PA to the Principal of the Junior School

Highgate School • North London • 4d ago

Job title: PA to the Principal of the Junior School
Job Type: Permanent, 8am-5pm, term time only + 2 weeks
Salary: £31,023-£33,538 (£35,986-£38,904 if the full pension flex benefit is utilised). The FTE salary is (£37,000-£40,000). Dependent on experience.
Department: Junior School
Reporting to: Principal of the Junior School
Location: Highgate, North London
Start: 26th August 2025
Closing Date: 30 May 2025 at 12:00 pm

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We are seeking a highly organised, and proactive Personal Assistant to support the Principal of the Junior School in a fast-paced, rewarding educational environment. This pivotal role requires exceptional administrative and communication skills, a calm and professional demeanour, and the ability to manage sensitive information with complete confidentiality. Working closely with the Principal, you will play a vital role in the smooth operation of the Junior School, ensuring that daily activities, communications, and strategic priorities are delivered with efficiency and care.

The Department

'From the moment you step foot inside our bright and well-resourced building, you will feel the buzz of excitement from our pupils ringing through the corridors. At the heart of our school is a nurturing environment where pupils feel happy, safe and secure so that they can fulfil their potential academically, socially and emotionally and be their very best selves.' - Philippa Studd, Principal.

Highgate Junior School is one of the largest Key Stage 2 Independent Junior Schools in the country with 445 pupils from Years 3 to 6 in five classes per year group.

We pride ourselves on providing an innovative curriculum which challenges our pupils to be curious, creative and brave in their learning. Our timetable is designed to incorporate both an intellectually rigorous approach to studies alongside skills-based learning. We aim for our pupils to develop a genuine love of learning whilst acquiring a knowledge of how they learn, how to take responsibility for their learning and how to apply their skills and knowledge in a variety of different contexts.

We have a team of staff dedicated to nurturing our pupils' wellbeing. To develop a sense of community and belonging from day one at Highgate, our pupils all belong to a form group and one of our four houses. We want to nurture in our pupils how to be a reflective and proactive member of the community with a sense of social responsibility and a deep understanding and appreciation of the wide range of heritages, cultures and backgrounds in our diverse society.

The Junior School is located on Bishopswood road, Highgate, in an outstanding purpose-built teaching environment. The deliberate playfulness of the architecture and the openness to our sports fields is the physical expression of our belief in nurturing childhood playfulness and curiosity.

At the heart of our school is a nurturing environment where pupils feel happy, safe and secure.
- Philippa Studd, Principal Junior School

The Role

General Areas of Responsibility:

To be able to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive confirmation, keeping up to date with GDPR guidelines
To comply with the School's safeguarding & child protection policy and ensure that any concerns relating to the safety or welfare of children are reported immediately to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or the Principal of the Junior School
To comply with the School's Code of Conduct
To read all policies or guidance as and when required to do so by the DSL, Principal of the Junior School or other member of the Senior Leadership Team
To act consistently, in a calm and supportive manner with colleagues
To support the school's ethos around Inclusion, Sustainability and Staff-Wellbeing
To attend staff and departmental meetings, open days, briefings, INSET days and other school events and productions, as required by the Principal of the Junior School
To communicate in a timely and appropriate fashion with parents, as and when necessary
To participate in any arrangements that may be made for performance reviews
To undertake other specific duties which may, from time to time, be reasonably requested by the Principal or the Junior School Senior Leadership Team
To cover for absent colleagues, when required and ensure the smooth running of the Junior School Office and Reception
To manage and take ownership of the Central Stationery budget and ordering, delegating tasks as required to other members of the office team (this includes ordering supplies, ensuring paper is well-stocked and distributed around the school, collating and checking invoices to send to the Bursar Office, and liaising with Assistant Principal, Operations to keep track of spending)
To meet all deadlines for the efficient running of the school (e.g. reports, planning etc.)
To ensure good management, sense of order and tidiness of the school so that the children may develop a sense of responsibility and pride in their school
To ensure that all pupils adhere to the School rules
To notify the school about personal absence due to illness and gain permission from the Principal for any intended absence
To be responsible for his/her personal punctuality and wearing of appropriate dress

To undertake any other duties as may be reasonably required by the Principal

Specific Responsibilities

To provide general assistance with day-to-day activities for the Principal
To manage and organise the diary and appointments for the Principal, ordering lunch and ensuring the Principal's needs are accommodated for, when necessary
To help with filing and organisation, when required
To provide general assistance and admin support for the Senior Leadership Team, when necessary
To meet and greet visitors for meetings for the Principal and the Senior Leadership Team
To deal with incoming telephone calls for the Principal and email correspondence, managing responses on behalf of the Principal, where appropriate
To organise and attend meetings, ensuring the Principal is well prepared, and take notes/minutes when required
To liaise with other schools and arrange visits for the Principal, as well as arranging to receive visitors to the Principal, organising all associated travel arrangements, meals, etc
To book the Principal onto conferences and courses, as well as managing all associated travel arrangements as required
To ensure that the weekly parent bulletin is compiled and sent appropriately, liaising with contributing staff and members of the Senior Leadership Team as required
To ensure that communications from the SpEx, Music and Drama departments are approved by the appropriate member of SLT and sent out in a timely manner
To assist the Principal and liaise with HR /SLT lead for recruitment procedures, to include liaising with candidates, interview logistics, requesting references, completing online checks, managing paperwork and providing feedback
To complete monthly expenses for the Principal, as required
To support the Admissions team with the organisation and delivery of the 7+ admissions process, including Saturday Open Days, as required
To support the Principal and Assistant Principal, Operations in tracking staff absence requests, absence and supply spends

