School Secretary & Administrator- Maternity Cover

An exciting opportunity join a busy and friendly front office in a thriving co-educational preparatory school in Hampstead. This is a full time Maternity Cover role with  20 days annual leave (plus Christmas closing and bank holidays)

The hours are 8.00am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday (term time) with reduced hours outside of term time (at the discretion of the Head).

To apply for the post, please click the 'Apply Now' button below. 

Closing date for completed applications: 

Monday 11th July with interviews taking place on Friday 15th July

School Secretary & Administrator (starting from September 2022)

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (This list is not exhaustive, please see Full Job Description attached below)

Main duties:

Reception duties:

• To be responsible to and report to the Headmaster and Line Manager.

• To maintain the Reception area to present a welcoming and efficient ambiance.

• Greet visitors and parents either in person, over the phone or via email in a courteous manner, dealing with their queries and concerns in a professional manner.

• To liaise with the School Nurse and parents regarding pupils feeling unwell and/or needing medical attention or first aid.

• Running regular school database reports for up to date pupil medical and dietary information.

• To liaise with the catering and cleaning staff and other sub-contractors as necessary.

• To have due regard to Health and Safety and to follow the School’s policies.

• To answer telephone calls in a welcoming and efficient manner, passing on messages and following up queries by telephone or email as necessary. 

• To ensure that agreed security procedures are implemented for pupils, staff and visitors entering and leaving school premises. 

• To handle parental queries on day to day matters and to refer more serious parental queries to the relevant person or SLT.

• To liaise with teaching staff over pupil paperwork.

Administration duties:

• To be responsible for the extra subject spreadsheet, liaising, with parents regarding attendance.

• To monitor pupil absence and lateness via the class registers.

• To receive incoming mail, sort and distribute to relevant staff; dispatch outgoing mail. 

• Accepting and recording deliveries and arranging for transfer to the appropriate department/person. 

• To assist Teaching Staff with various matters as required.

• To assist with Pupil filing (shared between office personnel), including the archiving of leavers files on a termly basis.

• To liaise effectively with other members of the administrative team to provide continuity throughout the school day and provide support and cover for colleagues during lunch breaks, absences and holidays.

QUALIFICATIONS, EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Essential: 

• GCSEs or equivalent at a Grade C/4 and above in Math, English 
• Experience using Microsoft office programmes, especially excel and world
• Administration experience

Desirable

• A Levels or equivalent
• Previous experience in School administration
• Experience using SIMs system or similar 

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

Essential: 

• An excellent track record as an administrator 
• Evidence of further relevant professional development 
• Confidence and understanding of safeguarding and child protection statutory legislations and school protocols

Desirable:

• preferably have worked in an school o
• Understanding of the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI)

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Strong level of IT competency, including Office 365, database and inputting systems.

• High level/Good level of numeracy, analytical and reporting skills.

• Outstanding written skills and good command of the English language.

• Excellent communication and listening skills, and the ability to deal confidentially and professionally with individuals at all levels.

• Attention to detail and a meticulous working practice.

• Ability to evaluate information and data, and actively question and clarify information.

• Well-developed time management, organisational and planning skills.

• A flexible approach and the ability to multitask and cope with a changing, varied and at times busy workload.

• Ability to work as part of a team.

• Ability to perform under pressure and deadlines.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

A Devonshire House Secretary & Administrator:

• Commitment to educational excellence 
• Commitment to the ethos and aims of a school
• Demonstrate commitment to personal professional development
• The need for absolute confidentiality and discretion both within a school and the outer community 
• A role model and team player who demonstrates professionalism at all times
• Passion, resilience, optimism and energy  
• A friendly, approachable but professional manner
• Empathy, integrity and compassion as Devonshire House are a family!
• A sense of humour, as it benefits our health and well-being 

Devonshire House Staff:

• Commitment to the ethos and aims of the School

• Fully engage in the School’s endeavours of excellence and high standards 

• Has high expectations and demonstrate commitment to personal professional development

• Professional integrity and absolute confidentiality and discretion both within the School and the outer community 

• A role model and team player who demonstrates professionalism at all times

• Passion, resilience, optimism and energy  

• Empathy, integrity and compassion as Devonshire House are a family

• A friendly, approachable but professional manner

• Personal warmth, kindness and a generous spirit towards staff, pupils and parents  

• A sense of humour, as it benefits health and well-being 

To apply for the post, please click the 'Apply Now' button below. 

Devonshire House Preparatory School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. Devonshire House Preparatory School is an equal opportunities employer. If the candidate has lived in a country other than the UK for a period of 3 months or more since the age of 18, a foreign criminal policy check will be required irrespective of whether they worked in those countries.