Personal Assistant to the Headteacher

Westfield Academy, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD18 6NS

6 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  1st September 2024

• Closing date

  12 July 2024 at 4pm

• Date listed

  5 July 2024

Job details

• Job role:
  • Teaching assistant
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Part time, full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £27,334.00 - £29,777.00 Annually (FTE) Grade H6, Scale point range:14-19 (To be pro rated for hours and weeks worked)

Personal Assistant to the Headteacher job summary

Job description

Job Title:	Personal Assistant to the Headteacher
Grade:	Grade: H6, Scale point range:14-19 Salary range: £27,334- £29,777 (FTE) To be pro rated for hours and weeks worked
Hours / weeks:	37 Hrs a week /Term-Time plus 5 INSET Days (39 weeks)
Contract type:	Permanent
Start date:	1st September 2024
Reports to:	Headteacher

Job purpose

• To support the Head Teacher by providing the highest quality administrative and management support in order to assist in the smooth running of all Academy activities.

• To contribute to the overall ethos, work and aims of the Academy.

Main responsibilities

• Working under the supervision of the Head Teacher, Senior Deputy Headteacher and School Business Manager but expected to exercise initiative in performing delegated duties, and seeking the necessary advice, where necessary.

• Managing the Head’s diary, appointments and reminder systems in order to make the most effective use of their time and ensuring all documents are prepared in advance of meetings and events.

• Overseeing the diaries of the Senior Deputy Headteacher and the School Business Manager.

• Dealing proactively with incoming and outgoing correspondence to and from the Head’s Office, including drafting letters and emails, in order to ensure appropriate and timely responses to all communications.

• Screen telephone calls, enquiries and requests and handle them, or delegate to others as appropriate, using discretion in providing information both within and outside the Academy.

• Ensuring all visitors to the Head receive an efficient, professional, approachable and welcoming service, in line with the ethos of the Academy.

• Welcoming and looking after external visitors on behalf of the Head and ensuring refreshments are offered and made available. (including Trustee meetings.)

• To draft letters, minutes and reports for the Head’s approval.

• Provide efficient and confidential administrative, secretarial and organisational support to the Head and facilitate communication to all staff within the Academy.

• To coordinate, produce agendas and take minutes of meetings (e.g., leadership meetings, premises meetings and Trustee committee meetings) and publish those minutes in an accurate and timely fashion.

• Prepare, edit and process documents, reports and training materials to a high standard, and to agreed timescales, using appropriate software packages.

• To be responsible for maintaining and enhancing efficient filing and documentation retrieval systems for the Head and SLT.

• To develop administrative systems and maintain records and databases as required by the Head. This may include information about members of staff and pupils, so must be managed in accordance with data protection requirements.

• To maintain and ensure the Academy’s website is kept up to date as required.

• Uphold and demonstrate explicitly the vision, values and aims of the Academy and to actively contribute to their development.

• In all aspects of the role, respecting the confidential and sensitive nature of the work of the Head’s office, both within and beyond the Academy.

• Support a service-oriented ‘can-do’ approach and a culture of support within the administrative team, contributing to mutually supportive working relationships between academic and support staff.

• Providing support to the Senior Deputy Headteacher and School Business Manager as and when required.

• To keep up to date on relevant educational issues and legislation.

• To support HR, if required, with updating codes of practice and policies annually.

• To ensure all duties and responsibilities are discharged in accordance with the Academy’s health and safety at work policy.

• To participate in the Academy’s Performance Management Review, ensuring that performance standards and targets are set and met within the agreed time scale.

• Any other duties reasonably expected of a Personal Assistant.

Other

• Support and foster the aims of the Academy.

• To ensure they fully understand the contents of the Staff Handbook, the Academy’s aims and policies and apply them appropriately.

• Attend staff meetings, INSET sessions and similar important functions both in and out of normal Academy hours, and participate in the main Open Evening/Day for prospective parents and pupils.

• Notify their Line Manager as early as possible if they are going to be absent from the Academy and follow the Academy’s policy for notifying.

• Attend relevant in-service training each year, at the request of their Line Manager and / or the Headteacher.

• Take part in the Academy’s performance management scheme and appraisal.

The duties and responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present. This role will be reviewed annually as part of the performance appraisal process and the post holder is expected to accept any reasonable alterations that may from time to time be necessary.

Westfield Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of Children and Young people. To meet this responsibility, we follow a rigorous selection process. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Person specification

Attributes	Essential (or expected to train / qualify to that standard)	Desirable
General	A good telephone manner and the ability to deal with visitors and callers in a calm and courteous way A high level of personal integrity, honesty, enthusiasm and stamina A proactive approach to planning and prioritising work on own initiative, as well as first-rate organisational skills Accuracy and thorough attention to detail
Qualifications & training	Proven on the job experience Minimum of “pass” at GCSE Maths and English. (A*-C or 4+)	Degree or Level 4 qualifications
Relevant experience	Substantial senior secretarial and administrative experience, working in a complex environment and supporting at senior level Proficient use of Microsoft Office, databases and management information systems, as well as Google’s cloud-based G suite products	Google qualifications First Aid training Previous experience within an educational setting Experience of being a personal assistant.
Knowledge, skills and abilities	A willingness and ability to ‘roll up sleeves’ in an emergency, along with a professional, unflappable and approachable demeanour Ability to maintain a high work rate and to cope with a range of tasks and competing priorities Willingness to learn new skills and acquire new areas of knowledge Ability to plan, organise and prioritise effectively to meet deadlines Knowledge and understanding of data protection matters, including the GDPR	A good knowledge of the educational sector
Personal qualities	A personable and professional manner Ability to forge good, effective relationships with a range of staff/colleagues. Positive outlook and a commitment to completing tasks to the highest standard Excellent interpersonal and communications skills, along with a diplomatic and discreet outlook Able to interact effectively with staff, parents, students and outside agencies A willingness to undertake all training required by the Academy, including safeguarding training

Commitment to safeguarding

Westfield Academy and it's Trust Board fully recognise that they have a duty of care to ensure arrangements are in place for safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children. We recognise that all members of the school community, including volunteers and Trustees, will at all times play a full and active part in protecting our students from harm.

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Visas cannot be sponsored.

About Westfield Academy

• School type: Academy, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary
• School size: 1319 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report (opens in new tab)
• School website: Westfield Academy website (opens in new tab)
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/westfield-academy (opens in new tab)

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Westfield Academy. We are an over-subscribed, high-performing, non-selective Academy. We have been a consistently "Good" OFSTED school since 2012, with our most recent inspection being December 2019. During my time as Headteacher, our students have consistently achieved some of the best exam results in South West Herts.

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