Executive Assistant to the Headteacher

35 hours a week • All year round post (but for the right candidate, could be offered on a term-time basis in which case the salary and London weighting would be pro rata)

About our school

At Northolt High School, our vision, mission and values underpin everything that we do. Our aim is to enable our students to develop strength of character, to be articulate and confident and to secure the best academic outcomes possible. Our school vision is "committed to excellence". Our mission statement describes how we work to achieve this core aim - through "seizing opportunity, instilling ambition, realising potential". Join us and you will be welcomed by a hard-working, dedicated staff and subject team who are united in their focus on student achievement and continuous school improvement.

We are a relatively small school at the moment with 935 students on roll, but this number is increasing. We have supported Ealing Council by adding three additional classes onto our school roll over the course of the 2021-22 academic year and are adding a fourth class from September 2022. We also have a new building project on the horizon which we expect to make our school even more popular.

We maintain a broad and balanced curriculum offer for all students. Our intention is to develop the school so that it has STEAM specialism (the ‘A’ is for Art) whilst at the same time retaining a breadth of curriculum offer for our students. Our curriculum offer includes a broad range of extra-curricular activities as all teachers offer one after school activity a week.

About this role

This is an exciting opportunity for a suitably qualified and experienced individual to take on a senior administrative role at Northolt High School. The Executive Assistant reports directly to Headteacher, providing high level administrative and HR support, also working alongside a number of key staff in order to fulfil his/her responsibilities.

The postholder is responsible for ensuring the effective management and delivery of administrative support to the Headteacher and proactive leadership in areas of Personnel/HR administration and development. The postholder will also take responsibility for external communication and relations, including marketing, as well as overseeing the management, training and development of designated members of support staff at the School.

The Headteacher’s Executive Assistant provides direct support to the Headteacher in ensuring smooth delivery of HR provision, as well as acting as personal assistant to the Headteacher, undertaking a range of general administrative and/or secretarial duties to ensure the effective running of the Headteacher’s office and general administrative services.

The Headteacher’s Executive Assistant possesses and demonstrates high level written and communication skills, emotional intelligence, a high degree of accuracy and good judgement, outstanding organisation, loyalty and discretion. S/he possesses an excellent understanding of the educational priorities of the School and holds a genuine interest in and commitment towards providing the very best opportunities for young people.

The successful candidate will join the School at an exciting time, with a fully funded project already underway to rebuild the entire School building and this will link closely with the marketing aspects of the postholder’s role as the School seeks to develop its brand and attract increased pupil numbers.

The successful candidate will offer skills in a range of disciplines in order to contribute to the successful delivery of the priorities of the Headteacher to the Governing Body. It is therefore necessary for the successful candidate to have a strong background in planning, organisation and delivery of key operational services, including the management of staff, and the ability to work flexibly to meet the requirements of this demanding role.

We will be the right school for you if you are committed to:

• Working closely in partnership with the Headteacher and senior staff to provide high quality administrative support;
• Working effectively alongside the Headteacher and other key members of staff to ensure smooth and efficient Human Resources provision;
• Providing high quality administrative support in order to contribute to the Headteacher’s work with the Governing Body;
• Playing a full part in termly innovation projects to contribute to the development of school- wide continuous improvement;
• Contributing to the wider life of the school and our engagement with the local community whenever opportunities arise.

We can offer you:

• Great support and training as you develop your career;
• The opportunity to innovate and bring in new ideas to contribute towards improving our school;
• A caring and supportive professional environment, with attention paid to staff wellbeing and helping staff to maintain a good work / life balance;
• A thoughtful and well-structured school calendar with careful attention paid to balancing workload;
• A commitment to providing high quality opportunities for you to continue your professional learning.

Our recruitment process

One of the Ealing Learning Partnership projects we have been engaged with in the last two years is a ‘No Learner Left Behind’ project to improve the outcomes of our Black Caribbean students. Informed by our work on this project, we conduct an annual analysis of the ethnicity profile of our student body. Our long term aim is to ensure that the profile of our staff group matches that of our students. At the moment, we are underrepresented in the following ethnicity groups: Arab, Asian, Black Caribbean, Black African and Traveller of Irish Heritage. We would therefore welcome applications from candidates who would classify themselves as belonging to these groups.

We are introducing a ‘blind’ selection process this year which we also hope will support us in reducing the risk of any unintended bias during our recruitment process. You will see that our application form is in two parts. Part one, which contains details about candidates’ gender, ethnicity and age, is not shared with the staff who select candidates to bring them forward to the interview stage.

The school is committed to safeguarding children and safer recruitment processes are always robustly followed. Successful candidates’ appointment will be subject to safer recruitment checks and satisfactory completion of an enhanced DBS check. Further information can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-and-barring-service/about

A Job Description & Person Specification plus an application form can be found on our website: www.northolthigh.org.uk

Please email your application to the Headteacher at: headteacher@northolthigh.org.uk

Closing date: 9am, Monday 5 September 2022

Interview date: Wednesday 7 September 2022

The school is committed to safeguarding children and safer recruitment processes are always robustly followed. Successful candidates’ appointment will be subject to safer recruitment checks and satisfactory completion of an enhanced DBS check.