- Job title: 16+ Admissions Officer
- Job Type: Full time or 4 days per week, permanent, 8am-5pm, hybrid working model
- Salary: £32,000 (£37,120 if full pension flex benefit is utilised)
- Department: Admissions
- Reporting to: Head of Admissions
- Location: Highgate, North London
- Start: August 2025
- Closing Date: 2 June 2025 at 5:00 pm
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This is an exciting role as you will be leading Admissions to the Sixth Form at Highgate, working closely with families of 16+ applicants, guiding them through the process.You will have excellent administrative, communication and customer service skills that will enable all prospective families to enjoy a positive and inclusive experience of the school whether their applications are successful or not. As a supportive and reflective practitioner, you will work closely with colleagues across the team and ensure that customer service standards are continually improved. Calm and organised, you will be a people-person with a flexible, pro-active and can-do approach.
In addition, you will be highly digitally literate, embrace the benefits of new technologies, and enjoy further developing your skills.
The DepartmentThe fast-paced and dynamic Admissions team is responsible for leading and co-ordinating the admission of pupils to Highgate's over-subscribed Pre-Prep, Junior and Senior Schools, work which is crucial for the ongoing success of the school. Led by the Head of Admissions, the team consists of six members who each have clear responsibilities yet work collaboratively as a team. With four formal entry points, the team's primary focus is to develop positive relationships with prospective parents and pupils through designing and running a comprehensive admissions and induction process. We work closely with the Communications team as well as the leadership teams across all three schools.
I really enjoy working in an environment which is focused on education and wellbeing. And the kids are great!"
- New member of support staff
Job Description
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES Lead 16+ Admissions: You will lead the 16+ admissions process from initial parental enquiry through to the induction of new pupils. Once the bulk of the 16+ admissions cycle has been completed, you will support other admissions colleagues, particularly the 11+ Admissions Officer.
Planning, strategy and marketing - Set, communicate and maintain timelines and priorities for your entry point.
- Assist the Head of Admissions in formulating our overall strategy for Admissions, including reflecting on the efficacy of existing systems, customer service and proposing improvements.
- Help identify marketing and communication opportunities to promote events and encourage conversion.
- Maximise the communication and marketing potential of the application database, HubSpot.
- Suggest applicants at 16+ and current pupils/leavers suitable for market research and support the Communications team / Development Office / Strategic Inclusion Lead with collating feedback from families / pupils or information that might be required.
- Liaise with the School Photographer and Filmmaker to create video and photo content to support 16+ entry
- Liaise with the Communications team regarding producing marketing collateral to support 16+ entry
Events and admissions process - Work with the Head of Admissions to devise and implement the 16+ Open Evening, tours and other admissions events, working with colleagues across the school
- Work with colleagues to devise and deliver conversion events for offer holders
- Organise the academic assessments including requesting references, corresponding with parents/carers, organising interviews, processing results and communicating outcomes to parents.
- Arrange any assessments for candidates living abroad.
- Monitor applications as they arrive, check their accuracy and monitor payments.
- Obtain all documentation pertaining to learning differences (e.g. educational psychologist report), agree any adjustments with the academic team and communicate this to parent
- Establish that all applicants have the right to study in the UK
- Acknowledge acceptances, verify payments and documentation in line with statutory requirements.
- Manage the reserve list, filling further places as appropriate.
- Liaise with staff to ensure new pupil inductions are fully arranged and appropriate, timely correspondence shared with parents, and new joiner information is completed.
- After the 16+ admissions cycle has concluded, support the 11+ Admissions Officer by attending events and through any other support tasks as required
Building relationships - Correspond with prospective parents via email and telephone, building positive relationships.
- Manage registrations for open events via website and telephone, and support the event with quality communications beforehand and afterwards.
- Act as an ambassador during open events and offer holder events, helping with anything from offering drinks to putting up banners.
- Gather feedback from parents about the event/process and report on this, making recommendations as appropriate.
- Provide accurate, timely and consistent feedback to parents after assessments. Ensure that the Head of Admissions is asked for support, if needed, and/or updated with any difficult conversations or situations arising within your entry point.
- Act as the lead contact for feeder schools at your entry point, both state and independent, providing assessment outcomes and arranging events, with colleagues, where required.
