Job Overview

An exciting opportunity to work at Victoria College!

We are looking for a School Secretary and Receptionist who is a team player, has excellent interpersonal and organisational skills, and can prioritise effectively within a busy environement.  Experience of working within a school environment would be beneficial. 

Victoria College is committed to supporting the professional development of colleagues, in keeping with its culture of aspiration and kindness. We provide a supportive programme of professional development, coaching and mentoring; the overall aim is ensuring colleagues find working at Victoria College enriching and rewarding. A supported staff community is at the centre of world-class provision for our students, which will allow them to become well rounded, resilient, and respectful young people, well equipped with the skills and qualifications to be successful in the 21st century world, be that on or off-Island.  

Please contact Michelle Ritchie, School Business Manager - m.ritchie@vcj.sch.je, for an informal discussion regarding the role.

Job Purpose

To provide professional and comprehensive administration and secretarial support to the staff, parents, and pupils at Victoria College to enable the smooth running of the school.  

To act as a first point of contact for the school to a wide range of individuals and agencies in a courteous, efficient, effective, and confidential manner, always considering the safeguarding of our students and the security and safety of the people within our school community.

Principal Accountabilities

Safeguarding and site security  

• Act as the first point of contact for all enquiries to the school, in person at the main reception, by e-mail and by telephone. 
• Ensure all visitors sign in on arrival and are issued with an identification badge and appropriate lanyard, in accordance with our safeguarding procedures. 

Administration and Secretarial Support 

Daily  

• Provide administrative and secretarial support to the School Business Manager and teaching staff as required. 
• Monitor the Assist email address, checking appropriate lists and calendars, and advising the member of staff on duty. 
• Update SIMS with any changes to parental contact details, student medications etc.
• Manage the electronic communication systems to parents, e.g. SIMS InTouch, e-mail, and text messages, ensuring all correspondence complies with agreed Victoria College standards and brand templates. 
• Ensure the Management Information System (SIMS) is kept up to date with all relevant communications relating to students, scanning all relevant correspondence to the SIMS record for use by staff, the Leadership Group, and the Education Welfare Officer. 
• Sort and distribute all correspondence received and prepare all outgoing mail for postage, including recording all public exam papers before postage.

Principal Accountabilities Cont.

Principal Accountabilities Cont.

Attendance Support  

• Supporting staff to ensure that attendance is accurately recorded in a timely manner. Inputting manual registers when the computer systems are down. 
• Monitor and report to the Attendance Officer any students arriving late.  
• Liaise with the Attendance Officer ensuring all medical appointments are recorded on SIMS and in the student diary.  
• Ensure students who are signing in and out throughout the school day have permission to do so, contacting parents where no verifiable explanation has been provided to the school, to support our safeguarding procedures. 
• Check the Attendance Inbox to register students in Dunlop/Vibert during every lesson.
• Checking all registers have been completed and liaising with staff regarding students with no attendance marks.
• Actively developing good relationships between home and school to improve punctuality and attendance of students.
• When directed by the Business Manager, contacting parents about student absence in a timely manner, where no verifiable explanation has been provided to the school and keep clear and concise records of all communications with parents, in order to produce reports for members of the LG when required. 

General Accountabilities

General  

• To be an active member of the Operational Staff team, providing cover in other roles during times of absence. 
• Act as a school First Aider, monitoring the wellbeing of any student referred to the medical room, contacting parents and completing accident reports if appropriate. 
• Carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by the Headteacher. 

Person specification

An ideal candidate for this post will be: 

• Self-motivated, practical, and able to work under own direction, whilst also able to work co-operatively and supportively within a team, 
• Capable, hard-working, and determined, 
• Positive in their approach to young people and the College community, 
• Able to remain calm when under pressure and be diplomatic in difficult situations, 
• Committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. 

Knowledge, Skills, Experience, Qualifications

• Educated to GCSE level. 
• To be completely familiar with the Microsoft Office Suite and Office.com applications and to be able to work with SIMS and Supply Jersey. 
• Ability to communicate professionally at all levels while exercising a high degree of confidentiality and diplomacy. 
• Experience of working within an organisation with a large and varied client base and the ability to feel comfortable when dealing with a diverse mix of groups and individuals. 
• Self-motivated, well organised, professional in approach, flexible in mind with ‘a can do’ attitude and the ability to work under pressure. 
• Flexible in duties and hours worked. 
• The post holder should be prepared to undertake training as required in order to develop skills and knowledge required for the position.