Executive Assistant

Stantonbury School is the largest in the MAT and an exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Executive Assistant to support the school through the next stage of its development. This is a temporary senior position, working directly with the Principal to drive improvement in a fast and progressive environment. Your role will include diary management and planning for the Principal and tracking actions from internal meetings to ensure accountability and progress. You will be confident to use your own initiative and plan your workload in a flexible manner to support the Principal in raising standards across the school.

Job Context

Tove Learning Trust (TLT) is a multi-academy trust (MAT) with a small central structure and a large amount of autonomy granted to its constituent schools.

Stantonbury School is the largest school in the trust with 1400 pupils and 200 staff. The most recent Ofsted inspection judged the school to have met the expected standard in some areas but also requires urgent improvement in others. This is a senior position and will include handling sensitive and highly confidential material relating to the development and improvement of the school, raising standards, liaison with external parties and government agencies and all levels of governance for TLT.

Key Responsibilities

• To be the Executive Assistant to the Principal in terms of diary management, appointments, meeting schedules and all operational organisations.

• Draft, prepare, proofread and circulate relevant documentation on behalf of the Principal ensuring they are appropriate for the audience receiving them.

Job Description

1. To provide effective and highly efficient diary management for the Principal to enable them to further the business of the organisation.

2. Lead in the setting of annual, periodical or spontaneous meetings, along with the preparation, content and follow up and tracking connected to these.

3. Preparing ad hoc documents, arranging appointments and arranging general work schedules to support the Principal in maximising their time.

4. To manage incoming emails and telephone calls on behalf of the Principal, highlighting important items as necessary and draft appropriate responses to be signed off by or on behalf of the Principal as required.

5. Support the Principal and PA with the collation, generation and publication of all school level policies ensuring that all the statutory requirements are met including the compulsory elements on the school website.

6. Provide project management and research support as requested or deemed necessary.

7. Oversee the outgoing communications from the school and ensure it is proofread, accurate, ready and available for the Principal to share with relevant stakeholders.

8. Support the Principal with articulating and delivering the school’s growth plan, SEF and SIP through the production of briefing reports, plans and summaries for consideration by the Leadership team.

9. Act as a central point of contact between leadership and internal teams, improving communication flow and internal task management across departments.

10. Maintain strict confidentiality when handling sensitive financial and employee information.

11. Use initiative and discretion to make critical or strategic decisions in the absence of the Principal as appropriate.

12. Facilitate the production, monitoring and review of key documentation including the risk register, AIB reports, Trust updates and school strategy documents.

13. Be the senior contact for access to the ‘face of the trust’ in terms of external exposure, reputational risk management, marketing, promotional materials etc.

14. Oversee the complaints procedures, governance processes and general school compliance by line managing or delegating to other relevant posts as required.

15. Look after the guests and visitors that meet with the Principal ensuring they have appropriate hospitality and materials for their visit.