Business Apprentice

The Role

As a Business Support Administrator, you will provide comprehensive administrative support to the school and act as a central supporting role for staff, students and parents. You will work with other members of the Business Support Team to uphold the vision and ethos of the school at all times, representing the academy in a welcoming, personable, helpful, and professional manner. 

You will work across the academy as required, providing excellent administrative and customer services to a variety of stakeholders, establishing and maintaining efficient administrative systems and processes to support the effective running of the school with a focus on operational excellence.

It is essential that the person for this role is organised, able to multitask, work flexibly and have a ‘can do’ approach. You will require a good level of IT skills.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the admin team to support primary, secondary, and sixth form operations.
• Maintain a professional office environment, delivering consistent administrative support, excellent customer service, and fostering positive staff relationships.
• Answer calls and messages professionally, ensuring timely and confidential handling of issues, and assist the leadership team as needed.
• Serve as a first aider, supporting student welfare and ensuring accurate Health & Safety records.
• Assist with daily attendance, following protocols and working to improve student attendance.
• Acknowledge and action all admin requests, ensuring timely and effective communication with colleagues.
• Organise and distribute stock for offices, reception, and reprographics.
• Support with setting up for meetings and events.

Other

• Carry out other reasonable tasks as directed by the Vice Principal – Business and Community and the School Business Manager.
• Undertake various ad hoc duties as required, including exam invigilation, playground duties, first aid, cashless till operation, first aid and acting as a fire marshal.
• Be willing to undertake appropriate training in line with contractual duties.
• Attend and support out-of-hours academy events such as the summer fair, parents’ evenings, open evenings, admin evenings, academy performances, summer school and be flexible in regards to working hours.
• This job description is subject to change with the agreement of the post holder.

Person Specification: Business Support Administrator

Qualifications

• Right to work in the UK
• Requirement to complete Admin Apprenticeship qualification

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• School experience is desirable
• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent organisation and time-management skills
• High level of proficiency with Microsoft Office and IT systems
• Able to build relationships with a range of stakeholders and anticipate others’ needs
• Able to manage several projects at once, prioritising accordingly to meet all deadlines
• Able to take ownership of tasks and work with minimal supervision

Personal Characteristics

• Genuine passion for and a belief in the potential of every pupil
• Deep commitment to Ark’s mission of providing an excellent education to every student regardless of background
• Operates with a spirit of flexibility and optimism
• Helpful, approachable, positive and the ability to stay calm and diplomatic under pressure
• Have exacting standards and a keen eye for detail
• Excellent interpersonal skills with children and adults
• Able to take direction but also be able to take initiative when required
• Exercises sound judgment, especially relating to confidentiality and discretion
• Solution focused with a can-do attitude

Other

• Commitment to equality of opportunity and the safeguarding and welfare of all pupils
• Willingness to undertake training
• This post is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Disqualification by Association

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in our academies. In order to meet this responsibility, we follow a rigorous selection process. This process is outlined here, but can be provided in more detail if requested. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.

• Salaries 2.5% higher than main pay scale.
• Twice as many training days as standard.
• Generous pension scheme.
• Access to Ark rewards – a scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers
• Interest-free loans – up to £5,000 available for season ticket or to buy a bicycle.
• Gym discounts – offering up to 40%.
• Access to Employee Assistance Programme – providing free, confidential counselling, legal advice and a range of different support.

We are a mixed all-through school that caters for children from nursery age through to sixth form. We have the highest aspirations for all our children to ensure they are prepared for university and inspired to be leaders in their community. We offer our students a first-class education based on high quality teaching and experiences outside of the classroom.  

Our school was recognised by the Government in its Parliamentary Review as an example of good practice in education and we are ranked in the top 10% of schools nationally. All of our sixth form students received a university offer with 73% of those being a top 3rd university.

We pride ourselves on the relationships our staff have with our students, caring for them throughout their education. We also work closely with families to ensure that all our students are committed to learning and develop the character necessary to take advantage of all the opportunities we provide.