College Data and Business Manager

Job Description

JOB TITLE: College Data and Business Manager
LOCATION: Petty Pool Vocational College, Pool Lane, Sandiway, Cheshire, CW8 2DR
REPORTS TO: Principal
LINE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY: Learner Services and College Business Support roles
SALARY: £39,385.38 – £44,328.59
HOURS: 35 hours per week 8:30am-4:30pm Monday – Friday
DBS: Enhanced
Closing Date: Wednesday 14th October 2026

About Petty Pool
Petty Pool Trust is a specialist charity dedicated to supporting young people with learning disabilities and difficulties. We provide high-quality education, training, and outdoor learning experiences that empower individuals to develop skills, confidence, and independence.

Job Purpose
The College Data and Business Manager is responsible for the effective management of College funding, learner data, management information and associated business support functions, ensuring that funding is accurately captured and protected and that the College maintains high standards of data quality, compliance and business assurance.

Working directly with the Principal, the postholder will act as the College’s lead for business information, funding and management information, providing accurate information, assurance and constructive challenge to support effective strategic and operational decision-making.

The postholder will lead the College’s ILR and funding processes, working alongside external specialist support where appropriate, and maintain oversight of funding rules, learner eligibility, data quality and evidence requirements.

The role will lead the effective use and interpretation of College management information, ensuring senior leaders have clear, accurate and timely insight into performance and that emerging risks, trends, anomalies and areas for improvement are identified proactively.

A key aspect of the role is to bridge Curriculum, Quality, Finance, Business Support and central organisational functions, ensuring systems, processes, funding requirements and reporting work together effectively.
The College Data and Business Manager will line manage Learner Services and College Business Support, providing appropriate management oversight while enabling team members to retain ownership and accountability for their specialist areas.

Key Responsibilities

College Funding and ILR
• Lead the College’s ILR processes, ensuring learner records are accurate, complete, compliant and submitted within required timescales.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of relevant DfE funding rules, ILR requirements and associated guidance, translating changes into practical actions for the College.
• Ensure learner eligibility, programme information, funding evidence and supporting documentation meet required standards.
• Maintain oversight of high-needs funding and associated learner funding information, working closely with Finance, Curriculum and relevant Local Authorities.
• Coordinate ILR validation and data-quality activity, identifying errors, anomalies and potential funding risks and ensuring these are resolved promptly.
• Manage the relationship with external ILR/funding specialist support, ensuring advice is appropriately implemented and internal knowledge and resilience continue to develop.
• Support funding audits, assurance activity and external returns, ensuring evidence is complete, accurate and readily available.
• Identify opportunities to improve the accuracy, efficiency and resilience of College funding processes.

Management Information, Data and Performance
• Act as the College lead for management information, ensuring the Principal and College leadership have timely, accurate and meaningful information to support decision-making.
• Maintain oversight of key College information including learner numbers, attendance, retention, achievement, destinations, demographics, provision, funding and other relevant performance measures.
• Proactively analyse College information to identify trends, anomalies, emerging issues and areas of concern or opportunity, ensuring these are brought to the attention of the Principal and relevant senior leaders.
• Ensure College datasets are accurate, reconciled and appropriately controlled, with clear ownership and data-quality processes.
• Work with the central Data & Insights function to support the development and maintenance of College dashboards, reports and datasets, ensuring reporting reflects operational and strategic requirements.
• Define and communicate College reporting requirements, ensuring the context and business meaning behind the data are understood.
• Support the development of appropriate KPIs and measures for the College and ensure underlying data can be appropriately evidenced.
• Provide constructive challenge where information indicates potential performance, funding, compliance or operational concerns.

Governance, Regulatory and Management Reporting
• Coordinate and quality assure College data and management information required for Principal, Executive, Education Advisory Board, Trustee, regulatory and external reporting.
• Ensure information presented through governance and reporting arrangements is accurate, reconciled, appropriately evidenced and available within required timescales.
• Support the Principal and other senior leaders with management information required for strategic planning, decision-making and assurance.
• Support Ofsted and other regulatory activity by ensuring required information and evidence can be produced accurately and efficiently.
• Maintain appropriate evidence trails and documentation to support external scrutiny, audit and assurance.
Admissions, Enrolment and Learner Intelligence
• Maintain oversight of College admissions and enrolment information, ensuring processes support accurate and timely data capture.
• Provide regular analysis of applications, offers, conversions, withdrawals, commissioning authority, learner profile and projected enrolment.
• Identify emerging changes in learner profile, demand and admissions patterns and highlight potential implications for funding, capacity and College planning.
• Ensure admissions, enrolment and learner records reconcile appropriately with the ILR and other core College systems.
• Work with Curriculum and College leaders to ensure information requirements are considered throughout the learner journey.

Local Authority Funding and Commissioning Information
• Maintain accurate management information relating to Local Authority commissioning, including learner placements, funding agreements, purchase orders, placement changes and outstanding funding matters.
• Maintain oversight of the status of learner funding and identify missing, delayed or inconsistent funding information.
• Provide the Principal and relevant organisational leads with clear information on funding exposure, dependencies and emerging commissioning risks.
• Support the provision of accurate learner and funding information required by Local Authorities.
• Work closely with Finance to ensure College learner, funding and financial information is appropriately reconciled.
• Support organisational leads responsible for strategic commissioner relationships by providing accurate and timely intelligence.

Provision Mapping and Learner Support Information
• Maintain oversight of College provision mapping and associated information, ensuring learner support requirements and provision are accurately recorded.
• Work with Curriculum, SEND and relevant teams to ensure information relating to learner needs and provision is current and supports funding and planning requirements.
• Support analysis of learner provision, additional support and associated costs to inform College planning and funding discussions.
• Ensure changes to learner provision that may affect funding or reporting are appropriately captured.

