Job Introduction

The Assistant Boat House manager role is intended to suit an experienced coach running a large year group squad but also able to be based mainly at the Putney boat house assisting the Boat House Manager [BHM] in the day-to-day organisation of the Boat club and its operations. 

Rowing, aka Water, is a popular indoor and outdoor activity at Westminster School, with a Boat house on the Putney embankment and purpose-built training facilities in the school sports centre in Westminster. The Boat club is a significant part of both the school and local Putney community on the river. With rowing activities established at Westminster before 1813 -The Boat club is amongst the oldest in the world and has played a significant role in British rowing history. More recently the Boat club has provided an impressive roster of Junior rowing internationals and Oxford and Cambridge blues. The school also founded the prestigious Schools Head of the river race in 1946 and continues to organise the event.

Role Responsibility

• Assisting the BHM with day-to-day management of the Boat House, reporting faults to the school and liaising with contractors and cleaners 
• Maintaining and repairing of boat fleet, equipment and safety launches 
• Assisting with purchase and sale of boats as directed by Master i/c Water 
• Arranging transport of boats and crews to squad events 
• Helping to ensure boat house operations are in accordance with School Health and Safety policies 
• Assist the Master i/c and BHM with co-ordinating the coaching team with regular event planning and performance reviews 
• Keeping records of individual training and squad performance for selection 
• Assisting all squads with rigging advice and boat setups 
• Organising fixtures, events and squad camps in coordination with Master i/c 
• Keeping up with relevant training methodology and scientific developments that may contribute to the improved performance 
• Working with the BHM and Master i/c Water to develop a supportive, cooperative, inclusive, and diverse Boat Club culture and promote the safeguarding and welfare of all pupils as defined by the School Safeguarding policy. 
• Teaching sound and appropriate safe rowing techniques with adequate core preparation 
• Making squad crew selections using the evidence of recorded training information and data to make reasonable, sound and sympathetic decisions 

Hours of Work 

The Assistant Boat House Manager would be expected to work with the Boat House Manager under the direction of the Master i/c Water for 44 hours a week and: 

Be based at the boathouse or in the sports centre five days a week during term-time including Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons 

Be available for training and camps during all half term breaks, for two weeks of the Christmas, Easter and summer holidays 

The Ideal Candidate

Please refer to the below (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.

Package Description

Required for: August 2025 

Location: Great School (Putney Boat House/Vincent Square) 

Contract: full-time, term-time only with extra days to be worked in the holidays (details below) 

Hours of work: 44 hours per week, details of which are listed below 

Salary: £37,440 per annum (FTE) 

The deadline for applications is 09:00 on Friday 13th June 2025. Interviews will take place shortly after the closing date.

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. 

Westminster School