PA to Principal

Harris Academy Purley is seeking to appoint a PA to Principal to assist the Principal in all tasks and to ensure that they are adequately supported. The successful candidate will also undertake responsibilities as HR Officer and Clerk to Governors, and will line manage the Receptionist.

About Us

Harris Academy Purley is a mixed Academy for 1,300 students aged 11-18, with a large sixth form of over 300 students. Our vision is that all members of the Academy community are supported and encouraged to achieve their absolute potential.

Harris Academy Purley is part of the Harris Federation and this enables us to offer you a comprehensive induction programme and training and development opportunities to support your career development including Masters and other qualifications.

For a confidential discussion with the Principal or for further information please contact Tim Allman t.allman@harrispurley.org.uk

Main Areas of Responsibility

PA to Principal

• Keep the Principal's diary and be responsible for entering all appointments and assisting the Principal to manage their time efficiently and effectively.
• Providing a daily diary and documentation for meetings and maintain an overview of approaching deadlines.
• Taking all telephone calls for the Principal in the first instance, dealing with queries and passing calls on if absolutely necessary.
• Be responsible for organising meetings and passing on messages between the Principal and staff, students, parents/carers and other external agencies

Management of Human Resources

• As directed by the Principal, to manage the recruitment process for new staff. This includes advertising for staff, processing job applications, requesting reference, arranging interviews and liaising with Home Office if necessary;
• To manage appointments process, this too includes initiating CRB, List 99, Medical and reference checks. Completing documentation for contracts and back details for payroll and HR. Sending out offer letters and chasing any outstanding documentation;
• Responsible for accuracy of the Academy's single central record;
• To be responsible for the Academy's payroll and all associated business.
• To audit staff sickness records and prepare termly reports to Principal's PA for action;
• To organise confidential staff files and maintain them in an orderly manner;
• To carry out any HR tasks as directed by the Principal, this to include referrals to occupational health, organising interviews with the Principal, liaising with staff representatives as required;

Governance

• To provide a clerking service to the local governing body;
• To liaise with Academy Governors, ensure paperwork for meetings has been circulated and deal with any enquiries;
• To organise Governor's visits to the Academy;
• To minute the Governing body meetings and student disciplinary panels including permanent exclusions;
• To assist with elections of parent and staff governors;
• To deal with any enquiries from Governors in the first instance;
• To collect any correspondence for Governors and forward to Clerk as appropriate;
• To ensure Governors are sent copies of Academy INSIGHT magazine, prospectus and other relevant materials;
• To ensure absolute discretion and confidentiality as appropriate and advise the governing body accordingly.

Please see Job description for full details.

Qualifications & Experience

The successful candidate will have:

• Qualifications to degree level or equivalent
• Knowledge of Microsoft software packages
• Knowledge of Health and Safety legislation
• Secure knowledge of human resources legislation
• Basic knowledge of financial procedures
• Training and certification in a broad range of health and safety areas
• Knowledge of procurement processes
• Knowledge of the key principles of staff management
• Ideally, a professional qualification (e.g. CIPD or equivalent) to NVQ Level 4
• At least three years' experience working an office environment
• Experience of training staff successfully in a range of duties
• Experience of working as part of a team

Next Steps

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact us via e-mail, or call to arrange a conversation.

Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. You will need this when completing your application.

Please note: we may hold interviews as and when applications are received and we reserve the right to offer to a candidate prior to the closing date. We only accept applications submitted online via our careers website and which are completed before the closing deadline. With this in mind, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible and advise you check the job information as per the listing on our careers site.

Rewards & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan including access to a virtual GP, electric car scheme, 26 days' annual leave (plus bank holidays) for staff who work across the full year, and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefitson our website.

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed for all applicants. Before applying, please review our Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

As a provider of employment and education, we value the diversity of our staff and students, and all our staff are equally valued and respected. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment for our students and staff.

The academy will endeavour to make any necessary reasonable adjustments to the job and the working environment to enable access to employment opportunities for disabled job applicants or continued employment for any employee who develops a disabling condition (as defined in the Equality Act 2010).