Security and Fire Officer

Job Introduction

We are seeking a professional and customer-focused Security and Fire Officer to join our Security Team. We are looking for someone who can work effectively both independently and as part of a team, with strong situational awareness and the ability to respond calmly and efficiently in emergencies.

The role will assist in ensuring a safe, secure environment for our pupils, staff, and visitors. Responsibilities will include conducting routine checks, logging incidents, and escorting visitors as required.

Security experience would be advantageous, and a good working knowledge of health and safety practices is essential. The ideal candidate will be friendly, approachable, and possess excellent customer service and communication skills.

The role is full-time and will require flexibility to work shifts between 07.00am to 11.00pm, Monday to Friday and 07.00am to 07.00pm on Saturdays, as well as attending key School events.

Full-time hours are 40 per week working for 52 weeks of the year.

Main Responsibilities

Working as part of the Site Services team, the role will include:

• Maintaining the security of the school premises and its contents. This includes patrolling buildings within the Estate
• Following procedures to enable access to buildings as required throughout the year, and ensure that all buildings are secured each night
• Monitoring alarms and CCTV
• Reporting security & fire incidents through the Incident Reporting System and to the Security and Fire Manager
• Communicating with the team in a daily log
• Controlling the allocation of keys through maintaining a daily log
• Assisting Reception in the greeting and receiving of visitors and contractors
• Being ready to escort visitors or contractors on site
• Understanding how to use the Access Control System to provide appropriate access rights for members of the school community
• Monitoring and (as directed) controlling those entering and leaving Little Dean's Yard including the use of gates and signage as and when required
• Assisting with school events as required.
• Working with security from Westminster Abbey to ensure an effective working relationship with others who share the site
• Testing and inspecting manual fire call points & inspecting portable firefighting equipment
• Delivering letters and parcels to the Post Room or as required
• Maintaining appropriate conduct and demeanour and be correctly dressed at all times
• Undertaking suitable training to enable the tasks and duties required to carry out the job
• Carrying out other tasks, as may be instructed by the Security and Fire Manager, Head of Site Services, Director of Estates or other senior members of the School Management.

Please note this job description is not exhaustive. Any significant and permanent amendments to the document will be made after consultation with the job holder.

The Ideal Candidate

Please refer to the below (attached) person specification.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Westminster School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

About The School

Working at Westminster

Westminster School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of around 750 pupils, 120 teaching staff and 108 support staff.

Our staff are friendly and welcoming, and all newcomers quickly become part of the rhythm of life here.

There is a real sense of community here as, being a boarding school many members of staff and pupils live on site and the School's premises are very much treated as a home away from home. School life starts before breakfast and continues way beyond the working day; as a result, there is always a lively atmosphere in and around School and always someone to share a tea and biscuit with in the Common Room. Support staff as much as teaching staff are encouraged to embrace the School's day-to-day activities, whether that be attending an evening concert or a morning service in the Abbey.

At Westminster we will always select the best candidate for every position. We do know, however, that we can only truly choose the best person on every occasion if a broad and diverse pool of candidates see the job advertised and are encouraged to apply.

As such, we continue to work on how our job roles are encountered, and particularly welcome applications from groups who have traditionally been underrepresented here.

Westminster School is for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. We hope you are encouraged to apply.

The School

Westminster School is an independent day and boarding school for boys aged 13-18 and girls aged 16-18, with a long history, a distinctive ethos, and a unique sense of place in the very heart of London. Pupils achieve exceptional examination results and entrance to some of the top universities in the world. It is a busy, passionate and purposeful place where independent and deep thinking is enjoyed, encouraged and respected by all, and where holistic excellence is nurtured and valued.

While the School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence in the country, its commitment to academic life does not make it a hothouse for passing examinations. Pupils' success at examinations and entry to leading universities is instead a result of their enjoyment of academic enquiry, debate and search for explanation, well beyond published syllabuses. Pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged and our aim is to ensure that their enthusiasm for learning is developed further, allowing them to take full advantage of the opportunities presented to them in the future. At Westminster, pupils have the freedom to lead on projects outside of the classroom and embrace a whole range of extra-curricular activities and interests. A host of pupil-led societies take place every week at the School, often with expert guest speakers, and pupils can choose to study an additional language, play an instrument or two, volunteer in local primary schools, row along the Thames, take part in plays and musicals, and much more.

The School's ethos resides in the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the 1560 Charter of Westminster's Elizabethan foundation, where it is stated that: 'the youth which is growing to manhood, as tender shoots in the wood of our state, shall be liberally instructed in good books to the greater honour of the state'. Whilst academic and cultural attainments are highly prized at Westminster, the School is fully committed also to each pupil's spiritual, moral, emotional and physical development and wellbeing – with a particular emphasis on drawing out individual talent wherever it lies – and to prepare young people for fulfilled private and public lives.

From September 2028, the School will welcome both girls and boys at 13+ entry, offering a Westminster education to all. By 2026, Westminster Under School will have opened its brand new pre-prep for girls and boys at 4+ and girls will have joined boys in Years 3 and 7, at the 7+ and 11+ entry points. By 2030, all year groups at Westminster School and Westminster Under School, from ages four to 18, will be fully co-educational, reflecting the School's dedication to inclusivity and excellence.

Package Description

Required for: as soon as possible

Location: Deans Yard - Westminster School

Contract: full-time, permanent

Hours of work: 40 hours per week, details below

Salary: £30,975 per annum

Benefits include:

• free School meals whilst on duty
• a generous School pension scheme
• free access to the School's leisure facilities, including a fitness gym (restricted hours)
• access the School's Cycle to Work Scheme and season ticket loans following completion of our standard probation period

The closing date for this role is midday on Wednesday 12th November 2025. Interviews will take place shortly after the closing date.