Music Schools Administrator

Contract length: Permanent

Working weeks: Term time plus three weeks in the holidays – 36 weeks per year

Working hours: 08.00 – 16.30 Monday to Friday

The role involves providing comprehensive administrative support for the busy Music Department whilst scheduling lessons, ordering supplies, arranging events and organising exams. It requires communicating with and maintaining excellent relationships across a wide range of people, including the Director of Music, Visiting Music Teachers (VMTs), pupils, other full-time members of the department, other staff throughout the school and parents. The post-holder will be expected to operate with consistently high standards of professionalism, discretion, safeguarding compliance and relationship management.

The skills required include:

• Experience in a role involving a high level of administrative responsibility, ideally within a musical setting.
• Accuracy, organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Knowledge and enjoyment of a wide range of musical genres is desirable.
• Experience of managing and delivering events.
• High level of proficiency with Microsoft packages.
• Ability to communicate clearly and professionally using written and verbal methods.
• Ability to think calmly and respond quickly when circumstances and schedules require flexibility.

The benefits include:

• Free lunch
• Free parking
• Automatic enrolment in the School’s pension scheme
• Use of the School’s sports facilities such as the swimming pool, gym, and running track
• Subsidised membership of the tennis, golf, angling and social clubs

The environment at Harrow School is situated in Harrow on the Hill, northwest London, and is one of the best-known schools in the world. Around 835 boys study at Harrow and live in the School’s 12 boarding houses. Music is an important part of life at Harrow School, with forty percent of pupils taking individual music lessons from the six full-time and 40 part-time staff. There is an impressive array of choirs, orchestras, chamber, jazz and rock groups, performing in concerts at School and elsewhere. In a typical year, 80 concerts take place, ranging from lunch-hour events at St Mary’s Church to the Choral Society Concert in Speech Room with over 300 performers. The Music School was purpose-built in 1894 and is a listed building with a small concert hall, office, teaching rooms and practice rooms.

Applications will be processed as they are received and interviews may take place before the closing date, so early application is recommended. Equality, diversity and inclusion are values that are important to us at Harrow. We believe in diversity of thought and actively welcome everyone regardless of their background to bring their valuable and relevant skills to our community. Harrow School is committed to promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to adhere to and ensure compliance with the School’s Safeguarding and Child Protection policies and procedures at all times.

In the event of a successful application, candidates will be required to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including reference checks with past employers, an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (including Children’s Barred List information) and prohibition checks. No member of staff will be able to start until these checks are complete and this process takes, on average, a month. Please plan accordingly. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore all convictions and cautions, reprimands and final warnings (including those which would normally be considered as “spent” under the Act) must be declared, subject to the DBS filtering rules. It is a criminal offence for any person who is barred from working with children to attempt to apply for a position at the Harrow School. Please refer to the School's Recruitment, Selection and Disclosure Policy for more details.