Admissions and Customer Services Officer

Reports To: Operations director

Location: West London – with some travel to various Ark Start sites in London

Contract: Permanent

Pattern:  Full-Time (Part-time option but at least 0.8 FTE)

Closing date: 11/10/2023 at 10am

Interviews: 16/10/2023

Full Time Salary:  £23,366 to £27,500 (depending on experience)

About the role:

We are looking for an Admissions and Customer Services Officer to join our Ark Start Team. The Admissions and Customer Services Officer will excel in a range of different duties including communicating with external and internal stakeholders, keeping the management information system for Ark Start up to date while demonstrating high levels of attention to detail in their work.

Ark Start currently has 2 nurseries in South London and are planning to add more settings over the next 6 months. This role will work alongside another admissions and customer services officer, each of whom will be responsible for supporting up to 3 nurseries.

The role would suit a highly organised individual who would thrive working with a range of different people in a dynamic and fast-growing organisation.   

Key Responsibilities: 

• Overseeing the admissions and sales process to meet occupancy targets
• Responsible for Ark Start general communications, ensuring queries are answered or directed to the appropriate member of staff for follow up
• Liaising with nursery managers to ensure information is correct, up to date and customer requirements and financial targets are met
• Resolving initial complaints and queries; escalating to the nursery managers when necessary
• Report regularly to nursery managers and SLT on enquiry status, occupancy and forecasts and report other elements of paid for service including catering, bookings, offsite visits etc
• Manage catering bookings and track orders and take-up to minimise waste
• Support and cover across all Ark Start nurseries, as required
• Support with marketing for new nursery openings

Key Requirements:

• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Demonstrate high levels of attention to detail
• Ability to prioritise and manage conflicting demands
• Commitment to Ark Start values and mission
• Demonstrates resilience and an ability to positively respond to changing priorities
• Willingness to occasionally travel across Ark’s network of schools

View the full job description and person specification here

About Ark

We’re an international charity, transforming lives through education. We exist to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. In the UK, we’re a network of 39 schools, educating around 28,500 pupils in areas where we can make the biggest difference and we’re recognised as one of the highest achieving academy groups in the country. We want to change the lives of children everywhere, not just in our own schools. So, we create and incubate Ventures designed not only to help pupils in Ark schools, but also to improve education systems.

You’ll be joining a group of like-minded, ambitious individuals who work collaboratively and are all committed to our core mission, that every child has the potential to succeed. Having just celebrated our 20^th anniversary, we are shaping our goals for the next 20 and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

Benefits

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• Regular social events, monthly free breakfast, and daily fruit
• A flexible approach to working with understanding and consideration for work life balance and personal commitments
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests

How to Apply:

Apply with a CV and cover letter on our online recruitment portal. Applications to be submitted by Wednesday 11^th October 2023 at 10am but please note: we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this advert may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response.

This ATS application form should take no longer 20 minutes to complete. At any time, you can pause, save, and log back in. If you have any difficulty with meeting the deadline for application, please contact recruitment@arkonline.org  

Interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified, so early application is strongly advised.

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.  

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link. 

We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments, please click on this link.