Examinations Invigilator in Birmingham

• Job title:Examinations Invigilator
• Job Type:Casual, Fixed Term Contract
• Salary:Basic Pay of £13.56 per hour (plus holiday pay)
• Department:Examinations Office
• Reporting to:The Examinations Officer
• Location:Senior School, Highgate
• Start:5th January 2027 (must have good availability January to March and from 29th April to 18th June 2027)
• Mandatory Training Day:3rd December 2026
• Closing Date:26 October 2026 at 9:00 am

We are looking for dependable and approachable Examinations Invigilators to join Highgate’s experienced team ahead of our mock exams in January.

This crucial and rewarding role offers the opportunity to support pupils at an important point in their school lives while helping exams run calmly, fairly and securely.

If you are passionate about the wellbeing of young people and feel you can offer a regular commitment during the exam periods, please get in touch.

Highgate’s exams team works collaboratively and efficiently to administer the school’s public and internal exams. This is a complex operation which involves a large number of pupils, careful planning and the consistent application of exam security procedures.

The team carefully follow exam boards’ requirements, have close eye for detail and strong administrative skills. They collaborate and liaise with numerous support and academic departments to deliver one of the most sophisticated operations of the school. They have a front-facing role working with pupils and parents/carers, which requires sensitivity and diplomacy.

The team consists of an Examinations Officer and an Assistant Examinations Officer, who are supported by a team of around 20 invigilators during the exam periods. The team is overseen by the Compliance Director and works closely with the Deputy Head (Academic) who has overall responsibility for the administration of all public examinations.

Job Description

Main Responsibilities

• Distributing exam materials, including question papers and answer booklets, before the start of the exam and collecting them at the end.
• Issuing instructions to candidates.
• Notifying the Examinations Officer if a candidate is absent or late for an exam.
• Supervising candidates during exams to ensure that silence is maintained and that in all respects the exams are conducted in accordance with the awarding bodies’ rules and regulations.
• Being vigilant at all times.
• On some occasions, overseeing the start and end of the exams, including giving time reminders to candidates, ensuring access arrangements are in place and that extra-time candidates receive the correct time allowance.
• Giving the Examinations Officer every assistance to ensure that all proper procedures, as specified by the exam boards and by Highgate are followed.
• Keeping exam papers in secure conditions at the end of each exam until they are passed to the Examinations Officer.
• Undertaking any mandatory training in person or online that is required for the performance of the duties.
• Any other duties within the postholder’s capabilities as may be reasonably requested from time to time. Other work may be required outside of the scheduled exam time. Due to the nature of the work, finish times are likely to vary day-to-day.

Person Specification

• Criteria
• How will these be tested or verified?
• Qualifications / Knowledge
• Essential
  • Basic level of education

  Desirable

  • Experience working in the education sector.
  • Experience working as a School Examinations Invigilator.
  • Knowledge of child protection and safeguarding policies.
• Ability / Skills
• Essential
  • Ability to work well as a member of a team.
  • Strong attention to detail.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with pupils, and staff. This requires an open and friendly approach.
  • Be able to guarantee security and confidentiality with regard to all aspects of examination procedures.
  • The ability to maintain in strictest confidence any information received about matters concerning Highgate.
  • Be comfortable with long periods of standing up.
• Personal Attributes
• Essential
  • Demonstrate excellent reliability and punctuality, with the ability to commit to agreed full-day or part-day exam slots on a regular basis.
  • Be confident and personable with a positive ‘can-do’ attitude.
  • Have the personality and gravitas to command the respect and confidence of examination candidates.

Location |Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.

Pension | AVIVA workplace pension scheme offered with a generous 26% employer contribution.

Personal development |Comprehensive induction support for new staff. Focus on continued professional development for all employees.

Leisure facilities |Free access, at stipulated times, to our sports facilities, including a fitness suite and swimming pool (recently refurbished).

Lunch |A complimentary lunch.

Help with sustainable travel |Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme and a Season Ticket Loan scheme for public transport.

Family-friendly policies |Highgate appreciates that employees sometimes have family commitments so we try to be as supportive as possible, for example with enhanced maternity pay (8 weeks’ full pay, then 10 weeks’ half pay) and paid dependant leave.

Highgate is a caring, open-minded community, where we promote kindness, empathy and friendship. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of a welcoming environment that enables them to be themselves and to thrive as individuals.

Our community extends beyond the school, through partnerships, charity work and our commitment to equality, inclusion and sustainability. All members of our school community are encouraged to look outwards and play an active role.

Following a visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in September 2024 to assess Highgate’s regulatory compliance and school standards, we are pleased to share the inspection findings, which reports compliance in all five areas and a ‘significant strength’ in our teaching expertise.

Highgate is committed to staff wellbeing, which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance; trying our best to support flexible working requests; providing a nutritious complimentary lunch in the dining hall; and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool.

The Staff Wellbeing Committee, with representatives across the School, meets regularly to drive forward initiatives, and a selection of staff have been trained as Mental-Health First Aiders.

We encourage an open culture throughout our school, with regular staff surveys, action committees and opportunities to feedback. We strive for continual learning and improvement, and staff training and development is paramount. There are opportunities to participate in the wider life of our school, such as taking part in trips or societies and getting involved in partnership projects.

More details about working at Highgate can be found here:

As an independent school, we want to use our position as a charity effectively: to make high-quality education accessible to as many children as possible – through our bursary programme at Highgate and through our work with local state schools. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and we are the principal educational sponsor for London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham – an academically-selective state sixth form in a community where such opportunities are lacking.

Alongside this, our staff and pupils undertake charitable activities throughout the year. These range from staff giving up their time to neighbourhood schools and charitable organisations, focused fundraising campaigns, to pupils undertaking community work in the local area or further afield.

As a school, we have a central role to play in educating our pupils, staff and parents about the importance of environmental sustainability. We are taking positive action to adapt our operational performance to tackle the negative effects of climate change. We encourage all our staff to reflect upon their personal and professional practices, to support our environmental agenda and to make positive changes wherever possible.

• Closing Date:26th October 2026
• First Interview:2nd November
• Second Interview:4th November

Contact: Recruitment Team are happy to answer any questions about this post.

Early Application: Applications will be considered ‘as and when’ received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.

We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams, and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staff and pupils will feel a sense of belonging and will thrive. To enable us to make reasonable adjustments, please let us know of any disabilities (including neuro-divergence) when you submit your application.

As this role will have regular unsupervised contact with children you must, if appointed, comply with Highgate’s Safeguarding Policy and Staff Code of Conduct. Ifin the course ofcarrying out the duties of the post the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety and welfare of our pupils, these concerns must be reported immediately in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy. If whilst in the post, Highgate becomes aware of any safeguarding concerns to staff, pupils or the community; these will need to be followed up in line with the safeguarding policy and code of conduct which is underpinned by KCSIE and other legislation. These concerns may need to be shared with other agencies. A copy of these policies will accompany all offers of employment. Training will also be provided to all staff to support Safeguarding practice – this is to be completed during onboarding and prior to appointment.

Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of childrenand applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities.

Please note that this role is ‘exempt’ from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore, you are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not ‘protected’ (i.e.filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not befiltered,prior to the date of the interview.

In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.

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