What does a school business manager do?
A school business manager is responsible for providing leadership and management of all teaching and non-teaching staff in a school setting and ensuring they perform their duties accordingly to achieve the required standards of learning. The duties and responsibilities include attending senior managerial meetings and taking the lead of all school responsibilities in the absence of the headteacher.
School business manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real school business manager resumes:
- Utilize on-line agency managing software which aides in conformation of patient progress note submission to Medicare regulation standards.
- Provide oversight to school business operations through its closure and transition with regional technical high school.
- Maintain a computerize accounting system and are responsible for payroll.
- Set up and train production staff to utilize QuickBooks for assembly company inventory system for accurate information provide to commercial customers.
- Process rental payments, delinquency notices, evictions, and other property specific communications.
School business manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of School Business Managers are proficient in K-12, Professional Development, and Payroll. They’re also known for soft skills such as Decision-making skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of School Business Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- K-12, 15%
Managed an international K-12 boarding school.
- Professional Development, 13%
Trained new staff and facilitated monthly meetings and quarterly professional development.
- Payroll, 11%
Utilized PeopleSoft for recording payroll.
- Financial Reports, 8%
Provide financial reports for department chairs, School Site Council, and site administration.
- Public Schools, 8%
Supervised the facilitation of Diplomas Now turnaround grant in 3 Detroit Public Schools.
- Cash Control, 7%
Submit supporting documentation to cash control unit to initiate insurance and patient refunds process.
"k-12," "professional development," and "payroll" are among the most common skills that school business managers use at work. You can find even more school business manager responsibilities below, including:
Decision-making skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a school business manager to have is decision-making skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "because principals are responsible for students, staff, and the overall operation of the school, they consider many factors when making decisions." School business managers often use decision-making skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provided 1-1 technical assistance, conflict resolution, and project execution among all partners. "
Interpersonal skills. Many school business manager duties rely on interpersonal skills. "principals work with teachers, parents, and superintendents and must develop positive working relationships with them.," so a school business manager will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways school business manager responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "provided coaching, evaluation and professional development on classroom management, culture and interpersonal aptitude. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of school business managers is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday school business manager duties, as "teachers, students, and other staff report problems to the principal." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "pursue conflict resolutions efficiently and follow up on any conflicts that occurred. "
Communication skills. A big part of what school business managers do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to school business manager responsibilities because "principals must communicate effectively with students, teachers, and parents." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical school business manager tasks: "improved communication and morale with faculty and communities and increased student performance on state mastery tests by 30%. "
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in school business manager job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what school business managers do. School business manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "principals set educational goals and establish policies and procedures for the school." You can also see how school business manager duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "provide leadership to support the teaching and learning in ways to constantlyimprove the quality of student learning. "
The three companies that hire the most school business managers are:
- Nationwide Children's Hospital2 school business managers jobs
- Vail Resorts1 school business managers jobs
- Hutchinson Regional Medical Center1 school business managers jobs
Compare different school business managers
School business manager vs. Curriculum director
A principal is responsible for maintaining the orderliness of the school premises and supervising school operations, enforcing strict safety standards, and reiterating regulatory procedures. Principals' duties also include managing and monitoring school budget and expenses, improving security plans, conducting regular meetings and sharing updates with teachers and other school personnel, creating reports for school funding, and setting academic goals for everyone's compliance. A principal must administer excellent leadership, communication, and decision-making skills to handle major administrative tasks in maintaining the school's growth.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a school business manager are more likely to require skills like "professional development," "payroll," "financial reports," and "cash control." On the other hand, a job as a curriculum director requires skills like "classroom management," "curriculum development," "professional development workshops," and "mathematics." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Curriculum directors really shine in the non profits industry with an average salary of $63,521. Comparatively, school business managers tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $62,552.curriculum directors tend to reach higher levels of education than school business managers. In fact, curriculum directors are 10.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 4.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.School business manager vs. Principal
A chairperson is responsible for managing the overall business team, ensuring everyone's compliance with the company's strategies and processes to reach the highest business goals and objectives. A chairperson's duties also include monitoring the staff's performance, analyzing the committee's performance and decisions, providing reports and updates during meetings, improving the current policies and procedures as necessary, and facilitating committee's programs and special events. A chairperson must have excellent leadership and communication skills to lead the team towards its organizational success.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, school business manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "payroll," "financial reports," "cash control," and "food service." Meanwhile, a principal has duties that require skills in areas such as "crm," "project management," "excellent presentation," and "financial services." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Principals earn a higher average salary than school business managers. But principals earn the highest pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $130,964. Additionally, school business managers earn the highest salaries in the education with average pay of $62,552 annually.In general, principals achieve similar levels of education than school business managers. They're 4.8% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 4.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.School business manager vs. Chairperson
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a school business manager is likely to be skilled in "k-12," "payroll," "financial reports," and "public schools," while a typical chairperson is skilled in "curriculum development," "alumni," "scholarship," and "strategic plan."
Chairpeople earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $122,813. School business managers earn the highest pay from the education industry, with an average salary of $62,552.Most chairpeople achieve a similar degree level compared to school business managers. For example, they're 4.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.School business manager vs. Director of physical education
Types of school business manager
Updated January 8, 2025
