Job Description

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Job Title
Office Manager

Hours:
37 hours per week, 41 weeks per year

Salary
£39,881 to £46,870 (point 28 - 35)
Reports to
Headteacher

Liaison with
Senior Leadership Team, Teachers, Learning Support Assistants, Therapists (Speech & Language, Occupational and Physiotherapy), School Nurse, Parents/Carers, Social Care Professionals, Essex County Council Services and External Agencies.
Application close date
Friday 31 July 2026

Interview Date
Week commencing 3 August 2026.

Job Purpose

The successful candidate will oversee the day-to-day operational functions of the school, including administration, HR, compliance, health and safety, and wider school operations.

To have overall responsibility for all work undertaken by the administrative support staff and site team, to allocate and monitor workloads, and ensure appropriate training is provided.

To be responsible for personnel matters in liaison with the Headteacher.

Key Responsibilities
· Overseeing the Single Central Record (SCR) to ensure compliance.

· Ensure that pupil records are kept up to date, new pupils added to system and leavers removed as required.

· Manage the admission process in liaison with the headteacher, ensuring all new pupils are admitted correctly according to the admission criteria and liaise with Essex County Council Planning and Admissions department to identify places in school

· Oversee first aid arrangements, medication administration on medical tracker, managing illness or injury incidents, maintaining and restocking equipment, staff training, and coordinating swiftly with emergency services and professional medical help when required

· Ensure information about pupil allergies is communicated to all relevant staff and updated electronically

· Oversee staff absence using the school's absence management policy

· Undertake appraisals for identified members of support staff

· Ensure that all duties and services provided are in accordance with the School's Equal Opportunities Policy

· Take particular responsibility for dealing with complex enquiries or difficult visitors/callers referred from Reception as required

· Act as the main Point of Conduct for IT planned maintenance and major incidents, digital/eLearning, purchasing and admin

· Operate relevant equipment/ICT packages, e.g., front of house safeguarding system, MS Office, internet, Arbor, and various social media platforms

· Ensure that all school polices are up to date, regularly reviewed and shared with staff

· Act as the GDPR lead, ensuring compliance with all relevant legislation and process data requests; champion data protection best practice in school; respond to data protection incidents

· Liaise with the catering contractor to uphold standards and ensure compliance

· Liaise with the cleaning contractor team to uphold standards and ensure compliance

Working with the office team to

· Ensure voluntary helpers in school complete online applications, ID verification and DBS checks as necessary

· Manage staff recruitment and ensure that leaders receive the information they require regarding staff appointments, including payroll changes

· Ensure that all pupil and payment records are securely stored and that access is restricted to authorised personnel

· Manage the pupil daily registration process. Check online registers and provide information to enable appropriate staff to follow up absences

· Manage pupil leavers to ensure all pupil records and files are forwarded appropriately.

· Ensure the office email account is regularly monitored and emails are responded to and forwarded as appropriate to other staff members.

· Ensure the school's website is maintained

· Ensure census data is submitted within required timescales

· Manage premises staff to ensure day-to-day operations are completed in a timely manner and contractors are sourced as required

· Manage logistics and compliance for all school events and trips (e.g. bookings, visitors, contractors etc)

· Manage the school calendar.

· Manage school transport and the school minibus to ensure compliance

· Monitor completion of mandatory staff training.

· Manage logistics for comms to parents.

· Oversee all non-teaching related stock.

· Oversee SEND administration, including statutory processes, record management and stakeholder communications.

· Maintain stationery stock levels.

The duties above are neither exclusive nor exhaustive and the postholder may be required by the Headteacher to carry out appropriate duties within the context of the job, skills and grade
Person Specification:

The successful candidate will demonstrate

· A strong adherence to confidentiality by upholding the school's commitment to safeguarding and promoting children's welfare.

· They are highly organised with good attention to detail.

· Be confident in communicating with parents, staff and pupils.

· An ability to managing competing priorities and multiple projects on an ongoing basis.

· Confidence using IT systems.

· They can take personal responsibility for identification of learning, development and training opportunities.

· An ability to build strong and trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

· An ability to work highly effectively both individually and as part of a team.

· An ability to be both proactive (advanced planning and forward thinking) and reactive (responding to changing situations).

· An ability to develop others, by having high expectations and clear goals, targeting support wisely and holding to account in a supportive but rigorous way.

· An ability to lead and motivate a team in a positive and successful way

· An ability to solve problems, with strength in both conceptual and analytical thinking.

Desirable

· Experience providing executive or personal assistant support to senior leaders.

· Experience coordinating SEND administration within a school setting.

· Knowledge of EHCP processes, annual reviews and SEND statutory requirements.

The school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment
Qualifications and Experience

Essential

· GCSE Maths and English (Grade 4) or equivalent

· Operational background with some level of expertise in HR, Estates, IT.

· Line management of a team

· Successful experience of administrative work in a busy office environment

Desirable

· Bachelor's degree or equivalent.

· Experience working in an educational environment.

· Working knowledge of general school policies and procedures

· First Aid qualification

· Experience of the use of complex information databases, preferably Arbor

Personal Qualities
· Ability to exchange verbal information clearly and sensitively with children and adults

· Ability to establish rapport and respectful and trusting relationships with children, their families and carers and other adults

· Good time management and organisational skills, with ability to manage own workload, set priorities and meet deadlines.

· Ability to treat sensitive information with the strictest levels of confidentiality at all times.

· Flexibility and ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

· Able to work under pressure and meet conflicting demands

· Resilience and ability to re-prioritise regularly to ensure timely responses to incidents / changing circumstances.

· Work constructively as part of a team, understanding organisational roles and responsibilities

Information about the School

Harlow Fields School and College is an all age special school for pupils with severe, moderate and complex needs. We are an inclusive, vibrant learning environment offering high quality education and care for all.