Executive Assistant and Administrative Officer

About us:

Fortes Education has been a leading education provider in the UAE for over four decades with premium international schools and nurseries that have experienced outstanding success and growth. Our schools offer the most innovative and character-building education in the entire Middle East region.

Our core ethos and philosophy of education is Positive Education (PosEd). Through PosEd, our schools foster active engagement in learning, celebrating character strengths and accomplishments. We encourage children to cultivate fulfilling relationships with others and seek meaning and purpose in their own lives. We enable children to become happy learners and develop into innovative thinkers, confident young adults, and life-long learners. Our students develop resilience, a growth mindset and deep character strengths that allow them to flourish in an ever-changing world.

About Sunmarke School – Where amazing happens

Sunmarke School provides an ambitious and inspiring, values-based education that nurtures the hearts and minds of students so that they can flourish and achieve their dreams. Powered by our unique signature programs, Sunmarke is a uniquely innovative school, transforming young lives. This was reflected in Sunmarke School winning the coveted ‘Most Innovative School’ award at the Which School Advisor ceremony in Dubai and London.

Sunmarke is an all-through school which offers a premium education across a fantastic range of pathways for students including the National Curriculum of England, GCSE/IGCSE, ‘A’ Levels, BTEC and the IB Diploma and Career Related Programmes. We also offer a suite of Signature Programmes unrivalled in Dubai. With unique experiences in Environmental and Sustainability Studies, students learn in Forest School settings, as well as utilising cutting-edge hydroponic technology to examine how science can support sustainability in future terrains.

Our world-class STEAM centre and curriculum offers students an incredible opportunity to apply their learning in solving real-world problems, from Foundation Stage through to Year 9. We run best-in-class mini-MBA programmes for our Year 10 to 13 students in conjunction with the Peter Jones Academy, to ensure their future success in business and entrepreneurship. We are technologically innovative and run comprehensive AI programmes for students in all core subjects, as well as deepening other subjects through Augmented and Virtual Reality AR/VR experiences. We have outstanding performing arts opportunities with fantastic facilities and amazing teachers to help our more creative students truly find their voice.

Sunmarke School was judged by the Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB) as a ‘Very Good’ school in our third year of operation and ‘Outstanding’ in our British Schools Overseas (BSO) inspection in 2019.

We present an exciting opportunity to join our all-through school and to play an important part in our journey to “outstanding”. Sunmarke School, Dubai is one of our flagship schools, located at a prime location in Jumeirah Village Triangle.

Job purpose:

The Executive Assistant will have a broad set of responsibilities that range from supporting the Senior Leadership Team to supporting the day-to-day operations of the School Leadership team.

This position requires exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to multitask and prioritize tasks efficiently.

• Devising and maintaining office systems, including data management and filing;
• Take notes at meetings or provide general assistance during presentations;
• Screening telephone calls, enquiries and requests, and handling them when appropriate;
• Meeting and greeting visitors at all levels of seniority;
• Organizing and maintaining diaries and making appointments;
• Dealing with incoming email, faxes and post, often corresponding on behalf of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT);
• Organizing and attending meetings and taking dictation and minutes; organising and facilitating meetings, workshops, and events involving the schools' leadership team, ensuring accurate filing and distribution of meeting minutes;
• Identify, prepare, and compile necessary materials to ensure the SLT have the appropriate information for meetings, reports, presentations, and special projects;
• Responsible for organizing and maintaining the SLT’s diary, managing e-mail, school communications, distributing minutes, organizing school events, and a range of further administrative responsibilities as required;
• Carrying out background research and presenting findings;
• Liaise with internal administration and marketing departments to create and implement projects;
• Ensure necessary records are maintained that can readily provide current, accurate and accessible information;
• Provide senior level administrative support to the directors through the facilitation of communication on their behalf (follow-up with letters, memos, reports, e-mail, and telephone calls);
• Act as liaison between the directors and staff to ensure appropriate coordination and follow-up on day-to-day issues;
• Provide coordination support to the Senior Management Team and academic staff;
• Coordinate all logistics for Board meetings;
• Assist in budget management and financial record-keeping, tracking expenses, reconciling accounts, and processing purchase requisition orders as needed;
• Own and improve existing processes that support the School Leadership team;
• Support the SLT members with various ad-hoc projects and other administrative duties as needed.

Job specification:

We will be excited to hear from you if you:

• Are a graduate in any discipline, preferably Business Administration, with a minimum of 5 years of professional administrative experience working effectively in a dynamic and cross-functional environment;
• Experience in a school or an education sector in the UAE is preferred but not essential;
• Are an excellent communicator, both written and verbal, and have experience building interpersonal relationships with diverse audiences;
• Have the ability to effectively communicate information and ideas in written and verbal format, and build and maintain relationships;
• Have good technical understanding and are able to grasp, understand and use various software and tools;
• Have the ability to work effectively in a cross-functional team environment;
• Have the ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects and tasks simultaneously;
• Have experience in writing business correspondence;
• Have strong computer skills with demonstrated proficiency in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.;
• Have the ability to take initiative to manage workflow and priorities;
• Have excellent organizational skills and multi-tasking ability;
• Have excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively with all levels of staff and management;
• Have sound judgment and ability to maintain confidentiality.

Fortes Education is committed to safeguarding children and young people. All post holders in regulated activity are subject to appropriate vetting procedures, including a satisfactory International Child Protection Certificate, plus resident country police checks.