Chief Operating Officer Full Time

Emmanuel Schools Foundation

The Chief Operating Officer is the Trust’s key executive leader for all operational domains (People; Estates & Capital; Digital & Technology; Governance & Compliance; Commercial & Business Services). Working with, and deputising for, the CEO, they will ensure that the Trust operates consistently as a data-informed, single organisation; ensuring we are structured, equipped, and ready to deliver on our educational priorities and growth ambitions.

With regard to leading operations; the role is about engineering the conditions for excellence, building a scalable operating model for a Trust with aspirations to grow, and ensuring that every aspect of ESF’s infrastructure, systems and resources strengthens teaching, learning, inclusion, and impact.

You will lead transformation of Trust’s operational architecture, across multiple disciplines to facilitate an agile organization; working closely with executive stakeholders, their direct reports and Trustees to ensure that operational systems and resources (people, data, estates, and digital tools) are aligned to our mission and deliver maximum value for learners, staff, and communities.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Operational Leadership

• Lead and execute a Trust-wide operational strategy aligned to educational priorities
• Translate vision into measurable objectives and aligned operational delivery
• Shape a long-term scalable operating model
• Provide expert, data-driven, evidence-informed advice to CEO and Trustees
• Deputise for the CEO when required, including external representation

2. Financial Stewardship

• Support the CFO in ensuring strong internal controls, audit and risk frameworks enabling the prompt resolution of audit actions
• Deliver value for money and long-term financial resilience within the operational context
• Support Trustees and Audit & Risk Committee with high-quality reporting
• Working with the CFO, support the CEO in their oversight of financial planning, forecasting and sustainability compliance with DfE requirements and the Academy Trust Handbook

3. Building an Operating Model for Scale

• Embed service standards and performance frameworks across operational domains
• Enable delivery of data dashboards and real-time performance insight and decision making
• Drive digital-first, automated and collaborative systems
• Enable the development of systems that eliminate duplication and improve cost-to-serve
• Align central and site-based operational functions

4. People, Culture & Workforce

• Enable delivery of the Trust’s People Strategy
• Create an environment where leadership capability and succession pipelines are facilitated and enabled
• Strengthen workforce planning and staff wellbeing through the leadership of their team
• Embed a high-performance, high-trust culture

5. Digital, Data & Technology

• Enable digital transformation of the Trust and across all areas, including AI deployment, to meet organisational priorities and aligned with national strategy.
• Drive a strategy where cloud-first and automated systems are effective and seen as routine solutions
• Lead and embed a culture that develops a cyber-threat awareness and strengthens resilience
• Ensure appropriate digital tools are selected, procured, implemented and evaluated so that teaching, leadership and governance are facilitated and improved

6. Estates, Infrastructure & Capital

• Lead long-term estates and capital strategy
• Ensure compliance, maintenance, sustainability and innovation
• Lead the delivery of capital projects on time and on budget Secure external funding (including, but not limited to, SCA.)
• Ensure full statutory compliance across all sites

7. Corporate Services & Governance

• Ensure high-quality central administrative and analytics services
• Provide Trustees with assurance, transparency and oversight
• Maintain effective systems to record and document governance decision making and responsibilities
• Ensure compliance with charity law, company law and data protection

8. Growth, Integration & Change

• Lead due diligence for prospective schools
• Lead the development of integration success measures on adoption of new schools, supporting their assimilation through effective deployment of operational resources
• Deliver transformational change programmes
• Ensure infrastructure is capable of supporting a growth trajectory