Chief operating officer

Chief Operating Officer

Full-time, Permanent

Epsom, Auckland

Commencement Date: December 2025 or January 2026, dependent on the appointees notice period.

St Cuthberts College

Behind every exceptional education is exceptional leadership. St Cuthberts College invites you to join our distinguished community as we shape the future of independent education in New Zealand.

As one of Aucklands premier independent schools, St Cuthberts College has built an outstanding reputation for academic excellence, innovative learning approaches, and nurturing the whole person. Our vibrant campus community welcomes students from Year 0 to Year 13, fostering an environment where curiosity thrives, character develops, and potential is realised.

At St Cuthberts, we believe education extends far beyond the classroom. We are committed to providing transformative learning experiences that prepare our students to become confident, capable, and compassionate leaders of tomorrow. Our dedication to excellence in all we do - academic, pastoral, and co-curricular - creates a dynamic educational environment where every student is inspired to achieve their personal best.

This executive leadership opportunity offers the chance to play a pivotal role in our continued growth and success, ensuring our operational excellence matches our educational distinction. Join us in our mission to provide an education that truly makes a difference.

Chief Operating Officer

St Cuthberts College seeks a strategic and results-driven Chief Operating Officer (COO) to lead the Colleges commercial, operational, and infrastructure functions. The COO is a pivotal executive leadership role that provides an opportunity to make a significant impact and shape the future of a high-performance educational environment.

The Role

A newly created role, the COO is responsible for the financial and operational integrity and strategic commercial stewardship of St Cuthberts, allowing the educational leadership to focus on delivering on the Colleges academic and pastoral commitments. 

The COO is a key member of the Senior Leadership Team and works collaboratively with the Principal and Board to drive operational excellence, organisational efficiency and sustainability, while maintaining the Colleges position as an educational leader and ensuring its facilities and technologies support current and future educational needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee non-academic functions and enterprise operations including finance, IT, facilities, asset management, risk, compliance, and commercial operations.
• Lead strategic infrastructure planning, capital projects, campus development initiatives and oversee campus operations, technology planning and execution of strategic projects.
• Financial reporting, planning, scenario analysis, and resource optimisation to ensure sustainability and profitability.
• Risk and Compliance to ensure robust governance, risk management, environmental management, strategic planning, regulatory compliance, and business continuity across the College.

The Ideal Candidate

• A tertiary qualification in Business Administration, Finance, Property or Operations and 5+ years of experience in COO, or senior executive role in a complex organisation managing commercial and operational business functions, with capital project experience.
• Proven experience providing strategic leadership across complex, multi-site organisations with a track record of shaping long-term plans, driving operational excellence and aligning operations with organisational purpose and long-term goals
• Strong strategic, commercial, and analytical skills with a track record of delivering operational excellence.
• Exceptional leadership capabilities, interpersonal and communication skills. You will be experienced in building engaged, accountable teams capable of working cross functionally.
• Demonstrable relationship building skills and experience to constructively collaborate with peers, academic staff, governors and stakeholders in a high engagement environment, or regulated sectors.

How to Apply:

If you would like to apply, please follow the link provided and submit a cover letter and CV. Please refer to the recruitment pack for more information, or contact our Human Resources team on **************@stcuthberts.school.nz if you have any questions.

Closing Date: Friday 3rd October 2025 at 3pm

Information :

• Company : St Cuthbert's College
• Position : Chief operating officer
• Location : Auckland, North Island
• Country : NZ