jobfacts

Education managers

SOC 2020 2322

Education managers plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the administration, support systems and activities that facilitate the effective running of a school, university, college or other educational establishment.

Also calledSchool business managerSchool business professionalLearning managerManagerAcademic registrarCentre managerand 22 more titles
Typical full-time pay£46,6002025 Provisional
People in the job65,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month1,300↑ 3.5%on last year · 149th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time education managers earn between £36,100 and £59,900 a year.

What full-time education managers earn, 2025
£46,600 typical£31,500lowest 10%£62,900top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£36,100–£59,900)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£31,500
Lowest 20% earn less than£34,800
25%£36,100
Median£46,600
75%£59,900
Top 20% earn more than£62,900
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £46,600
London£49,000
North West!£46,900
Scotland!£46,700
South East!£41,900
East Midlands!£38,200
Yorkshire and The Humber!£35,900
North EastNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £46,600
London£49,000
North West£46,900 (small sample)
Scotland£46,700 (small sample)
South East£41,900 (small sample)
East Midlands£38,200 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£35,900 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £40,700
  • 2024 £43,800
  • 2025 Provisional£46,600
↑ 14% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,300 jobs for education managers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20261,564
Jul 20261,194
Jun 20261,526
May 20261,523
Apr 20261,304
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20261,170
Jan 20261,394
Dec 2025753
Nov 20251,476
Oct 20251,395
Sept 20251,470
Aug 2025969
Jul 20251,224
Jun 20251,642
May 20251,766
Apr 20251,253
Mar 20251,420
Feb 20251,372
Jan 20251,213
Dec 2024940
Nov 20241,229
Oct 20241,285
Sept 20241,373
Aug 20241,100
Jul 20241,388
Jun 20241,460
May 20241,678
Apr 20241,307
Mar 20241,520
Feb 20241,397
Jan 20241,540
Dec 20231,311
Nov 20231,116
Oct 20231,085
Sept 20231,210
Aug 20231,156
Jul 20231,250
Jun 20231,816
May 20232,026
Apr 20231,551
Mar 20232,066
Feb 20232,150
Jan 20232,056
Dec 20221,962
Nov 20222,222
Oct 20222,330
Sept 20222,153
Aug 20221,733
Jul 20222,191
Jun 20222,276
May 20222,567
Apr 20221,987
Mar 20222,388
Feb 20222,094
Jan 20222,368
Dec 20211,923
Nov 20212,112
Oct 20211,908
Sept 20211,795
Aug 20211,474
Jul 20211,786
Jun 20211,734
May 20211,913
Apr 20211,458
Mar 20211,819
Feb 20211,222
Jan 20211,391
Dec 20201,260
Nov 20201,293
Oct 20201,248
Sept 20201,266
Aug 2020926
Jul 20201,046
Jun 20201,045
May 20201,036
Apr 20201,102
Mar 20201,621
Feb 20201,816
Jan 20201,689
Dec 20191,192
Nov 20191,541
Oct 20191,564
Sept 20191,592
Aug 20191,370
Jul 20191,804
Jun 20191,986
May 20191,809
Apr 20191,211
Mar 20191,375
Feb 20191,250
Jan 20191,400
Dec 2018954
Nov 20181,354
Oct 20181,404
Sept 20181,497
Aug 20181,083
Jul 20181,185
Jun 20181,333
May 20181,400
Apr 20181,237
Mar 20181,512
Feb 20181,287
Jan 20181,630
Dec 20171,006
Nov 20171,246
Oct 20171,238
Sept 20171,189
Aug 2017958
Jul 20171,129
Jun 20171,464
May 20171,377
Apr 20171,209
Mar 20171,601
Feb 20171,431
Jan 20171,520
Is there a shortage of education managers?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
24%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for other educational professionals, which includes education managers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London1,032
Manchester134
Birmingham118
Bristol, City of114
Leeds96
Newcastle upon Tyne54
Liverpool50
Cambridge49
Glasgow City46
City of Edinburgh42
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where education managers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 21 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from United States, Belgium, China, ranking it 177th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of education managers
n/p
n/p
28%!
36%
23%!
4%!
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–34Not published
35–4428% (small sample)
45–5436%
55–6423% (small sample)
65+4% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent82%
Higher education below degree!5.2%
A levels or equivalent!9.9%
GCSEs or equivalent!2.2%
Other qualifications–
Not published
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent82%
Higher education below degree5.2% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent9.9% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent2.2% (small sample)
Other qualificationsNot published
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: tertiary education (34%), primary education (19%), general secondary education (13%), educational support activities (8.2%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
82%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
1
from level 4
Apprenticeships take
18 months
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

You could do a foundation degree or degree, or a professional qualification, in a subject like:

  • accountancy
  • business management
  • public administration
  • human resources
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • at least 1 A level, or equivalent, for a foundation degree
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

Apprenticeship

You can apply to do an apprenticeship with a school, for example:

  • Business Administrator Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
  • School Business Professional Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship

You can also complete a Chartered Manager Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship for managers and senior school leaders, depending on your experience.

Entry requirements

Employers will set their own entry requirements.

Other ways in

Work your way up

You may be able to start as a school administrator or secretary. You'll usually need 5 GCSEs, including English and maths. With experience and training, you could apply for promotion to office manager or business manager.

If you're already working as a school administrator you could take a qualification like the:

  • ILM Level 4 Diploma in School Business Management
  • CIPD Level 5 Diploma in People Management for School Business Professionals

The Institute of School Business Leadership has more details about training and qualifications.

Apply directly

You could apply directly to become a school business manager if you have a strong background in finance or management. An accountancy qualification may be needed for some jobs, and you'll need experience of motivating people.

Experience of working in education will be an advantage.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Professional and industry bodies

You could join the Institute of School Business Leadership for training and development opportunities and to make contacts within the profession.

Further information

You'll find advice about working as a school business manager from the Institute of School Business Leadership.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for school business manager. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Other qualifications

QualificationTypeLevel
Certificate of Higher Education in School Business ProfessionalHigher technical4

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • considers staffing, financial, material and other short- and long-term needs
  • provides administrative support to the academic team
  • leads or contributes to decision making processes regarding curricula, budgetary, disciplinary and other matters
  • controls administrative aspects of student admission, registration and graduation
  • acts as secretary to statutory and other bodies/committees associated with the educational establishment
  • drafts and interprets regulations, deals with queries and complaints procedures and coordinates and maintains quality assurance procedures
  • organises examinations, invigilation and any security procedures required
  • assists with recruitment, public relations and marketing activities
  • designs and implements methods of assessing the performance of students, co-ordinates and undertakes the evaluation of assessments and awards grades of merit based upon performance

Skills

  • communicate with youth
  • cooperate with education professionals
  • develop organisational policies
  • handle financial transactions
  • maintain records of financial transactions
  • manage budgets
  • manage enrolment
  • manage school budget
  • manage staff
  • provide education management support
  • provide information on education financing
  • supervise educational staff
  • trace financial transactions
  • write work-related reports

Knowledge

  • accounting
  • accounting techniques
  • budgetary principles
  • curriculum objectives
  • curriculum standards
  • education administration
  • education law
  • electronic communication

Suits people who like

  • Helping and caring for people
  • Leading and persuading

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for teaching and other educational professionals, a group of 13 jobs that includes education managers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 15%about 268,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.3 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.