Executive Assistant to the Headmaster

The role is to work closely with the Head to provide the highest level of administrative support:  co-ordinating and managing the Head’s diary, dealing with all routine communications, receiving visitors and assisting with the day to day liaison with staff and pupils.  The EA will be an excellent ambassador for the Head and the school in all dealings.

The EA will develop and execute the Head’s initiatives and ideas for visits and events, liaising with members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) as necessary.

The EA will exercise sound professional judgement, anticipate and solve problems, take initiatives to reduce the Head’s involvement in routine matters wherever possible and will have a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the Head and the ethos of the school.

The Head’s EA will also support the SET and the SLT in a range of planned tasks and on request. 

All staff share the responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of the pupils, in accordance with the school’s Safeguarding Policy.

Key Responsibilities

•      Attend daily meeting with Head to discuss work requirements and other issues.

• To coordinate and manage the Head’s diary in Outlook.   The EA should seek opportunities to plan the Head’s diary most effectively and according to an established set of priorities.

• To ensure that relevant school calendar entries are coordinated with the Head’s diary.

• To deal with specific visitors to the Head and enquiries to the Head’s office.

 To meet and greet specific visitors to the Head, ensuring they are given a first-class welcome and impression of the school, which reflects its ethos.

 To deal with telephone calls and to screen accordingly.

 To act as ‘gatekeeper’ and facilitate access to the Head where appropriate, and without jeopardising the smooth running of the Head’s schedule.

• To deal with all of the Head’s correspondence. 

 To open and deal with all post.

 To prepare routine correspondence for signing, ie to prepare draft or final replies to letters/ emails on behalf of the Head.

 To prepare other correspondence/documents/reports, as required.

• To arrange and organise meetings and to ensure the Head has all relevant information in advance.

 Overseeing/management of all practical arrangements for the Head’s meetings, eg room bookings, staff/parent availability, catering etc.

 To gather and check information and prepare papers/briefing notes in advance of meetings.

 To attend meetings and take minutes when required. (eg the pupils’ School Council).

• To maintain the administrative and management information systems necessary for the efficient running of the Head’s office.

 To file the Head’s important documents.

 To maintain records as necessary for the smooth running of the school.

• To organise and track the Head’s visits to Senior Schools and visits by other Heads to The Manor.

• Events co-ordination as required by the Head eg. The school’s annual Fireworks Evening   

• To undertake research in support of the Head’s work, to include the preparation of reports/statistics/briefing papers, that can be used by the Head to aid decision making.

• To help the Head plan assemblies and prepare PowerPoint presentations for them.  To invite guests to assemblies where applicable

• To liaise with members of staff in charge of any event that requires the Head’s attendance/involvement; to liaise with Governors, members of SLT, the Registrar. To liaise with the Deputy Heads regarding matters arising during the Head’s absence.

• To observe and maintain the confidential nature of the post at all times.

• Manage the timeline for the Head’s writing of pupil reports, proofread and upload to the school information management system.

• Gather information for the Head’s reports to Senior Schools and ensure these are sent out in a timely fashion.

• To help with the Head’s termly report to the Governors; liaising with contributors and pulling together content based upon the Head’s instructions.

• To ensure timely communication of Full Board and Committee/Sub-Committee meetings to the Governors.

• Design (when necessary) and production of play/concert programmes etc.

• Taking minutes at the start of term Staff Meetings and other meetings.

• Supporting the SET/SLT

• Work with the Deputy Head Academic and Head of Years 5 and 6 to co-ordinate Year 6 Senior School applications; preparing letters and information booklets for parents, creating online reply slips, tracking information provided by parents, liaising with senior schools regarding references, interviews and exams, registering pupils for Common Entrance and collating offer and scholarship information Minute the Year 5 and 6 weekly Section Meetings.

• Support the Deputy Head Pastoral with maintaining Safeguarding and Pupil Behaviour records.

• Support the Deputy Head Pastoral by making updates to a variety of Safeguarding documents on request.

• Manage the policy review process to ensure all school policies are up to date and inspection ready.  Liaise with individual SLT members regarding the policies for which they are responsible.

• Ensure readiness of all documents required for ISI Compliance Inspections and maintain the ISI Inspectors’ Google Folder

• Maintain the ‘Policies’ and ‘Academic Results, Scholarships and Future Schools’ sections of the school website.

• Help Heads of Section with the organisation of Parents’ Evenings when required.

Other Duties

Staff are expected to carry out other duties as reasonably requested by the Head or the SLT.  Be prepared to help with or deputise for other administrative functions, most particularly the HR Officer.