Secretary at Silverwood School, Maryland

Job Purpose

• The Secretary is a support staff and works as part of the school team to assist the school head of school / Administrator to ensure that the school meets its Administrative, Front Desk Reception, Communication, Visitors, Events and educational aims.
• She is responsible for managing the school support staff and Care giving staff (pre-school), to enhance their effectiveness in order to achieve improved standards.
• The working of process toward greater effectiveness and efficiency in the school administrative goal is done by the secretary
• She promotes the highest standards of productive ethos within the administrative function of the school and strategically ensures the most effective use of resources in support of the school’s stated objectives.
• She ensures and support the coordination of the marketing of the school via direct marketing, electronic marketing strategies Facebook, twitter, advertisements and distribution of flyers. Also stimulate the enlistment of the school to such educational professional bodies.
• She is responsible for inventory /Facility & Property Management/ Health & Safety Management of the School.
• She will provide leadership and training to care givers, cleaners, and other support staff in conjunction with the Head of School

Leadership & Strategy:

• She will attend senior management and committee meetings, take and document minutes of meetings.
• She will influence strategic decision making within the school’s senior management and other teams
• In the absence of the Head of School, she takes co-delegated responsibility for other decisions
• She plans and manages change within her function in accordance with the school’s objectives and development plan.
• She leads and manages all school support staff drivers, cleaners, security etc towards school objectives.
• She must ensure that all academic staff attend, return and file copies of training certificates
• She ensures in-house training are organized to transfer knowledge to school support staff such as drivers, cleaners etc
• She ensures that best practices and industry trends are kept abreast of and such should be put to bear on the school activities.
• She must ensure the vision and mission of the school is upheld at all times.

Financial Data Support:

• She must evaluate cost and consult with the Head of School to prepare a realistic and balanced budget for school activity or any upcoming school activities and event.
• She will assist the management to monitor and control performance to achieve value for money within her department
• She will assist to propose revisions to event budget if necessary, in response to significant or unforeseen developments
• She will maximize timing for school fees payment and income through lettings and other activities.
• She will assist the Head of School to develop and present timely and fully costed proposals, recommendations.
• Agree with suitable providers for amounts, at agreed times and appropriate agreed deadlines and schedules.
• She will monitor the effectiveness and implementation of agreement and schedules with 3rd party service providers

Administrative Function include:

• Support in administrative function and lead all support staff.
• Maintain administrative work that deliver outcomes based on the school’s aims and goals
• Support in defining responsibilities and limits of support staff.
• Review and improve administrative systems
• Benchmark systems and information to assess trends and make appropriate recommendations
• Handle emails and correspondence with the internal / external staff and partners.
• Prepare information for publications, websites updates/developments and other creative like brochures, flyers to project the school and her activities to parents, other agencies and stakeholders.
• Monitor day to day operation of the school kitchen and production of daily menus, toilet cleaning schedules, visitor, security post, facility management, maintenance schedules including artisans etc that fully meet and comply with best practices within a leading school environment.
• Manage database of teachers, staff, parents and contractors.
• Ensure all communications such as newsletters, reports etc are effectively sent to parents promptly with feedback.
• Ensure trips are planned and communicated to parents on time and ahead of term.
• Ensure parent consent are sought and given for events, excursion etc
• Ensure teachers and pupils are constantly communicated with the right dress code adopted by the school.

Information Systems & ICT function are as follows:

• Monitor and report on the performance of technology within the school.
• Support work colleagues to make the best use of available ICT including teaching, learning and assessment systems.
• Ensure contingency plans are in place in the case of technology failure
• Ensure effective communications and meetings with parents when need be subject to the approval of the head of school.
• Monitor and use the various technology in school. Be the technology leaser.

Human Resource Management:

• Assist payroll services including pension schemes, LIRS and associated deductions.
• Ensure the school’s policy is clearly communicated to all staff, parents and pupils in school
• Ensure that all teachers file for recruitment, appraisal, staff development, grievance, disciplinary and redundancy policies and procedures are documented and filed.
• Keep and ensure all recruitment test, performance management, appraisal and development for all support staff.
• Ensure people have a clear understanding of the policies, procedures and the importance of putting them into practice
• Seek and make use of specialist expertise in relation to HR issues.

Facility & Property Management:

• Ensure the supervision of relevant planning and work processes is undertaken in line with work.
• Ensure smooth running of the school facility.
• Ensure the safe maintenance and security operation of school premises
• Ensure the continuing availability of utilities, stationeries, equipment and etc as required for the running of the school
• Monitor, assess and review contractual obligations for outsourced school services
• Ensure a safe environment for the stakeholders of the school to provide a secure environment for work and learning
• Ensure ancillary services e.g. catering, cleaning, etc are monitored and managed effectively such that resources are not wasted. Ensuring that all records and inventory books are kept up-to-date.
• Personally supervising and monitoring of the state of toilets, classrooms, floors, windows, fans, doors, and wall are in pristine condition
• Ensure proper monitoring of the school bus such as drivers, school bus staff, and database of all school bus pupils is kept.

Health & Safety:

• Support the school’s Health & Safety activities in a post covid environment.
• Plan, instigate and maintain records of fire practices and alarm tests.
• Ensure the school’s written health & safety policy statement is clearly communicated and available to all people
• Work with people on health and safety issues
• Monitoring, measuring and reporting of health and safety issues
• Carry out and attend to all other jobs as assigned by the Head of School & management.

Qualifications

• Female
• 2.1 or upper credit in HND, B.Ed. or B.Sc in Secretariat Studies. Use of graphic application and Microsoft packages such as word, excel, outlook is added advantage
• Strong understanding of online learning tools google (google forms, Sheets etc), Zoom, Quizzes, Khan Academy etc is desirable,
• Minimum of 5 years experience in similar post in a school. Passionate about communication and must have good written ‎and communications skills in English
• Must be friendly, articulate and have a strong character.