inspection frameworks used by regulatory and statutory bodies.
• Safeguarding and legislative procedures when working with children and young people
• Management and knowledge of EBITDA, financial systems, processes and budget preparation.
• Excellent communication skills with a range of internal and external people, verbally and in writing
• Knowledge and experience of recruitment, human resources and employee relations
• Ability to form and promote positive relationships with and between young people, employees, parents and representatives of outside agencies
• Ability to define high, appropriate and attainable standards, and achieve them
• Effective team leadership and management
• Ability to assess situations accurately, resolve problems effectively and take decisions 
• Previous School Business Manager experience preferred
• A keen willingness to learn and an enthusiasm to be involved in all aspects of school life.
• A supportive, approachable, flexible and solution focused mindset.
• Previous experience of working in a similar setting is advantageous but not a requirement. You must though be dedicated to understanding and learning about Autism and a range of special education needs.

🌟 What’s on Offer at Aurora?

We believe in supporting you as much as we support the children and young people in our care. Here’s a snapshot of the fantastic benefits waiting for you:

📚 Grow with Us – Training & Development

Learning never stops at Aurora! We offer a wide range of training programmes and career development opportunities to help you build your skills and reach your goals.

💸 Save Money on Everyday Essentials

With the rising cost of living, our Perkbox app helps you stretch your money further:

• Discounts on groceries, phone plans, internet, dining out, gym memberships & more
• Access to our Cycle to Work and Car Scheme

💰 Competitive Pay & Reward

We regularly benchmark our pay and benefits to stay ahead of the curve. You’ll enjoy:

• Enhanced Annual Leave
• Company Sick Pay
• Enhanced Pension
• Life Assurance

🩺 24/7 GP Access – For You & Your Household

Need a doctor? No problem. Book a phone or video appointment anytime, day or night. This service covers everyone in your household.

🦷 UK Health Cash Plan

Cover everyday healthcare costs like dental and optician bills. You and your children are included in the scheme, and you can upgrade to add your partner too!

🧠 Employee Assistance Programme

Your wellbeing matters. Get confidential support on a wide range of issues, including:

• Freephone counselling (available 24/7)
• Online tools and resources

👯‍♀️ Refer a Friend – Earn £1,000!

Know someone who’d be a great fit? Refer them and get rewarded!
(*Terms apply)

How to apply: 

Please complete an online application form in full, remembering to include all employment and education details.  If you need any assistance or would like any more information, please contact Kirsty in the Aurora Group Recruitment Team at kirsty.wilkinson@theauroragroup.co.uk 

Successful applicants will be subject to pre-employment safeguarding checks including an enhanced disclosure and barring service (DBS) check. 

The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Aurora Group is therefore permitted to ask job applicants to declare all convictions and cautions (including those which are "spent" unless they are "protected" under the DBS filtering rules) in order to assess their suitability to work with children. 

The Aurora Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children and young adults in our care and is a disability confident and equal opportunities employer. 

This advert could be taken down at any point in time without prior notice if the position is filled.  

Please note that candidates that are shortlisted might be subject to an online search.