Business Support Officer

The Haberdashers' Institute is the Professional Learning and School Improvement function within our Trust. The Institute provides a plethora of internal and external professional learning and networking opportunities for colleagues both within and beyond our Trust. The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and Early Career Teacher (ECT) recruitment and support also falls within this function. Haberdashers’ Institute is also a Lead Delivery Partner for National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) and facilitates leadership development for leaders from over 50 schools.

We are looking for a dynamic, personable and creative colleague to join our committed team. This is a pivotal role; the post-holder will be the central point of contact for the Haberdashers' Institute and will forge strong relationships across the Trust and with our external partners. You will need exceptional organizational and IT skills, attention to detail and a proactive can-do approach. Experience in events management and project management would be advantageous in your application. 

This is a critical role for the Trust as it will support the Central Team in achieving the strategic goals for school improvement and people development. The successful candidate will be an extremely organised self-starter with the ability to work on different projects simultaneously and an interest in education and people development. They will have the creativity, knowledge and skills to consolidate our operations and communications functions and will thrive working across multiple teams with high levels of autonomy.

You will be the first point of contact for Haberdashers’ Institute enquiries for both internal and external stakeholders, taking pride in acting as an ambassador for Haberdashers Institute and the Trust. You will have great prioritisation skills, and will confidently undertake a range of administration and project management tasks. You will work closely with colleagues across the Trust and be motivated by the varied nature of the work and opportunities for meaningful collaboration across multiple teams. Applicants should be proactive, professional, personable, detail-orientated and committed to providing excellent business support.

You will be provided with a flexible development path and encouraged and supported to engage in externally accredited development programmes. You will already have a secure grasp of the Office 365 suite and will adopt a ‘can do’ attitude to learning additional software programmes, website and social media tools to maintain our proactive and responsive approach to communications and efficient operations.

An ability to work flexibly is needed. Due to the nature of the role, work hours may vary and will occasionally include early evenings and Saturdays due to events. Remote working is possible and when there are no face to face events. Although the Central Trust Team is based at the Trust office at Jerningham Road, New Cross Gate, Lewisham, in practice, the successful applicant will spend time in each of our school clusters according to business needs with 1-2 days per week remote working.

Key responsibilities of the role

•To act as the first point of contact for the Haberdashers’ Institute, responding to queries from schools, delegates, facilitators and delivery partners ensuring a positive experience

•Be responsible for the operational and administration functions of the Haberdashers’ Institute leading to high standards of delivery for all activities

•Manage the scheduling and co-ordination of all aspects of the Haberdashers’ Institute calendar, ensuring streamlined communication with all key internal and external stakeholders

•Lead the communications and marketing strategy to include the creation and distribution of varied marketing materials, targeted social media and email campaigns and website updates

•Lead the planning and project management of key deliverables such as the Trust conference, ensuring that the responsibilities of the project team are clearly defined and deadlines are met

•Utilise a range of online platforms and software to ensure proficiency in online training delivery and efficiency in operations and administration

•Recruitment, onboarding and ongoing support of trainee and Early Career Teachers as part of the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Programmes to support streamlined communication and meet recruitment and retention targets

•Act as a representative of the Lead Local Delivery Partner, supporting smooth delivery of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs), effective liaison with National Delivery partner as a representative of the Lead providing all necessary operational, communications support as the Lead Delivery Partner’s Business Support to meet recruitment and retention targets

•Take responsibility for financial processes including raising POs and sales receipts, budget monitoring, tracking payments, completing grant returns and ensuring the timely disbursement and receipt of funds

•Maintain participation records and the associated People Development Dashboard. Undertake regular evaluation, analysis and use varied analytical tools to report on engagement and impact, supporting ongoing improvements

•Record decisions and actions from key meetings, circulating information and following up to ensure they are met

•Prepare reports, presentations and returns for external delivery partners including DfE

•Act as an ambassador for Haberdashers’ Institute and the Trust and local and national events

•Maintain close working relationships with all key internal and external stakeholders leading to high levels of collaborations and the development of new strategic partnerships

Additional Responsibilities

•To support other teams and business functions as and when needed, supporting the achievement of the Trust’s key strategies and objectives

•To work within the Haberdashers’ Trust framework with regard to health and safety

•To actively promote the aims and ethos of the Trust, including equality diversity and inclusion

•To be aware of and assume the appropriate level of responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and to report any concerns in accordance with the safeguarding policies

No job description can be exhaustive and duties may alter over time. The post holder is expected to use their professional judgement to ensure that the role continues to evolve and develop in line with the Trust’s changing requirements.

Support

Our staff are important to us. We know that without great staff, our children will not be as successful. Therefore, professional learning is key to our success. We are fortunate to have a wide range of internal and external course facilitators, with a wide range of courses and CPD opportunities for all staff. We are particularly focusing on the development of our support staff; you will be encouraged and supported to:

•Engage in relevant externally accredited programmes and apprenticeships

•Attend appropriate training and development opportunities and keep up to date with current educational developments and legislation affecting Initial Teacher Training and development of educational practitioners and leaders

•Reciprocally share expertise and skills with others in the Trust and outside the Trust, to ensure best practice, consistency in business support and ongoing improvement