Receptionist/Telephonist (job share)

Package Description

Required for: as soon as possible

Location: Deans Yard - Westminster School

Hours of work: 08:00 - 17:00, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 08:00 - 13:00 on Saturdays. This is a term-time only role

Contract: part-time (term-time), permanent

Salary: £11,561.67 (actual) based on an FTE of £33,000 per annum.

Benefits include:

 - Free school meals when on-site

 - Generous School pension scheme

 - Free access to the School’s leisure facilities, including a fitness gym (restricted hours). 

 - Cycle to Work Scheme and season ticket loans following completion of our standard probation period 

 - Private medical insurance (opt in).

The deadline for applications is midday on Tuesday 22nd April 2025. Interviews will take place shortly after the closing date.

Job Introduction

We are seeking a professional and customer focused Receptionist/Telephonist to join our Reception Team for two and a half days a week. We are looking for an individual who can work independently as well as part of a team. 

The role will involve being the first point of contact for visitors to the School either by phone, email or in-person.

Reception experience would be advantageous, and a personable manner is essential. The ideal candidate will be friendly, approachable with excellent customer service and communication skills. 

The role is two and a half days a week: Wednesday and Thursday, between 08:00 to 17:00, and Saturday 08:00 – 13:00  (term-time only).

Benefits include free School meals whilst on duty, a generous School pension scheme and free access to the School’s leisure facilities, including a fitness gym (restricted hours). Staff members can access the School’s Cycle to Work Scheme and season ticket loans following completion of our standard probation period as well as having access to the School’s medical insurance package (opt in).

Main Responsibilities

To work as part of the Reception Team being the first point of contact for visitors to the School. 

The main responsibilities and key tasks

• Meet all visitors to the School during term-time, particularly current pupils and their parents, and prospective pupils and their parents. 
• Ensure visitors are correctly badged and briefed on safeguarding and safety requirements for visiting the School.
• Inform members of staff when visitors have arrived in a timely manner.
• Ensure that visitors are supervised until collected by a member of the School’s staff.
• Receive post and deliveries.
• Manage the Reception Diary. 
• Liaise with Job Share partner.
• Work with the School's Security Team, with whom the main Reception is shared. 

Please note this job description is not exhaustive. Any significant and permanent amendments to the document will be made after consultation with the job holder.

The Ideal Candidate

Please refer to the below (attached) person specification.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Westminster School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

About The School

Working at Westminster

Westminster School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of 750 pupils, 120 teaching staff and 108 support staff.

Westminster School is friendly and welcoming, and all newcomers quickly become part of the rhythm of life here.

There is a real sense of community here as, being a boarding school many members of staff and pupils live on site and the School’s premises are very much treated as a home away from home. School life starts before breakfast and continues way beyond the working day; as a result, there is always a lively atmosphere in and around School and always someone to share a tea and biscuit with in the Common Room. Support staff as much as teaching staff are encouraged to embrace the School’s day-to-day activities, whether that be attending an evening concert or a morning service in the Abbey.

At Westminster we will always select the best candidate for every position. We do know, however, that we can only truly choose the best person on every occasion if a broad and diverse pool of candidates see the job advertised and are encouraged to apply.

As such, we continue to work on how our job roles are encountered, and particularly welcome applications from groups who have traditionally been underrepresented here.

Westminster School is for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. We hope you are encouraged to apply.

The School

Westminster School is an independent day and boarding school for boys aged 13-18 and girls aged 16-18, with a long history, a distinctive ethos, and a unique sense of place in the very heart of London. Pupils achieve exceptional examination results and entrance to some of the top universities in the world. It is a busy, passionate and purposeful place where independent and deep thinking is enjoyed, encouraged and respected by all, and where holistic excellence is nurtured and valued.

While the School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence in the country, its commitment to academic life does not make it a hothouse for passing examinations. Pupils’ success at examinations and entry to leading universities is instead a result of their enjoyment of academic enquiry, debate and search for explanation, well beyond published syllabuses. Pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged and our aim is to ensure that their enthusiasm for learning is developed further, allowing them to take full advantage of the opportunities presented to them in the future. At Westminster, pupils have the freedom to lead on projects outside of the classroom and embrace a whole range of extra-curricular activities and interests. A host of pupil-led societies take place every week at the School, often with expert guest speakers, and pupils can choose to study an additional language, play an instrument or two, volunteer in local primary schools, row along the Thames, take part in plays and musicals, and much more. 

The School’s ethos resides in the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the 1560 Charter of Westminster’s Elizabethan foundation, where it is stated that: ‘the youth which is growing to manhood, as tender shoots in the wood of our state, shall be liberally instructed in good books to the greater honour of the state’. Whilst academic and cultural attainments are highly prized at Westminster, the School is fully committed also to each pupil’s spiritual, moral, emotional and physical development and wellbeing – with a particular emphasis on drawing out individual talent wherever it lies – and to prepare young people for fulfilled private and public lives.

From September 2028, the School will welcome both girls and boys at 13+ entry, offering a Westminster education to all. By 2026, Westminster Under School will have opened its brand new pre-prep for girls and boys at 4+ and girls will have joined boys in Years 3 and 7, at the 7+ and 11+ entry points. By 2030, all year groups at Westminster School and Westminster Under School, from ages four to 18, will be fully co-educational, reflecting the School’s dedication to inclusivity and excellence.