Job Introduction

The post holder will work within the Bursar & Chief Operating Office, and be responsible for providing high quality, confidential and efficient administrative, PA and Executive support in a timely and professional manner.

The post holder will support the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer and her senior team (detailed in the attached) in their key internal and external relationships. They will support the achievement of their objectives to enable them to lead the Support & Administration effectively across the charity, which comprises its two independent schools (one set around Westminster Abbey, the other at Vincent Square), fundraising and new commercial business. 

They will be an essential team member and key to the smooth running of the Bursar & Chief Operating Office.

Your role will work closely with the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer and the Senior Leadership of the Support & Administration function, forming a key part of the operational team. Key stakeholders include PA’s and Executive Assistant to the Senior Leadership of the Schools, the Leadership teams, the chairs of four Board Committees and parents contacting the Bursar & Chief Operating Office.

Role Responsibility

• Act as a key point of contact to and on behalf of the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer; managing incoming and drafting outgoing communications (post/ e-mails/ phone calls), showing necessary material to the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer and making decisions and actions on managing the remainder as appropriate. In doing so, create and maintain a professional image for the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer’s Office using tact, discretion, courtesy and diplomacy always.
• Be responsible for effective diary management to ensure productive use of the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer's time.  Plan workload and manage extensive diary commitments including internal and external appointments, invitations and planning permanent meetings for the year ahead for the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer. This includes but is not limited to regular 1-1s, project steering groups and working committees (Governor and Board Committee meetings are organised by other staff).  Additionally, support the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer’s direct reports with their diaries.
• Proactively follow up on pending issues and gather necessary information and conduct research to provide crucial information to support the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer’s decision-making.
• Organise hospitality relating to the Bursar and Chief Operating Officer’s responsibilities in leadership and management of the School, and organise all local, national and international travel and accommodation arrangements accordingly.
• Manage the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer's email inbox (including the Bursar email box) on a day-to-day basis, including responding to emails or ensuring that the appropriate individuals are aware of the emails so they can respond accordingly.
• Be able to produce a wide variety of professional, accurate documents and reports using various IT packages to a high standard including spreadsheets and presentations.
• Act as secretary for Support & Admin senior leadership meetings, steering committees and project meetings supporting agenda setting, collection and circulation of papers and taking and transcribe high quality minutes in appropriate format. Follow up action points identified at meetings and ensure they are carried out by the relevant owner prior to the meeting.
• Be proactive, taking responsibility for the preparation of papers and agendas as required in relation to the work of the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer and their team as required, taking the initiative to ensure all deadlines are met, liaising with authors of reports attending meetings to ensure prompt receipt of papers. Produce and maintain action logs, and ensure all documents are formatted to Westminster School standards.
• Financial administration including raising purchase orders, processing invoices and expense claims, and managing certain budget items on behalf of the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer.
• Support the Finance Bursar with receiving, processing and screening bursary applications and annual reassessments for 11+, 13+ and 16+, including communicating with parents and organising and attending interviews with parents and other members of staff and providing ongoing support to bursary families.
• Act as the internal interface between the School and its outsourced procurement provider, acting as a conduit to provide guidance to staff on how to apply the procurement policy and engage with the outsourced procurement provider.
• Support the Co-Ed Project Director with project administration for our key strategic project to become fully co-educational by 2030. Responsibilities will include management of events, liaison with contractors and external suppliers, and maintenance of project documentation.
• Any other activities that are required to support the Bursar & Chief Operating Officer and their direct reports in their roles.

This is an onsite role, with some flexibility to work from home for some of the time during school holiday period.

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.

Package Description

Required for: November 2024

Location: Dean's Yard - Westminster School

Contract: full-time, permanent

Salary: Competitive

Benefits:

• 25 days holidays plus extra days for Christmas closure
• School lunches when on site
• Generous pension
• Membership of private health scheme (opt-in)
• Use of onsite gym
• Cycle to work scheme
• Season ticket loan and tickets for school concerts, performances, and other activities

We also offer fee remission for pupils who are awarded a place at the schools through the admission process.

The deadline for applications is midday on Friday 18th October 2024. Interviews will take place on Monday 28th and Wednesday 30th October 2024.

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 a selective day and boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 and girls aged 16 to 18. There are approximately 360 boys in the Lower School (Years 9 to 11) and 400 boys and girls in the Upper School (Years 12 and 13). One quarter of the pupils board, and the School is structured and run as a boarding school, with an extended day and week and a strong House-based system of pastoral welfare, for boarding and day pupils alike.

Westminster is an ancient school, whose origins can be traced to a charity school established by the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey. Its continuous existence is certain from the early 14th century. Henry VIII personally ensured the School’s survival by statute and Elizabeth I, who confirmed royal patronage in 1560, is celebrated as the School’s foundress. Westminster is rare amongst long-established schools in remaining on its original site in the centre of London. Its proximity to Parliament and Westminster Abbey, and the use of the Abbey for its chapel, together with the stimulating diversity of the South Bank and West End, account in part for its special atmosphere and outlook.

The School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence both in this country and internationally. Central to its academic ethos is the dialogue between teachers and their pupils, whether in the classroom or in tutorials, inspiring enjoyment of intellectual enquiry, debate and search for explanation and the development of skills of rational, independent thought well beyond any standard examination syllabus. The desired environment is happy, busy and purposeful; the pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged, with plenty of opportunities to develop initiatives and to articulate and defend their views, in line with the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the School’s Charter. That tradition is fully committed also to the nurture of 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 the preparation of young people for fulfilled private and public lives beyond School.

Westminster School