School leadership is significant for student learning, but increased workload and complexity are believed to be in part responsible for the difficulties internationally in managing succession, with experienced leaders leaving the profession prematurely and potential future leaders reluctant to take on the role. This article draws on a national government-funded programme of inter-school collaborations in England. Focusing on data from four primary clusters, it explores head teacher perspectives on the ways in which the expertise of a senior School Business Manager was seen to be supportive of head teacher succession within these partnerships through its impacts on the working life of the head teacher at different career stages. (Contains 5 notes.)