School Secretary

We are currently looking for a proactive, efficient and organised School Secretary to predominately work on our Senior School reception area. The reception in the Senior School at Birkdale School is the main reception for the whole school, and as such is very busy. Due to this, the successful applicant will be dealing with a broad range of people who visit the site.

The School Secretary has responsibility for a wide range of administrative duties, and therefore the ideal candidate will be able to prioritise work effectively and be able to calmly deal with competing priorities. The successful candidate will need excellent ICT, customer service and organisational skills together with proven administrative experience. The role will involve work closely with the other support staff, and the successful candidate should be in possession of a First Aid qualification or be willing to undertake the necessary training upon their appointment with the school.

The School Secretary is responsible to the Head’s PA, and works alongside a small team of other support staff in the school. The role will involve interacting with teaching colleagues at all levels, as well as with our parents and pupils.   

Job Description

The main responsibilities are shown below:

Administrative Duties

• Pupil attendance/registration - oversee process and produce fire list.
• Produce and update documentation, handbooks for parents and pupils, correspondence etc.
• Use electronic systems to communicate effectively with families.
• Maintain and update the Parent Portal.
• Contribute to the effective development of school systems.
• Use the school’s management information system to input, extract and manipulate data.
• Provide general support to Teaching staff.
• Provide support to the Registrar, Head of Marketing and HR Manager as required.
• Maintain Pupil filing system.
• Monitor and deal with the enquiries email.
• Organising and resolving Lost Property issues.
• Administer First Aid.
• Any other duties as required.

Provision of a Reception Service

• Deal appropriately with enquiries from parents, staff, pupils and visitors in person, by telephone, by email and via the Parent Portal.
• Maintain and develop effective systems relating to visitors and deliveries including dealing with visitor’s forms, parking requests and monitoring the sign in system.
• CCTV monitoring of the school site.

Person Specification 

Suitable candidates should:

• Have a high standard of literacy and numeracy.
• Minimum 5 GCSE passes grade A-C (or equivalent) including English and Maths.
• Previous secretarial, and administrative experience working in a school would be advantageous.
• Have proven administrative skills and experience and an eye for detail.
• Have excellent ICT skills and the creative ability to utilise technology to maximise the effectiveness of school systems. Microsoft Office and Google Suite are used extensively at Birkdale. Training on other school systems will be provided.
• Be organised and able to take the initiative and to respond flexibly to change.
• Be able to maintain and develop systems.
• Be able to manage a busy workload, prioritise effectively and meet deadlines in a calm and efficient manner.
• Be personable, well presented and able to communicate effectively and clearly, both verbally and in writing.
• Be able to communicate effectively with parents and with pupils.
• Be able to work collaboratively and supportively with school colleagues.
• Be trustworthy and able to maintain complete confidentiality.
• Be committed to continual personal and professional development, as well as being reflective.
• An awareness of the importance of confidentiality and data protection
• Be able to work within organisational procedures and adhere to the policies of the school and meet the required standards for the role.
• Be in sympathy with the strong Christian ethos of Birkdale School.
• Display commitment to the protection and safeguarding of children and young people, and be able to form and maintain appropriate relationships.

Terms and Conditions

This is a permanent post for 37.5 hours per week term-time only, exclusive of 30 minutes unpaid lunch break. In addition there will be a requirement to work 1 pre term training/planning day each term i.e. Summer, Christmas and Easter as well as a minimum of 5 extra days over the Summer Holiday to set up systems for the new school year. The role will be working approximately 35.8 weeks per academic year. You may wish to note that the length of Birkdale’s terms are slightly shorter than those of a maintained school.

Salary: The salary is between point 21-23 of the Birkdale non-teaching pay scale (currently £21,974.00- £23,206.00 FTE) depending on experience, and will be £19,197-£20,273 pro-rated for weeks worked. The position will be pensionable, and the successful candidate would be entitled to join the company pension scheme, which is a contributory group personal pension scheme managed by Ageon. A generous remission of fees scheme is available for children of staff.

Working hours: 37.5 hours per week: 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday. A willingness to work occasional additional hours during term time may be helpful, but is not a requirement of the post.

Holiday:   Paid annual leave prorated based on 20 days plus 10 Bank Holidays/Extra-Statutory Days a year, a total of 30 days per annum. After 5 years’ continuous service the annual leave entitlement rises to 25 days. Subject to statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks per annum.

Pre-employment checks:

Current legislation applying to this post includes the The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2008 and the Asylum & Immigration Act 1996. Therefore, the successful candidate will be required to prove their eligibility to work in the UK and undergo appropriate criminal record checks, including an application for an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service.  Details of the documentation etc needed in connection with all the above requirements will be sent to the shortlisted candidates. Prior to taking up appointment, we will then request a declaration about medical fitness, and proof of qualifications from the successful candidate. 

Under the guidance set by KCSiE 2022 Birkdale School will conduct an online search for all shortlisted candidates

We anticipate that interviews will be held week commencing 3rd July 2023