Learner Administration and Business Support
• Provide management oversight of Learner Services and College Business Support functions.
• Line manage relevant team members, ensuring clear responsibilities, appropriate supervision, effective workload management and opportunities for development.
• Maintain oversight of key learner administration processes including enrolment, attendance administration, examinations, bursary and associated learner records, while ensuring operational ownership remains with the relevant team members.
• Ensure business support processes are clearly documented, consistently applied and resilient to staff absence or change.
• Review and improve administrative systems and processes to reduce duplication, strengthen controls and improve efficiency.
• Ensure appropriate internal checks and quality-assurance arrangements are embedded within key processes.

Surveys, Feedback and Evidence
• Coordinate the effective administration of College learner, parent/carer and other relevant surveys.
• Ensure survey activity supports College, regulatory, contractual and quality requirements.
• Ensure survey data is appropriately captured, quality assured and available for analysis and reporting.
• Work with College leaders and the central Data & Insights function to identify trends and themes arising from feedback and ensure these can inform improvement activity.

College Business Planning and Assurance
• Maintain oversight of key College business, funding, data and reporting cycles, ensuring statutory, regulatory and internal deadlines within the remit of the role are understood and met.
• Maintain appropriate forward planning arrangements for key submissions, returns, audits and reporting requirements.
• Monitor relevant actions arising from audits, governance, operational reviews and regulatory activity, ensuring actions within the remit of the role are progressed, evidenced and escalated where required.
• Support the Principal with business planning through the provision of accurate data, management information and analysis.
• Identify weaknesses, duplication or gaps within College business processes and lead improvements within the remit of the role.
• Escalate significant funding, compliance, data-quality or business risks to the Principal, working with the Head of Performance & Compliance and other relevant organisational leads as appropriate.

Systems and Continuous Improvement
• Act as a key College lead for the effective use of relevant learner, MIS and business systems.
• Ensure systems and processes support accurate data capture at source and minimise unnecessary manual intervention or duplication.
• Work collaboratively with IT & Digital, Data & Insights and other organisational leads on system development and integration.
• Support implementation of new systems, processes and reporting requirements affecting the College.
• Promote a culture of strong data quality and effective use of information across College teams.
• Develop guidance and provide appropriate training to ensure staff understand their responsibilities for data capture, systems and associated processes.

Leadership and Collaboration
The postholder will:
• Work closely with the Principal as a trusted source of College business, funding and management information.
• Provide clear, evidence-based advice and constructive challenge to senior leaders.
• Build effective working relationships across Curriculum, Quality, Finance, Performance & Compliance, Data & Insights, IT & Digital and other organisational functions.
• Translate complex funding, data and compliance requirements into clear practical actions for College teams.
• Support a culture in which information is used proactively to identify issues, understand performance and inform decisions.
• Develop the capability and confidence of the team, creating appropriate resilience and reducing dependency on individual members of staff.
• Maintain clear professional boundaries and accountability, recognising where responsibility sits with other College or organisational leads.

Overall Accountability
The College Data and Business Manager is accountable for ensuring that the College has accurate, reliable and well-controlled funding, learner and management information, effective associated business processes, and the insight required to identify emerging issues and support effective decision-making.

The role provides the Principal with a clear and reliable view of the College’s business and data position while working collaboratively with specialist organisational functions to ensure College arrangements align with wider organisational requirements.

Key working relationships: Vice Principal, College Leadership Team, Head of Performance & Compliance, Data & Insights function, Finance, Curriculum and Quality leads, IT & Digital, Local Authority contacts, external ILR/funding specialist support and other organisational leads.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Essential
Significant experience of working with data, management information, funding or business systems within an education environment.
Strong understanding of data quality, management information and the importance of accurate evidence and audit trails.
Experience of analysing information and identifying trends, anomalies and areas requiring further investigation.
Strong numerical and analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex information and communicate it clearly.
Experience of managing or coordinating complex administrative or business processes.
Strong IT skills, including confident use of data and reporting systems and Microsoft Excel.
Ability to work confidently with senior leaders, providing advice, information and constructive challenge.
Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage competing deadlines and statutory or regulatory requirements.
Experience of developing and improving systems and processes.
Strong attention to detail combined with the ability to understand the wider strategic implications of information.
Ability to lead, manage and develop staff effectively.
Strong communication and relationship-management skills.

Desirable
Detailed knowledge of ILR and DfE funding requirements.
Experience within a specialist FE, SEND or high-needs education environment.
Experience of high-needs funding and Local Authority commissioning arrangements.
Experience of working with education MIS platforms.
Experience of supporting Ofsted, funding audit or other regulatory activity.
Experience of developing or specifying dashboards and management reports.
Understanding of Power BI or similar business-intelligence tools.
Experience of governance or Board-level reporting.

NOTE: In accordance with the Trust’s flexibility policy, the post holder will be required to undertake any other duties considered commensurate with this position, as directed by The Senior Management Team of Petty Pool, or as a mutually agreed developmental opportunity.

Our college is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Petty Pool is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

Benefits:

Casual dress
Company pension
Cycle to work scheme
Discounted or free food
Free parking
On-site parking
Sick pay

Application question(s):
Do you have experience providing senior leaders with management information, assurance or analysis to support decision-making, including highlighting risks, trends or areas of concern?
Do you have experience working with learner data, funding, ILR or management information within an education environment?
Work authorisation:

United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person