Administrator

We are looking for a strong Administrator to work in the CEO’s admin office, assisting the CEO’s PA by undertaking a range of clerical, administrative and general tasks and providing comprehensive confidential support.

The role involves working with a wide range of contacts both across the Federation and externally. It is important that the post holder conducts the business of the Harris Federation in a professional manner and conveys a positive image of the Federation at all times.

About Us

The Harris Federation is a leading education charity with 51 Harris primary and secondary academies across London and Essex. The founder, Chairman and sponsor of the Harris Federation, Lord Harris of Peckham, opened our first school in 1990. We now educate some 38,000 young people and closing the gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers has always been a core mission. 

The Harris Federation has a track record of accomplishment in achieving success through rapid school improvement and has built an unrivalled reputation for running outstanding academies in London. 

Our central team comprises of a dedicated, driven group of departments working centrally to provide support across the Federation and all of our academies. Across a multitude of key departments, we maintain an outstanding body of staff all integral to supporting central and academy finance, HR, Data, Estates management, Talent and many more. 

Main Areas of Responsibility

General Administration and Customer Support

• Maintaining responsibility for and monitoring an efficient filing system both soft and hard
• Ensure all incoming calls/emails are dealt with in a timely manner and providing excellent customer service at all times
• Preparing and updating PowerPoint presentations
• Administrative support to the Federation Directors and CEO’s PA when requested, this includes typing and document preparation
• In receptionist’s absence, maintain up to date ‘raise-online’/data dashboard records and ensuring data from dashboards and raise-online tie up with general Federation/Website
• Collate Admissions data for the Federation’s academies liaising with Local Authorities and Academies as appropriate
• Annually collate SEF and AIPs from Primary and Secondary academies.
• Attending to visitors and providing refreshments by covering the reception on lunch breaks and when required
• Uploading of invoices using the Concur system for the CEO’s authorisation ensuring that financial procedures have been followed and any relevant recharges made
• Oversee HR administration for senior Federation staff including new starter checks, and the setting up and maintaining of personal files both hard and
• Oversee the main SCR for Principals and senior staff and liaise with HR to ensure it is maintained.
• To complete such clerical duties, telephone calls and administrative tasks as may be reasonably expected in the course of the duties of appointment and to assist with PA to CEO’s duties
• Assist with payroll for Principals and senior staff by updating payroll provider of changes and checking payroll for Principals is correct before it is finalised.
• Annually collation of Declaration of Interest forms for senior staff.
• Assist with annual Federation conferences.
• Ad hoc administration support

Federation Newsletter

• Ownership of gathering the articles for the Federation Newsletter
• Collating and formatting articles, correctly liaising with designers as appropriate
• Proofread and review accuracy of articles
• Agree timelines with designer for the annual newsletter cycle
• Proactively remind colleagues of dates/requirements for articles
• Chase outstanding articles

Website Management

• Responsibility for ensuring the Federation website is up to date, current, and relevant
• Ensure all data on new schools’ projects is updated and reviewed as new academies open
• Upload documents and news articles in line with agreed formatting and federation branding
• Gather, collate and upload photographs from across the Federation’s academies for the weekly Flickr album

Federation Christmas cards

• Ownership of gathering Christmas card designs and liaise with CEO and PA for final choice.
• Agree timelines with external agency for issue of cards.
• Responsible for ensuring recipient list is correct and the posting/emailing of the cards.
• Qualifications & Experience
• To have excellent interpersonal skills;
• To be very well organised and self-motivated, proactively identifying what needs to be done, prioritising and ensuring that deadlines are met;
• To be comfortable working alone and taking initiative and/or as part of a team when required;
• To be able to work in a calm, orderly and professional manner within a sometimes pressurised environment;
• Dealing with confidential material, a high degree of discretion must be adhered to;
• To have a good standard of education with high levels of literacy and numeracy;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills;
• General keyboarding skills are required along with an excellent working knowledge of PowerPoint, Excel, Word and Outlook;
• To have a flexible approach and be able to work outside of normal office hours on occasions.

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 to senior leadership.

We look for talented individuals who share our vision for creating exceptional places of learning, and are committed to ensuring that every child in London has access to the best possible education.

In addition to the opportunities for career progression, training and development, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits.

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.