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CEO job description

Template job description for chief executive officers (CEOs) of multi academy trusts.

Tools & templates
01/09/2024
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The CEO is the accounting officer of the trust. They have responsibility for informing and supporting the work of the board – including the board’s setting of the trust’s vision and strategy. The CEO is responsible for delivering the agreed strategy and overseeing all operations of the trust.

This template provides a starting point for trust boards to develop a job description for their CEO. It is based around six key areas. The CEO of a multi academy trust:

1. Develops a leadership narrative that articulates the board's vision and values in practice and shapes the organisation's ongoing development

2. Builds an open, transparent and effective relationship with the governing board and its committees

3. Ensures that the organisation is an ‘employer of choice’ and is staffed by talented and skilled individuals at all levels

4. Enables improvement and disciplined innovation as an organisational habit

5. Secures organisational sustainability and compliance 

6. Builds external relationships: fostering social and professional capital

The job description is based on the work of Michael Pain, Forum Strategy and the ‘Being The CEO’ framework and also informed by the research of the National Governance Association.

CEO job description

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Setting executive pay

Setting the framework for the pay of the CEO in an academy trust is a key responsibility of the trust board. Trustees must ensure that the pay and leadership structure is in keeping with the Nolan principles, is affordable and sustainable in the long term, and is appropriate for the level of responsibility undertaken.

View guide to setting executive pay
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