School Administrator - Secondary School - Hillingdon

Start Date: As soon as possible
Contract: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: Paid to scale

Are you an organised and approachable administrator with experience working in a busy school or education environment? Are you confident dealing with students, parents, staff and external visitors while keeping day-to-day administration running smoothly? A well-established secondary school in Hillingdon is looking for a reliable School Administrator to join its main office team on a full-time, permanent basis.

This is a practical school-based administration role for someone who enjoys working in a busy environment and takes pride in providing an efficient and professional service. You will be one of the first points of contact for students, parents and visitors, so the school is looking for someone who communicates confidently, remains calm when dealing with competing priorities and understands the importance of confidentiality.

School Information

This is a well-established secondary school in Hillingdon serving a diverse local community. The school has high expectations for students and places considerable importance on creating a safe, organised and welcoming environment.

The administration team plays an important role in ensuring the school operates effectively each day. Staff work closely with teaching teams, pastoral colleagues, senior leaders and families, meaning the successful candidate will become a central part of the wider school community.

The school has established systems for attendance, admissions, communication and general administration and is looking for someone who can quickly understand existing procedures and work confidently within them. At the same time, the successful applicant should be comfortable identifying straightforward improvements where a process could be made more efficient.

The school values professionalism, reliability and good communication. You will be expected to represent the school positively when speaking with parents and visitors and to ensure enquiries are dealt with promptly and appropriately.

School Administrator - Key Responsibilities

Your responsibilities will include providing efficient administrative support across the school office and helping ensure that the day-to-day running of the school remains organised.

Typical duties will include:

• Acting as a welcoming first point of contact for parents, students, staff and visitors.

• Answering telephone calls and responding to general enquiries professionally.

• Managing incoming and outgoing correspondence, including emails and school communications.

• Maintaining accurate student and administrative records.

• Updating school databases and internal systems with relevant information.

• Preparing letters, forms, reports and other documentation when required.

• Supporting the organisation of meetings, appointments and school events.

• Maintaining accurate filing systems, both electronically and on paper.

• Processing administrative requests from teaching and support staff.

• Assisting with student admissions and new starter administration where required.

• Supporting attendance-related administration and ensuring relevant information reaches the appropriate member of staff.

• Recording messages accurately and ensuring they are passed to the correct person.

• Assisting with the preparation and distribution of school communications.

• Handling sensitive information with discretion and maintaining confidentiality at all times.

• Supporting the wider administrative team during particularly busy periods.

• Helping to ensure reception and office areas remain professional, organised and welcoming.

The role will require someone who can prioritise effectively. A typical school day can involve dealing with several requests at once, so you will need to be comfortable switching between tasks without losing attention to detail.

You may also be required to support specific administrative projects throughout the academic year, such as preparing information for school events, supporting examinations administration, assisting with parent communications or helping the school maintain accurate records.

Working with Parents, Students and Staff

A major part of the position will involve communication. You will regularly deal with parents and carers who may have questions about school procedures, appointments, attendance, communications or general matters.

The successful candidate should therefore be friendly and professional while also knowing when an enquiry needs to be passed to a senior colleague. You will not be expected to make decisions outside your responsibilities, but you will need to ensure queries are handled efficiently and directed appropriately.

You will also interact with students throughout the day. A calm and reassuring approach is important, particularly when students arrive at reception with questions or require assistance.

Internally, you will work with teachers, pastoral staff, senior leaders and other support colleagues. Good communication and accurate record keeping will be essential to ensuring information is shared correctly.

School Administrator - Experience and Requirements

The school would ideally like to appoint someone with previous administrative experience, preferably within a school, college, academy, local authority or another busy public-facing environment.

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• Previous administrative or school office experience.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Excellent organisation and time-management abilities.

• Good attention to detail.

• Confidence using Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Excel and Outlook.

• Experience using databases or management information systems would be advantageous.

• Ability to maintain accurate records.

• Ability to handle confidential information appropriately.

• A professional and approachable manner.

• Confidence communicating with parents, students and staff.

• Ability to prioritise work and manage competing deadlines.

• A calm approach when working under pressure.

• Reliability and a strong work ethic.

• Commitment to safeguarding and the welfare of students.

Experience using a school MIS such as Arbor, SIMS, Bromcom or a similar system would be useful, although training can be provided where appropriate.

Safeguarding

The successful candidate will be expected to understand the importance of safeguarding within a school environment. You must be willing to follow school safeguarding procedures, maintain confidentiality and report concerns through the appropriate channels.

The school is committed to protecting students and expects every member of staff to contribute to a safe and supportive environment.

Application

To apply for this School Administrator position in Hillingdon, please send your CV as soon as possible. The school is keen to meet suitable candidates promptly and is looking for someone who can make an immediate and positive contribution to its administration team.