Person Specification

Essential:

Previous experience of successfully supporting a senior manager
To have a positive can-do attitude
Excellent interpersonal and communications skills with the ability to remain calm under pressure
Excellent organisational and administrative skills, with high attention to detail, able to work flexibly and to tight deadlines.
A proactive approach to planning and prioritising work, with the ability to use initiative appropriately
Able to maintain a high work rate and to juggle a range of tasks and competing priorities
Ensure that confidential and sensitive issues are dealt with in an appropriate manner.
Knowledge of office management process and databases
Excellent ICT skills e.g. confident and adept in use of Google Workspace, Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
Excellent command of written and spoken English, strong proofreading skills.
Good telephone manner and ability to deal with callers and visitors in a calm and courteous way.
A high level of personal integrity, with proven experience of handling sensitive situations with tact and diplomacy and with complete respect for confidentiality.
Honesty, energy, enthusiasm, cheerfulness and a sense of humour.
A willingness to contribute to and support school events and activities.
An enjoyment of working with and being in the company of children and young people.
Flexible approach to work including the willingness to work some evenings and weekends.

Desirable:

Previous experience of working in an educational setting

Benefits

Location | Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.

Pension | AVIVA workplace pension scheme offered - 26% employer contribution, with the ability to flex up to 16% of this as additional non-pensionable salary, employees contribute a minimum of 5%.

Personal development | Comprehensive induction support for new staff. Focus on continued professional development for all employees.

Leisure facilities | Free access, at stipulated times, to our sports facilities, including a fitness suite and swimming pool (recently refurbished).

Lunch | A complimentary lunch including hot meals, sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit and dessert.

Help with sustainable travel | Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme and a Season Ticket Loan scheme for public transport.

Family-friendly policies | Highgate appreciates that employees sometimes have family commitments so we try to be as supportive as possible, for example with enhanced maternity pay (8 weeks' full pay, then 10 weeks' half pay) and paid dependant leave.

Working at Highgate

A culture of community, kindness and belonging

Highgate is a caring, open-minded community, where we promote kindness, empathy and friendship. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of a welcoming environment that enables them to be themselves and to thrive as individuals.

Our community extends beyond the school, through partnerships, charity work and our commitment to equality, inclusion and sustainability. All members of our school community are encouraged to look outwards and play an active role.

Following a visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in September 2024 to assess Highgate's regulatory compliance and school standards, we are pleased to share the inspection findings, which reports compliance in all five areas and a 'significant strength' in our teaching expertise.

Staff wellbeing

Highgate is committed to staff wellbeing, which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance; trying our best to support flexible working requests; providing a nutritious complimentary lunch in the dining hall; and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool.

The Staff Wellbeing Committee, with representatives across the School, meets regularly to drive forward initiatives, and a selection of staff have been trained as Mental-Health First Aiders.

We encourage an open culture throughout our school, with regular staff surveys, action committees and opportunities to feedback. We strive for continual learning and improvement, and staff training and development is paramount. There are opportunities to participate in the wider life of our school, such as taking part in trips or societies and getting involved in partnership projects.

More details about working at Highgate can be found here:

Work with us Aims + Ethos

"A child has to feel comfortable in order to learn and in order to perform to the best of their abilities, so we really try to make the children feel at home here."
- Hayley Lock, Deputy Principal (Pastoral)

Charitable work and sustainability

As an independent school, we want to use our position as a charity effectively: to make high-quality education accessible to as many children as possible - through our bursary programme at Highgate and through our work with local state schools. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and we are the principal educational sponsor for London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham - an academically-selective state sixth form in a community where such opportunities are lacking.

Alongside this, our staff and pupils undertake charitable activities throughout the year. These range from staff giving up their time to neighbourhood schools and charitable organisations, focused fundraising campaigns, to pupils undertaking community work in the local area or further afield.

As a school, we have a central role to play in educating our pupils, staff and parents about the importance of environmental sustainability. We are taking positive action to adapt our operational performance to tackle the negative effects of climate change. We encourage all our staff to reflect upon their personal and professional practices, to support our environmental agenda and to make positive changes wherever possible.

Application procedure

Closing Date: 30th May 2025
Interviews: 5th June 2025

Contact: The Recruitment Team is happy to answer any questions about this post.
Apply here

Inclusion

We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams, and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staff and pupils will feel a sense of belonging and will thrive. To enable us to make reasonable adjustments, please let us know of any disabilities (including neuro-divergence) when you submit your application.
Safeguarding

As this role will have regular unsupervised contact with children you must, if appointed, comply with Highgate's Safeguarding Policy and Staff Code of Conduct. If in the course of carrying out the duties of the post the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety and welfare of our pupils, these concerns must be reported immediately in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy. If whilst in the post, Highgate becomes aware of any safeguarding concerns to staff, pupils or the community; these will need to be followed up in line with the safeguarding policy and code of conduct which is underpinned by KCSE and other legislation. These concerns may need to be shared with other agencies. A copy of these policies will accompany all offers of employment. Training will also be provided to all staff to support Safeguarding practice.

Please read before you apply

Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities. DBS Privacy Policies

Please note that this role is 'exempt' from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore, you are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not 'protected' (i.e. filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not be filtered, prior to the date of the interview. DBS Code of Practice

In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.