Commercial Operations Coordinator (Contract) at Nova Pioneer

About the role:

• Initial fixed-term contract role with the intention to transition to permanent employment based on organisational need and strong performance.
• The Commercial Operations Coordinator supports commercial delivery by running high-discipline operational work that keeps key commercial processes moving accurately and on time. The role is primarily responsible for the day-to-day administration and tracking of the network’s financial support processes (bursaries, scholarships and, over time, lifeboat support), ensuring documentation is complete, records are auditable, and stakeholders are kept informed.
• A core outcome of the role is supporting the network to meet its financially assisted enrolment (FAE) targets through reliable pipeline management, fast turnaround and proactive bottleneck flagging. The role also supports financially assisted enrolment goals by maintaining reliable pipeline tracking, surfacing operational bottlenecks and ensuring clean handovers between Admissions, Schools and Finance.

Key responsibilities for the role include:

Financial support application processing and documentation

• Proactively contact families (phone and email) to collect missing documentation, clarify financial information and move cases forward
• Run the administrative lifecycle for bursary and scholarship cases (new and renewals)
• Collect required documentation, check completeness and maintain structured digital files
• Update trackers/CRM stages with accurate timestamps, status and decision logs
• Enforce documentation discipline so no incomplete files move forward and all decisions are recorded

Financial assessment support (within provided frameworks)

• Review income documentation and affordability indicators using agreed checklists and guardrails
• Summarise applicant information into structured briefs for review and decision-making
• Flag inconsistencies, missing information or risk indicators for follow-up
• Apply frameworks consistently without setting policy or creating new criteria

Lifeboat support coordination (as introduced)

• Act as the processing point for lifeboat requests: intake, documentation collection and case tracking
• Track intervention timelines, review dates and follow-up requirements
• Maintain clear records distinguishing temporary vs structural relief and track outcomes as required

Reporting and tracking (execution-focused)

• Maintain operational trackers and reports, including pipeline status, turnaround times, allocation visibility and exception logs
• Prepare weekly/monthly updates for the Commercial Performance Manager
• Keep data accurate and current so reporting is trusted

Enablement for financially assisted enrolment goals (tracking and flagging)

• Maintain visibility of the FAE pipeline relative to enrolment targets (volume, stage movement, turnaround times, drop-off reasons)
• Flag where cases are stuck and what is needed to move them forward (documents, approvals, follow-ups, capacity constraints)
• Track common disqualifiers and documentation gaps and share patterns that help upstream teams reduce wasted effort
• Support the Commercial Performance Manager with evidence to prioritise improvements

Cross-functional coordination and clean handovers

• Coordinate handovers with Admissions, Schools, Finance and admin/contract owners
• Provide clear status updates, next steps and timelines to stakeholders
• Ensure fee adjustments and contract/admin updates happen cleanly with correct supporting documentation

Project support (as capacity allows)

• Support defined workstreams through operational tasks such as data pulls, trackers, coordination and status updates
• Step into new and emerging projects as identified, helping to stand up basic project rhythm (trackers, actions, updates)
• Maintain strong execution discipline, so project support strengthens commercial delivery

About You

Key relationships

• Commercial Performance Manager, PFS Lead, Admissions, School Leaders, Finance, and as needed Growth/Brand (for recurring friction insights)

Experience

• 2–5 years in operations, administration, project coordination, finance admin, admissions admin or similar high-discipline processing role
• Proven experience managing complex documentation and case tracking with strong auditability and confidentiality
• Strong experience with spreadsheets and structured trackers (and/or CRM experience)

Advantageous

• Experience in a school group or education organisation (admissions, bursaries, finance admin or enrolment operations) would be advantageous
• Exposure to financial support, affordability review, fee adjustments or scholarship/bursary processes is advantageous
• Experience working across multiple stakeholders (finance, operations, customer-facing teams) with clean handovers

Skills and capabilities

• Working to intermediate financial literacy – confident reviewing income documentation and applying structured affordability frameworks with numerical accuracy
• Strong Excel/Google Sheets proficiency, comfortable managing structured trackers, formulas, reconciliations and high-volume data with clean audit trails
• High attention to detail and strong documentation discipline
• Confident in conducting structured phone conversations with families to clarify documentation, explain next steps and move cases forward, able to manage sensitive financial discussions with empathy and firmness
• Discretion and confidentiality when handling sensitive family financial information, 
• Strong organisation and time management with comfort handling high volumes and deadlines
• Clear, professional communication with families and internal stakeholders
• Ability to follow frameworks consistently and escalate appropriately (without creating new policy)
• Problem-solving mindset with proactive bottleneck flagging and practical suggestions

Education (recommended)

• Diploma/degree in administration, finance, operations, business or equivalent experience