Pretty well suited to former lawyers. Involves no mandatory retraining. Schools are increasingly keen to appoint business managers and professionals into their senior leadership, to relieve head teachers of areas of responsibility including: strategic and operational management of finances; administrative and procurement work; site management and human resources; line management and the professional development of support staff; company secretarial work; and marketing and communications.

So, as well as advertisements for traditional bursar roles, you increasingly see positions such as 'business manager', 'vice principal - business operations', 'director of operations', 'director of finance', or 'senior administration officer' and references to a school's 'executive management team' and the like. You will need to display evidence of team and project management, an understanding of finance and accounts, and an enthusiasm for education.

There are an estimated 8,100 bursars or business managers in schools in England alone, double the amount there were in 1997. 6 out of 10 secondary, and 1 in 8 primary schools have a business manager. Smaller primary schools often share a business manager between 4 or 5 schools.

The National Bursars Association has a wider remit than the name suggests and is "the professional association for senior management staff in schools" and caters "for school bursars, business managers, senior administrative staff, and for those who seek to enter educational management." They run development workshops open to all levels of experience and their website advertises current vacancies. The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services (formerly the National College for School Leadership) runs training courses for business managers, including the Certificate or Diploma of School Business Management (8-12 months). The Training and Development Agency for Scools (TDA) website looks into school business management fairly deeply, the responsibilities and training.

Advertisements for bursars and school management positions also appear regularly in The Times, which can be in the public sector recruitment pages on a Friday and Sunday, in the 'management and finance' section on Tuesdays, and in the Wednesday and Sunday Times education pages.

National Bursars Association (NBA) First Floor Offices 140 Wood Street Rugby Warwickshire CV21 2SP Tel:  01788 573 300 Fax:  01788 571 812 Email:  bursarsassoc@btconnect.com Link:  http://www.nba.org.uk

Nat. College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services Triumph Road Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG8 1DH Tel:  0845 609 0009 Fax:  0115 872 2001 Email:  enquiries@nationalcollege.org.uk Link:  http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk

Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) 151 Buckingham Palace Road London SW1W 9SZ Tel:  020 7023 8000 Email:  corporatecomms@tda.gov.uk Link:  http://www.tda.gov.uk

Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) City Tower Piccadilly Plaza Manchester M1 4TD Tel:  0845 6000 991 Link:  http://www.tda.gov.uk