The Girls’ Day School Trust is seeking to appoint an outstanding Head of Operations (Cluster) to play a key leadership role across a group of GDST schools in Sheffield, Norwich, Nottingham and Northampton.

This is a significant and varied senior operational leadership role, offering the opportunity to help shape the strategic and day-to-day effectiveness of multiple schools within one of the UK’s leading families of independent schools. Working closely with the Director of Finance and Operations (Cluster), Heads of Schools and other senior colleagues, you will ensure that operational services across the cluster are efficient, compliant, well-led and aligned to the needs of our schools.

You will provide leadership across a broad portfolio including estates, health and safety, ICT, administration, catering, cleaning and wider operational delivery. You will also play an important part in long-term planning, service improvement, risk management, sustainability and the delivery of projects that support excellent educational environments for pupils and staff.

This role will suit an experienced and strategically minded operational leader who combines strong practical judgement with the ability to build relationships, drive improvement and lead through others. You will bring substantial senior management experience, strong financial and operational acumen, and a clear understanding of how high-quality support services enable schools to thrive.

We are looking for someone who can offer:

• substantial senior leadership experience across operations, estates, facilities or business management
• experience of leading support services and improving operational effectiveness across complex environments
• strong financial and commercial awareness, with the ability to identify efficiencies and support value for money
• experience of managing compliance, health and safety, risk and statutory responsibilities with rigour and confidence
• the ability to lead projects, interpret data and translate insight into action
• excellent interpersonal skills, with the credibility to work effectively with senior leaders, school-based teams, contractors and Trust Office colleagues
• a collaborative and forward-thinking approach, with a clear commitment to supporting girls’ education

The Head of Operations will be a key member of the Cluster Leadership Team and will help ensure that each school benefits from strong operational foundations, consistent standards and effective shared practice. The postholder will also support income generation, non-fee income opportunities, sustainability goals and the successful delivery of building and operational projects across the cluster.

Why join GDST?

The GDST is a unique family of schools with a long history of excellence and innovation in girls’ education. We are proud of our distinctive ethos, our strong sense of purpose and our commitment to supporting both pupils and colleagues to thrive. This is an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution across multiple schools and to work as part of a values-led organisation with ambition for the future.