receptionist Birmingham, England
Job description
Purpose of the role-
The Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham (“the Foundation”) is one of the most significant educational charities in this country. King Edward’s School was founded in 1552, and now in the 21st century the Foundation runs thirteen schools – two independent fee-paying schools, six selective academies and five non-selective academies, and there are plans for ongoing growth.
The King Edward VI Academy Trust Birmingham (“the Academy Trust”) was established in 2017 and is made up of the eleven academies outlined above. Our overarching mission is “to make Birmingham the best place to be educated in the UK”.
Our highly focused five-year strategy aims to build on our existing strengths and heritage and deliver our ambitious growth strategy which aims to bring in further academies over the next few years.
We are now looking to appoint a Receptionist / Communications Co-ordinator. The main purpose of this role is to be the first point of contact for the Foundation (in person, by telephone and via email) and to support the Foundation’s communications function for internal and external audiences, principally through generating and maintaining engaging content on online platforms (websites and social media) and producing offline (print and electronic) communications collateral.
This is an excellent development opportunity for someone with a flair for communications, with strong verbal and written skills as important for reception duties as they are for producing communications materials for different stakeholder groups.
As a central support service, our working model must be driven by the needs of our schools. Therefore, please be aware that staff are required to take the majority of annual leave during non-term time.
The purpose of this role is:
The main purpose of this role is to be the first point of contact for the Foundation (in person, by telephone and via email) and to support the Foundation’s communications function for internal and external audiences, principally through generating and maintaining engaging content on online platforms (websites and social media) and producing offline (print and electronic) communications collateral.
Principal responsibilities and duties
Reception
· Establish the smooth and secure running of the Foundation Office, ensuring that it is accessible for staff, visitors and governors as and when required.
· Deliver an effective Reception service, including answering routine telephone calls, face to face enquiries from welcoming visitors, contractors, staff and parents.
· Co-ordinate front desk activities – receipt, distribution and accurate recording of deliveries, sorting and distributing internal and external mail, both in-coming and out-going.
· Manage the office stationery and inform Line Manager of items that require ordering. Keep an accurate inventory of stock.
· Arrange hospitality for staff and visitors such as refreshments and food orders. Ensure that the board room is clean and tidy and cups/saucers and specialist teas are available.
· Undertake occasional administrative duties for other teams as required.
· Any other request which is deemed to be reasonable and within the remit of the role.
Communications
· Contribute to the development of engaging written, video and visual content for use across a range of media (online and offline), through:
o Maintaining the organisation’s websites using a Content Management System
o Generating and maintaining content on the organisation’s social media platforms
o Producing printed or electronic communications materials (e.g. information packs, flyers, brochures, banners)
o Undertaking simple design tasks to agreed templates / branding
o Liaising with external suppliers (e.g. design agency, photographers, videographers) where appropriate
o Supporting the maintenance of the Foundation’s photo/video library.
· Analyse and report on the performance of online platforms (including the websites and social media) using web analytics.
General responsibilities and duties
· To develop a clear understanding of the Foundation’s vision, mission and strategic aims and to actively support these.
· To remain up to date with the Foundation’s policies, procedures and code of conduct and always uphold these.
· To identify and undertake relevant training to enable continuing professional development, where resources allow.
· To prepare for and proactively engage in the performance review cycle with your line manager.
· To attend appropriate internal and external meetings, as directed by your line manager.
· To undertake such other duties as are agreed as being in keeping with the general nature of the job and its grade.
The successful candidate will be required to fulfil an enhanced DBS check.
This job description reflects the current requirements of the post. As duties and responsibilities change and develop due to changes in organisational and other circumstances, so the actual duties and responsibilities will vary from the particulars of this job description. Job descriptions will be updated or amended from time to time to reflect such changes.
Person Specification
Knowledge and experience
Essential
Experienced in using the Microsoft Office Suite
Good working knowledge and experience of using a web Content Management System e.g. Wordpress
Experience in writing / editing for the web
Excellent working knowledge of the main social media sites and a passion for social media and the web
Knowledge of administrative procedures
Knowledge of customer service principles and practices
Desirable
Working knowledge of Google Analytics
Working knowledge of design software e.g. Canva, InDesign
Working knowledge of Photoshop
Qualifications
Essential
Good level of education at least to GCSE standard or equivalent, including Maths & English
Desirable
Further or higher education qualification or equivalent
Skills
Essential
Ability to organise and prioritise workload
Excellent oral, listening and written communication skills
Ability to build and maintain a professional working relationship with colleagues
Good time management skills with the ability to meet deadlines
Willingness to attend appropriate training and development opportunities
Desirable
Photo editing
Video editing
Competencies
Essential
Team focused
Flexible
Proactive
Reliable and adaptable
Delivering quality
Delivering at pace
Acting with integrity
A full job description and an application pack for this post, can be found at: www.schoolsofkingedwardvi.co.uk/job-category/foundation-office-vacancies/
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: £21,000.00-£23,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Discounted or free food
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site gym
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
Schedule:
- Monday to Friday
Work Location: In person
Application deadline: 20/07/2023
