About the role: The Leigh UTC and Inspiration Academy has an exciting opportunity for an experienced, efficient and personable Office Manager to join our team from September 2021. The role of the Office Manager is a busy one and this one will be no different; we need an individual who can turn their hand to all requirements, and who can be flexible with day to day duties.

Our successful candidate will be able to demonstrate excellent communication skills and the ability to manage the smooth day to day running of the administration process across The Leigh UTC and Inspiration Academy, co-ordinating activity across both sites and managing staff within the office team. Previous experience in a senior office role, ideally within an education sector, would assist in the success of applications and strong computer literacy skills in all Microsoft applications are essential due to the nature of this role. You will be responsible for a small team and therefore previous supervisory experience is essential, along with exceptional organisational skills.

A key responsibility of this role is to manage and oversee all social media activity, therefore our successful candidate will be able to demonstrate prior experience and also confidence in using wider IT packages and software.

Working with us: Having opened in September 2014 with state-of-the-art facilities originally for Key Stage 4 and 5, The Leigh UTC provides an exciting, innovative, business-led, problem-solving curriculum, enabling students to achieve relevant work-related qualifications and transferable skills for future training or employment. The most unique feature of The Leigh UTC is its business ethos that are emphasised by our students' behaviours and supported by our sponsors.

In September 2017, following the request of the Department for Education due to our continued success, The Leigh UTC marked history by expanding its student intake to incorporate Key Stage 3 – the first UTC in the UK to do this. Furthermore, being the first UTC to have IB World School Status has enabled us to develop strong links in Germany and Qatar. Having IB Status will enable us to further develop the mid-years programme (MYP) for our Key Stage 3 students and thus providing a joined-up pathway from ages 11 to 19. The overarching mission of the Inspiration Academy is to develop curious, academically-skilled young people who aspire to be principled, compassionate learners. Our curriculum strives to create students who are self-motivated, competent, willing to take risks and lifelong learners.

Our key successes and features that our successful candidate can be part of are as follows;

The promotion of pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
Pupils, including the disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, catch up from previous underachievement and make strong and often rapid progress in a range of subjects and disciplines
Application to learning is often exemplary.
The Leigh UTC makes a real difference for its pupils and surrounding area. Pupils become motivated to find and follow their passions. They leave well equipped to succeed in engineering and related technical and design careers and contribute to the economy.
The Principal, with his leaders and staff team, model a high-quality working environment. This rubs off on pupils, who value the supportive ethos, work-like atmosphere.​​​​​​​
Being a part of Leigh Academies Trust: As of 1st September 2020, our Trust will comprise 28 geographically organised academies (11 secondaries, 15 primaries and 2 special) educating over 16,000 students, and employing over 2,500 talented staff. We also have one further secondary academy in development phase, due to open in September 2021. The Trust is establishing four ‘clusters’ of academies: North West Kent; Central Kent; South East London; Medway. In addition, the Trust is responsible for one of the region’s biggest initial teaching training providers and a large teaching school. Click here to view our future plans in our Vision 2025 document.

As part of Leigh Academies Trust you will have ample opportunity to collaborate with your peers both within the academy and across the whole Trust. This is an important part of our vision as we know through experience that we perform better when we work together. You are supported to undertake regular self-development to continue your professional development and hopefully progress further within the organisation.

We strive to offer a range of benefits that all employees can take advantage of which we regularly review and add to - click here to view what you’d receive as a member of staff with Leigh Academies Trust.

Diversity at our core: As a Trust we are passionate about diversity and recognise that as individuals we all bring something unique to the role regardless of any protected characteristics which is why we treat all of our people equally, without compromise.

All roles within the Trust are subject to an Enhanced DBS check in addition to other pre-employment checks. Our commitment to safeguarding is underpinned by robust processes and checks which are in place across the Trust.

Recruitment and hiring during COVID-19: Despite the challenges we face, recruitment and hiring will continue for all Leigh Academies Trust vacancies with as little disruption as possible over the coming weeks and months. This is for all senior, teaching and support staff appointments. Applications will still be reviewed and interviews conducted in a timely manner, although interview activities will vary. If you have any queries or concerns, please get in touch with the LAT Talent Team - talent@latrust.org.uk
Based on the quality and quantity of applications received, Leigh Academies Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy sooner than the specified closing date. Applicants will be notified of this where possible. Therefore, early applications are encouraged.