Receptionist and Administrative Assistant

We are looking for a dedicated and detail-orientated individual to join Harris City Academy Crystal Palace as Receptionist and Administrative Assistant. Working under the instruction and guidance of senior staff to provide general administrative and financial support to the school, you will either have experience in an administrative role or looking to take your first step in an administrative support role within an educational environment.

The working horus for this role will be Thursdays and Fridays, 07:45-16:15, term time only (38 weeks per year).

Harris City Academy Crystal Palace is a mixed Academy for 1,300 students aged 11-18, with a large sixth form of nearly 400 students.

The Academy has three consecutive Outstanding judgments by Ofsted, with the most recent inspection in 2014 finding the Academy to be Outstanding in every aspect. We are a consistently high performing school. Our motto, ‘All Can Achieve’ encapsulates our vision that all members of the Academy community are supported and encouraged to achieve their absolute potential. We believe that a well-supported and valued staff body is the key to our success.

We are the ‘Teaching School Hub’ for Croydon and Sutton and we are able to offer all teachers an extensive programme of first class professional development. Harris City Academy Crystal Palace is part of the Harris Federation and this enables us to offer you a comprehensive induction programme and training and development opportunities to support your career development including Masters and other qualifications.

We welcome applicants at any point in their career and are open to full consideration of part time and job share requests.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Representing the Academy in a professional and welcoming manner to all visitors, staff and students, including telephone callers
• Undertaking reception duties, answering general telephone and face to face enquiries and signing in visitors
• Completing first day of absence calling for all students who are absent, recording reasons on Bromcom, recording calls in attendance events, checking directly with AWO if there are any concerns
• Assist with pupil first aid/welfare duties
• Assist in arrangements for school trips and events
• Providing general clerical/admin support
• Maintaining manual and computerised records
• Producing lists, information and data as required
• Typing, word processing and other IT based tasks
• Sorting and distributing mail
• Ensuring reprographics requests are fulfilled on time
• Operating relevant equipment/ICT packages (e.g. word, excel, databases, spreadsheets, internet)
• Maintaining stock and supplies, cataloguing and distributing as required
• Assisting in ordering uniform
• Providing general advice and guidance to staff, pupils and others
• Undertaking general financial administration e.g. processing orders

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• NVQ2 or equivalent qualification or experience in relevant discipline
• Good numeracy/literacy skills
• Minimum of two years' school office experience
• Experience of general clerical/administrative/financial work
• Knowledge of safeguarding procedures for young people
• Experience of Reception duties including dealing with visitors to the Academy

For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please send us an email, or call to arrange a conversation.

Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. This will be helpful for you when completing your application, and throughout the recruitment process.

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible as we may interview and offer to a candidate before the closing date. Please note that we only accept applications submitted before the closing date via our careers website.

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance for teachers on MPS/UPS, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.