Headteacher’s PA and Office Manager

Exciting Opportunity: Join the Founding Team of Higham Lane North Academy – Opening September 2025!

We are thrilled to offer a unique opportunity to be part of the founding team at Higham Lane North Academy, a brand-new secondary school in Nuneaton, set to open in September 2025!

As the Headteacher’s PA/Office Manager, you will play a pivotal role in supporting the school’s development during its early stages, initially working alongside a small, dedicated team and 150 Year 7 pupils. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who is highly organised, adaptable, and possesses excellent communication skills.

If you are someone who thrives in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and has a strong administrative background, we would love to hear from you. Your expertise and dedication will help lay the foundation for a successful and thriving school community!   If you have previous experience working in a school, whether in a primary or secondary setting, you will be uniquely positioned to excel in this role.

General Duties and Responsibilities

Provide confidential support to the Headteacher, representing them in various contexts.

Serve as an ambassador for the school, maintaining a positive image and reputation.

Assist in the leadership and management of the school, ensuring smooth operations.

Directly supervise a small team that will grow over time. In the first year this will include a School Receptionist, providing leadership, guidance, and support.

Manage recruitment, performance reviews, work allocation, and ensure the quality of work.

Take direct responsibility for managing a small budget, ensuring accurate monitoring and accounting for expenditure.

Ensure the secure processing of information, always maintaining confidentiality.

Contribute to the wellbeing of individuals and groups within the school community, considering the physical, mental, and social aspects of health and safety

Provide key support for the school by fulfilling essential roles such as First Aider, Mental Health First Aider, and Fire Marshal.

Assist with break and lunchtime duty cover and manage lesson changeovers.

Assist with the organisation of key school events

Support the management of email and written correspondence

Keep school policies up to date and share them through the appropriate platforms

Ensure the school website and related social media platforms are current and aligned with relevant guidelines.

Organise and coordinate visits from external parties.

Provide administrative support to the Data Protection Officer.

To ensure that appropriate cover arrangements are made.

Liaise with staff in the planning of Educational Visits offering advice and support where necessary.

Manage office support functions, incoming enquiries, and supporting with reception duties efficiently.

Conduct research and information-gathering tasks.

Provide full secretarial and administrative support, including word processing, filing (both electronic and manual), dictation, agenda creation, and minute-taking for meetings if required by the Headteacher and other SLT members.

Leverage ICT to improve efficiency and service quality, including the maintenance and accuracy of school databases (e.g., pupil and staff records) and the use of relevant software.

Ensure compliance with financial procedures, including managing a small budget, authorising minor expenditures, and negotiating with external suppliers to ensure value for money.

Oversee the administration systems, processes, and routines, continuously improving and implementing necessary changes.

Prepare and respond to complex enquiries, produce reports, and collect and analyse relevant data.

Develop, manage, and maintain both electronic and manual filing and record-keeping systems to ensure accuracy and accessibility.

Supervise and manage a small team of clerical/admin staff, ensuring effective administrative support across various activities. This includes overseeing recruitment, performance management, and work allocation.

What we offer

At Higham Lane North Academy, our staff are our most precious resource. We are committed to offering you:

A supportive, collaborative working environment that places staff workload and wellbeing at the heart of all working practices.

A clear behaviour and praise policy that enables all teachers to teach, and all pupils to learn effectively with a highly visible and supportive senior leadership team. This includes a centralized detention system, ensuring that you are fully supported with your practice.

A commitment to an ambitious, broad and balanced knowledge curriculum that is highly considerate of teacher workload and wellbeing, particularly around planning, assessment and feedback.

The opportunity to work with a highly experienced, effective, forward-thinking and ambitious senior leadership and Trust team.

A supportive senior leadership and trust team that will regularly seek your feedback to hear your views on what is going well, and how we can be even more effective, giving you control over your work practice and contributions.

The opportunity to work collaboratively with other schools within our trust, particularly with Higham Lane School and Oak Wood Primary and Oak Wood Secondary Schools.

Employee Support Schemes:

·        Subsidised eye care for extended VDU users

·        A Gym Membership Scheme

·        A Cycle to Work Scheme

·        An Employee Assistance Programme, providing practical and emotional support

·        An Employee Benefits Scheme, offering discounts on everyday essentials.

·        A Health Cash Plan benefit, providing reimbursements for various health-related expenses, including dental treatments, optical care, physiotherapy and more.

Further details about the School

This state-of-the-art school and community resource is at the new, Milby Meadows neighbourhood on Upper Farm Drive, Nuneaton Warwickshire, CV11 6YN. It will grow in line with the local need for additional secondary school places until reaching full capacity as a 920-pupil school. The school will include a Specialist Resource Provision (SRP) with up to 20 places available by 2030.

How to apply

Please complete the Application Form, as well as the Equality Details Form, that you will find on the School’s website (www.hlna.co.uk) and email them to jobs@hlna.co.uk, indicating in the message title the post you are applying for. If you would like to have a chat about this post, please contact Kirstie Robinson, Headteacher Designate, on 024 7638 8123. The closing date for applications is 9pm, Sunday 27th April 2025. Interviews will likely be 1st/2nd May.

Please address the following points when completing the ‘Additional Information’ section of the application form: -

•Why you feel your personal qualities and experience make you an excellent candidate for this position.