Receptionist (Apprentice)

Are you a conscientious and hard-working individual? Do you work with a high level of professionalism in everything that you do? Are you keen to join a highly successful company that will support you in your career?

Leigh Academies Trust has an exciting opportunity to appoint a Receptionist to work at our Head Office based in Strood, joining us as soon as possible, with the position being offered as an apprenticeship. The Receptionist position is pivotal to the smooth running of our central office and our appointed candidate will embark on an apprenticeship course, gaining a nationally recognised Level 3 qualification during their time in the post.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

As the Receptionist, you will be the ‘face’ of Leigh Academies Trust – you’ll be the first point of contact for many members of Leigh Academies Trust and external stakeholders who visit our modern head offices. Applicants should be professional, personable and committed to providing an excellent service on behalf of Leigh Academies Trust, and above all else, our appointed candidate will have a positive work ethic and can-do attitude. If you're as excited by this opportunity as we are, we'd love to hear from you!

​​​​​​​Future prospects: This apprenticeship could be the start of a very promising career within the wider business and administration remit. We endeavour to offer further employment following successful performance and completion of the Level 3 course with future opportunities to extend your training with a higher level apprenticeship programme. We offer in-house Continuing Professional Development and you’ll be part of a highly experienced and efficient office team – you’ll be learning from the very best. Since 2017 when we recruited our first Receptionist, 6 candidates have been in this role and all have since been employed thereafter within head office, including the PA and Governance Team, Recruitment, IT, and our training provider TGTSH. 

Click here to see what a day in the life of a Receptionist looks like!

Apprenticeship Summary:

Annual wage:  £12,500 per annum

Holiday allowance: 25 days per annum plus bank holidays

Working week: Monday - Thursday, 8.00am – 4.30pm / Friday, 08:00 - 4.00pm

Total hours per week: 37 (including the 20% training element of the Apprenticeship)

Apprenticeship duration: Approx.18 months

Anticipated start date: As soon as possible

Apprenticeship level: Advanced Level Apprenticeship (Level 3)

Apprenticeship standard: Business & Administration

Positions: 1 available

Desired entry qualifications: GCSE grade C/4 or above in Maths, English and ICT

Please note that a Level 2 qualification in English and Maths is essential for this opportunity. Applicants that do not have this can not be considered. 

Essential skills:

• Level 2 in Maths and English
• Excellent organisational and planning skills with outstanding attention to detail
• Demonstrate a high level of initiative
• Computer literacy in usual office applications
• Committed and enthusiastic
• Excellent attendance and time-keeping record.
• Organised
• Attention to detail and accuracy
• Able to respond proactively to daily issues in a timely manner
• Comfortable working both individually and as part of a team
• Comfortable with communicating with people at all levels of seniority​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Being part of Leigh Academies Trust: As of 1st September 2022, our Trust comprises 30 geographically organised academies (14 secondaries, 14 primaries and 2 special) educating 20,000 students, and employing 3,000 talented staff. The Trust is establishing four ‘clusters’ of academies: North Kent; Central Kent; South East London; Medway. In addition, the Trust is responsible for one of the region’s biggest initial teaching training organisations, a large teaching school hub and is an accredited apprenticeship provider. Our future plans are found in our Vision 2030 document available on our website.​​​​​​​

As part of Leigh Academies Trust, you will have ample opportunity to collaborate with your peers both within the academy and across the whole Trust. This is an important part of our vision as we know through experience that we perform better when we work together. You are supported to undertake regular self-development to continue your professional development and hopefully progress further within the organisation.

Our commitment to safeguarding: Leigh Academies Trust and all of our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair, robust and consistent recruitment process across all academies and business units which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates - you can read more about this in our Recruitment Guidance. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.

Our commitment to equality and diversity: As a Trust, we are passionate about diversity and recognise that as individuals, we all bring something unique to the role regardless of any protected characteristics which is why we treat all of our people equally, without compromise. We are committed to providing equality and fairness throughout our recruitment and employment practices and not discriminating on any grounds.