Systems and Regulatory - Understand Safeguarding and GDPR requirements, including the data retention policy and work to follow regulations at all times.
- Ensure that the School is compliant with visa and UKVI regulations, obtain relevant documentation for non-UK citizens joining at 16+ and recording their information
- Use relevant systems such as HubSpot, My School Portal, SIMS and other systems.
- Carry out the safeguarding follow up for all joiners at the entry point
Reporting- Use HubSpot to build lists, reports and dashboards to monitor the entry point.
- Collate statistics to share with the Head of Admissions and senior colleagues.
- Arrange, prepare for and actively participate in the Admissions Panel meeting where decisions are made.
How we work - We 'pitch in' and assist each other at busy times, whether that be staffing events, stuffing envelopes or answering more than our share of phone calls.
- We are committed to continually developing our expertise by reading blogs, attending conferences and courses, contacting colleagues in other schools.
- We think critically about how we can improve our processes, gain efficiencies and improve the experiences of our prospective families.
- We work collaboratively and think creatively about how best to solve problems as a team.
- We communicate clearly and with empathy at all times with prospective families.
- Our written communications are always courteous, accurate, warm and understanding.
- We continually build our understanding of all aspects of school life to enable us to sell the school to prospective families.
- We collaborate with the Communications team, sharing intelligence gleaned from working with prospective families to inform our marketing and communications.
These duties and responsibilities are intended as a guide. They are not exhaustive: the Admissions Officer will be expected to undertake any reasonable task or responsibility as required by the line manager. Person Specification
- Criteria
- How will these be tested or verified?
- Qualifications
- Essential
- GCSE in Maths and English or equivalent
Desirable
- Education to graduate level or equivalent.
- Experience
- Essential
- Experience of a customer/public-facing role.
- Demonstrable administrative and/or project management skills.
- Experience of planning and running events
Desirable
- Understanding of the education sector and independent schools.
- Experience of a sales-focused role.
- Reviewing and reporting on an activity or a project.
- Ability and Skills
- Essential
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent people and interpersonal skills.
- Empathetic to people who may be in difficult personal situations and comfortable delivering feedback.
- Highly computer literate.
- Confident handling numerical data.
- A thorough proof-reader with excellent attention to detail.
- Ability to work with senior members of staff with the ability to show discretion at all times.
- A team-player yet comfortable to work unsupervised and be pro-active.
- Manage a diverse workload within tight deadlines.
- Able to consult with and advise colleagues of all levels to deliver appropriate messages and make adjustments.
- Keen to explore and adopt new technologies
Desirable
- Experience of SIMS, Hubspot or other databases.
- Able to think creatively about promoting the School and bursaries, collaborating with colleagues to do so.
- Personal Attributes
- Essential
- Whole-hearted support for the charitable objectives of Highgate.
- A commitment to equality, diversity and anti-sexism.
- The credibility and professionality of manner to represent Highgate.
- Communicable enthusiasm for admissions and event objectives; able to bring colleagues along on the journey.
- A commitment to the highest standards of confidentiality.
- Diplomatic and tactful, but also politely persistent.
- A good sense of humour.
- Flexibility and adaptability.
- A positive 'can-do' attitude; self-motivated.
- Common sense and a drive to improve processes and systems.
- Willing to learn new skills and to take on board constructive advice.
- Willing to occasionally work outside normal office hours.
Desirable
- The awareness to adapt quickly one's manner and style to suit a situation.
- An understanding of the questions, concerns and priorities that families considering new schools may have.
BenefitsLocation | 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).
Holidays | Generous holiday allowance of 33 days (including bank holidays) for full-time staff. Most holidays will be taken during school holiday periods.
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 HighgateA culture of community, kindness and belongingHighgate 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 wellbeingHighgate 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
Charitable work and sustainabilityAs 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: 2nd June 2025
- First round interviews: w/c 9th June 2025
- Second round interviews: w/c 16th June 2025
Contact: Recruitment Team is happy to answer any questions about the role.
Early Application: Applications will be considered 'as and when' received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.
Apply here
InclusionWe 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.
SafeguardingAs 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 applyHighgate 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 Policy
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.