Music Administrator

Start date: 1 September 2024

Hours per week: 28.75, Term time only

King Edwards School

Edgbaston Park Road

Birmingham

B15 2UA

Telephone number:

Contact email:

Contract type: Permanent

King Edward's School in Birmingham, one of the best independent day schools in the country, is seeking a Music Administrator to join our outstanding Music Department from 1 September 2024.

Reporting to: Director of Music

Salary: Grade 3 £22,921 to £25,197 FTE (actual salary £13,983 to £15,372)

Hours: 28.75 hours per week, term time (including INSET days)

Benefits: Defined Contribution pension scheme, school fee discount, free lunches in term time, free access to swimming pool and gym facilities, free onsite parking, Cycle to Work scheme

The Music Department

Music is strong at King Edward's School (KES), in the classroom and beyond. A close partnership with King Edward VI High School for Girls (KEHS) makes possible work of large scale and high ambition. The 98-strong KES/KEHS Symphony Orchestra regularly programmes major works of the symphonic repertoire, and there are two choirs: KES Choir, which performs at Birmingham Cathedral each year; and the KES/KEHS Choral Society, consisting of both staff and pupils. There are eight major weekly-rehearsing ensembles, as well as wind and swing bands, and numerous string quartets, piano trios, and wind and piano quintets. There are three full-time staff in the department, who both teach classroom music and deliver co-curricular music. We give about 30 public concerts each year, and 5000 people hear us play. Our main performance venue is our own Ruddock Hall, a 450-seat concert hall with Steinway model 'D' and superb acoustics. We regularly work in Birmingham Cathedral and Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

The Music Administrator reports to the Director of Music, but will also interact with two Teachers of Music, the KEHS Director of Music, and most significantly, the KEHS Music Administrator with whom there will be a high level of collaboration. There will also be regular interaction with the Arts and Events Manager in relation to events taking place in the Ruddock Performing Arts Centre (RPAC), and with visiting music teachers.

The Role

The role is a part-time permanent position starting 1 September 2024. The successful candidate will work 28.75 hours per week, preferably over five days Monday to Friday 8:00am to 2.15pm (with a 30-minute unpaid lunch break), though there will be some flexibility for the right candidate and reciprocal flexibility will be expected. This is a term time only role, however, the Music Administrator will be required to be available for the main concerts in the school calendar, as well as the annual residential music weekend. These mostly take place on weekends or evenings and are therefore outside of standard working hours. Time off in lieu will be offered.

Job Description

The most significant role for the Music Administrator will be responding to enquiries and requests from all those who use the Music Department: staff, pupils, parents and visiting music teachers. The job description below sets out the key responsibilities of the role – this is not exhaustive and is subject to review and evolution as necessary.

Working with music department staff

The Music Administrator will be required to:

• act as the department's first point of contact for pupils, staff, parents, and members of the public
  
• be available to pupils during their breaks and lunchtimes, be part of the department's safeguarding responsibilities, and uphold the two schools' policies and practices
  
• maintain records of pupils' musical activities
  
• keep the department's diary, booking rooms, and checking department events against whole-school KES and KEHS plans
  
• oversee and catalogue music library and archives (digital and print), the library of choral and orchestral sets, and be responsible for mass reproduction of scores and parts
  
• produce reminders and registers for weekly-rehearsing groups, and track attendance; book porters and assist with rehearsal and concert set-up; timetable and book rooms for regular and extraordinary rehearsals
  
• oversee the administration of department concerts and recitals, working with RPAC staff
  
• assist in the administration of academic coursework
  
• produce departmental correspondence, posters, programmes, displays, and publicity
  
• work with partner organisations (National Youth and Children's orchestras, CBSO, Universities, for example)
  
• register, track, and oversee the maintenance of the department's instruments (tuning, spares, and repairs); oversee their loan to pupils and their external hire
  
• assist with budgets, and, in conjunction with the finance department, be responsible for purchasing and the payment of invoices
  
• assist in the general maintenance of a tidy and well-ordered department
  
• administer trips, residential courses, and concerts in external venues
  
  Working with visiting music teachers
  
  There are around 30 visiting instrumental staff, delivering 200 weekly lessons. The Music Administrator will be required to:
  • work with the Director of Music in the allocation of new students to existing teachers
    
  • help the visiting teachers to communicate with pupils, parents, and staff
    
  • inform visiting music teachers about school and department events, dates, and help involve them in the life of the school
    
  • liaise with the Deputy Head Pastoral and HR team to ensure that records are correct and compliance checks are up-to-date; report any safeguarding issues raised by visiting music teachers
    
  • organise room bookings for visiting music teachers and share pupils' timetables with them where required
    
  • maintain registers for pupils' attendance
    
  • administer, timetable, and steward ABRSM examinations
    
    The Music Administrator will also be expected to carry out other duties as may reasonably be requested from time to time by the Director or Music or another member of staff.
    
    You can read more about music at KES and KEHS by visiting our blog.
    
    For a full job description and person specification, and to download an application form, please visit our website.
    
    

    This post is covered by Part 7 of the Immigration Act Therefore the ability to speak fluent and spoken English is an essential requirement for this role.
    
    

    How to apply
    
    

    To apply for this role, please forward a completed application form (available for download here and a covering letter addressed to the Bursar (Operations) by email to:
    
    Interviews will provisionally take place during the week commencing Monday 10 June 2024.
    
    If you have any queries about the role or would like to discuss it in more detail, please contact
    
    

    This school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff and to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to necessary pre-employment checks, including: an enhanced DBS; Childcare Disqualification (where applicable); qualifications (where applicable); medical fitness; identity and right to work. All applicants will be required to provide two suitable references.
    
    

    Applicants please note: This post is not part of the City Council and the successful candidate will not hold a Birmingham City Council Contract of Employment. Please use the contact details in the advert for information on actual employment conditions.
    
    

    Rehabilitation of offenders: This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. Which means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are 'protected', so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.
    
    

    An online search will also be carried out as part of due diligence on all short-listed candidates.