Overview
At Salutem Care and Education, our aim is to empower people to live a life they choose, regardless of the care or support they need.
We are proud to provide a range of care and support across our schools, day centres, and residential homes for children and adults. Just like any strong community, we want the very best for the individuals we support.
We’re proud to be recognised by the Top Employers Institute as a Top Employer United Kingdom, reflecting our exceptional culture, care, and commitment to our people.
In addition, we’re honoured to be named among the 2025 Top 100 Global Inspiring Workplaces, and to have achieved Top 10 in the 2026 UK & Ireland Inspiring Workplaces Awards.
We’re passionate about developing and supporting colleagues for the future. Through a culture of continuous learning and reflective practice, we create opportunities for personal and professional growth — helping our people build meaningful and rewarding careers in care.
We are looking for an experienced and
ambitious Operations Lead to join our Education Division and play a
pivotal role in supporting our portfolio of specialist schools.
This is a high-impact leadership role where
you will work in partnership with Headteachers, Principals and central support
teams to drive operational excellence, improve performance and ensure our
schools deliver outstanding outcomes for children and young people.
As Operations Lead, you will provide strategic
and operational support across multiple sites, helping schools maintain the
highest standards of quality, compliance, workforce performance and financial
sustainability. You will be instrumental in ensuring our schools are
inspection-ready, operating efficiently and equipped to achieve their full
potential.
If you thrive in a fast-paced environment,
enjoy building strong relationships and are passionate about improving
educational services, we’d love to hear from you.
What You’ll
Be Doing
Leading
Operational Excellence
- Partner with Headteachers and Principals to support the effective
day-to-day operation of schools. - Drive consistency in systems, processes and operational standards
across multiple sites. - Monitor performance and identify opportunities for continuous
improvement. - Support schools through periods of growth, change and development.
- Provide operational leadership during inspections, audits and
regulatory visits. - Identify and mitigate operational risks, implementing practical
solutions to support success.
Supporting
Workforce Performance
- Work closely with school leaders and HR teams to strengthen
workforce stability and performance. - Monitor recruitment, retention and agency usage trends.
- Support workforce planning, organisational reviews and change
programmes. - Ensure compliance with supervision, appraisal and mandatory
training requirements. - Promote employee wellbeing and engagement initiatives.
- Support the implementation of HR policies and best practice across
the division.
Driving
Performance and Improvement
- Develop and maintain performance reporting systems and dashboards.
- Analyse key trends and provide recommendations for improvement.
- Monitor divisional metrics including:
- Occupancy
- Attendance
- Safeguarding
- Behaviour
- Complaints
- Recruitment and retention
- Staff turnover
- Training compliance
- Budget performance
- School improvement actions
- Produce reports and insights for senior leadership meetings and
business reviews.
Ensuring
Quality and Compliance
- Support schools to maintain compliance with Independent School
Standards, Ofsted requirements and safeguarding legislation. - Coordinate compliance audits and improvement plans.
- Monitor completion of actions arising from inspections and internal
reviews. - Ensure schools maintain robust evidence and remain inspection
ready. - Promote a culture of continuous improvement and accountability.
Leading
Projects and Change
- Lead operational projects across the Education Division.
- Support the mobilisation of new services and expansion initiatives.
- Coordinate the implementation of organisational systems and
improvement programmes. - Monitor delivery against project plans and key milestones.
- Escalate risks and barriers appropriately to ensure successful
outcomes.
Supporting
Financial Performance
- Work with school leaders to monitor budgets and resource
utilisation. - Support occupancy growth and referral activity.
- Identify opportunities for greater efficiency and improved
financial performance. - Contribute to forecasting, planning and business review activities.
Building
Strong Relationships
You’ll work collaboratively with:
- Headteachers and Principals
- Education Leadership Teams
- HR and People Teams
- Finance Teams
- Quality and Compliance Teams
- Business Development Teams
- External partners and agencies
You’ll play a crucial role in strengthening
communication, collaboration and operational effectiveness across our school
portfolio.
What We’re
Looking For
Essential
Skills & Experience
- Degree-level qualification or equivalent experience.
- GCSE English and Mathematics (Grade C/4 or above).
- Evidence of continuing professional development.
- Experience working across multiple sites and diverse stakeholders.
- Experience supporting leaders within regulated environments.
- Strong understanding of quality assurance, compliance and
performance improvement. - Experience analysing management information and performance data.
- Proven project management and change implementation experience.
- Excellent communication, influencing and relationship-building
skills. - Strong organisational, analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Ability to work independently across geographically dispersed
locations.
Knowledge
- Independent School Standards.
- Ofsted/Estyn inspection frameworks.
- Safeguarding requirements within education.
- Workforce planning and HR processes.
- Health and Safety compliance.
- Data protection and GDPR requirements.
Desirable
- PGCE or equivalent teaching qualification.
Our Core
Values:
➡️Supportive:
Helping everyone reach their full potential.
➡️Ambitious:
Striving for the best outcomes.
➡️Loyal:
Prioritising our staff and the people we support.
➡️Unique:
Innovating without compromising quality.
➡️Transparent:
Fostering openness and mutual respect.
➡️Engaging:
Partnering with everyone involved.
➡️Meaningful:
Offering fulfilling opportunities.
Why Choose Us?
✅Emotional
Support: 24/7 Employee Assistance, mental health resources, meditation apps,
and bereavement support.
✅
Medical Support: Free Online GP access, Health Cash Plan, Cancer Cover, and
Menopause support.
✅
Financial Support: Flexible pay with Wagestream, utility bill savings, Money
Helper, and Life Assurance.
✅
Physical Support: Online workouts, Cycle to Work scheme, gym discounts, and
National Trust activities.
Still not
convinced?
Recognised as a Top Employer United Kingdom 2026 by the Top Employers
Institute.
Named among the Top 100 Global Inspiring Workplaces by Inspiring Workplaces.
♿
Proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer.
Salutem Care
and Education is dedicated to protecting and promoting the well-being of
children, young adults, and vulnerable individuals. As part of our safer
recruitment process, the successful candidate will be required to complete
thorough pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS and, where
applicable, overseas criminal record checks.
IMPORTANT: Before applying for this role, please make sure you have the right to work in the country where the role is based. Unless it clearly stipulates within in the job advert above that the hiring company is looking to or able to sponsor applicants it is deemed that the hiring employer will only consider applications from those able to comply with and work in the country where the role is based.
