Personal Assistant to the Master

Package Description

Required for: April 2023

Location: Under School (Vincent Square)

Contract: full-time (term-time only, plus additional days details of which are listed below), permanent

Salary: c. £31,299.56 pro rata, based on c.£35,000 FTE.

Closing date for applications: Thursday 16th February 2023

Interviews will commence shortly after the closing date

Job Introduction

The PA to the Master provides efficient and effective secretarial and administrative support to the Master, including managing their diary. They act as the first point of contact for all enquiries or issues that involve the Master and possess excellent organisation skills with a calm yet proactive attitude.

They will also ensure the wider office and reception run smoothly and all pupils, parents and visitors are greeted politely and courteously. The administrative team includes the School Receptionist, whom you will work closely with.

The role will also involve line managing the School Receptionist, the Road Crossing Patrol Officer, Gap Students and the Cleaning Supervisor. Previous managing experience is desirable though not essential for this role. Previous administrative experience in an office environment is essential.

The role reports to directly to the Master of the Under School.

For further information about the role, please get in touch with the Deputy Master, Benedict Dunhill, benedict.dunhill@westminster.org.uk

Main Responsibilities

The post holder's main duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Manage the Master's calendar, mainly managing appointments and travel requirements, setting up electronic Teams and/or Zoom meetings and organising appointments where necessary.
• Liaise with the Master, Senior Management Team (SMT) and various other stakeholders (both internal and external) on the Master's behalf.
• Have access to the Master's email inbox, replying on behalf of the Master where appropriate, managing emails and ensuring confidentiality.
• Support in-person meetings by greeting the Master's visitors with good manners and ensuring they have a pleasant visit.
• Act as the first point of contact for all enquiries or issues that require the Master's attention, either by telephone, email or in person.
• Manage requests for absence for pupils from parents, replying on behalf of the Master and disseminating any resulting absences to the relevant people. Keep a log of all absences to inform future requests.
• Manage the School's list of former staff and other guests, organising invitations to school events and organising RSVPs.
• General help at wider school events which take place throughout the year.
• Fulfil other reasonable requests from the Master.

Administration

• Attend weekly Senior Management Team meetings and twice-weekly staff meetings to take accurate and comprehensive minutes, distributing to the relevant staff as required and in a timely manner
• Create the School's weekly newsletter, mainly using InDesign, collating submissions of text and photos from staff and ensuring correct distribution to parents and staff. Training will be provided if you are not familiar with this program
• Proofread letters, documents and emails, correcting to an extremely high standard of English before distributing appropriately using common distribution software such as email or School Post. Keep a record of all outgoing whole-school posts.
• Create electronic form reply slips, monitoring and acting on replies accordingly.
• Manage room bookings and associated requirements (furniture set-up, catering, etc.) for events, ensuring details are entered into the School calendar.
• Attend weekly meetings with the chef and caretakers to manage all logistics and catering requirements.
• Check attendance registers in the morning and afternoon on behalf of the Master and Deputy Master.
• Co-ordinate all aspects of the termly prizegiving assembly, either at School or an external venue, including producing reward certificates, distributing prizes and ensuring the correct trophies are cleaned and on display.

General

• Support and manage the wider office team as required, including covering breaks of other colleagues, answering the telephone, covering reception, signing-in visitors and dealing with queries from staff, pupils and parents where required.
• Administer first aid to boys where necessary (training will be provided).
• Assist the Registrar with fielding queries relating to admissions where required.
• Help to ensure that the wider office is calm, organised and working efficiently.
• Ensure the wider office area is always staffed, including over lunchtime, by agreeing on rotas with relevant staff.
• Line manage the Receptionist, the Road Crossing Patrol Officer, Gap Students and the Cleaning Supervisor, liaising with the Deputy Master where these impact the effective day-to-day running of the School.
• Other reasonable duties as discussed and agreed with the Master.

Hours of Work

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 8.00 am to 5.00 pm.

Tuesdays and Fridays 7.50 am – 5.00 pm.

This is a term-time only post with some additional weeks to be worked during the school holiday period (as outlined below). In addition, the post holder will be expected to attend up to five evenings and/or weekend events a year, such as for assessment days, Open Days/Evenings or accompanying the Master to School events in the evening, either at WUS, at other schools, or similar.

Additional working days are as follows:

• 10 days in August prior to the start of the new academic year (Play term)
• 3 days during the October half term
• 2 days in December at the end of the Play term
• 2 days in January before the start of the Lent term
• 1 day in February half term
• 2 days at the end of Lent term
• 2 days before the start of the Election term
• 1 day in the May half term
• 10 days in July at the end of the Election term (end of the academic year)

Holidays

As this is a term-time only post, all holidays should be taken during the school holidays unless agreed in advance with the Master.

The Ideal Candidate

Please refer to the attached person specification for further details

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 Under School

Westminster Under School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of 292 pupils, 43 teaching staff and 50 support staff.

Westminster Under School is a friendly and welcoming place to work. There is a real sense of community here and staff members quickly become part of the rhythm of life, both inside and outside the classroom. Social events are regular and varied, with plenty of opportunity to socialise outside working hours. Support staff as much as teaching staff are encouraged to embrace the School’s day-to-day activities, whether that be attending a concert or a sports fixture.

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 Under 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 Under School is a great environment for happy and purposeful pupils, and for all the staff who support them. Our aim is to produce well-rounded individuals with a love of learning and an enthusiasm for life, and who relish coming into School each day. All members of staff play an important role in ensuring that day-to-day processes at the School run smoothly, and in turn helping each and every pupil to enjoy and benefit from all that the School has to offer.

The Under School is a day school with approximately 292 pupils aged between 7 and 13. The School was founded in 1943 in the precincts of Westminster School in Little Dean’s Yard, just behind Westminster Abbey. The 17 boys with whom it began rapidly became 60 in  number and by 1950 there were 80 boys in the Under School. The boys had to compete for space with the senior school pupils who had returned from evacuation at the end of the war, but in 1951 the Under School acquired its own premises in Eccleston Square. Numbers of pupils continued to rise during the 1960s and 1970s and in 1981 the School moved once again to its present site overlooking the Westminster playing fields in Vincent Square. A stone’s throw from the same Square is the striking Art Deco Sports Hall, which is used by both Westminster Under and Westminster Great School pupils.

To this day, the Under School enjoys a strong and important bond with Westminster Great School. Both schools foster a deep sense of the importance of independent thought and the ethos of a liberal education, giving them a unique shared identity. It is usual for Under School pupils to be offered a place at the Great School, and the vast majority accept their offers, continuing on until they leave the School in Year 13.