Job Description

Deadline: 10:00AM 8th October

Operations Assistant

The Operations Assistant will join a small and dynamic team that covers Finance, Human Resources, IT and Business Operations. The Finance & Operations team play a critical role by running the day-to-day operations and providing the infrastructure that enables the continued delivery of the Trust’s mission and objectives.

The Trust is seeking an enthusiastic and detail-orientated Operations Assistant to support the administrative activities that facilitate the smooth running of the Trust, organising people, information and other resources. The role will provide practical and responsive support to colleagues, while helping to maintain effective processes and contribute to ongoing operational improvements. The role will report to the Senior Operations Officer.

Main duties

Health and Safety

• Lead on day-to-day Health and Safety, including compliance monitoring, documentation, regular reviews and staff training.
• First Aider and Fire Warden (training will be provided).
• Supporting wellbeing activities and initiatives as required.

Office management

• Acting as the Trust’s first point of contact, by providing a responsive and efficient service for general external and internal telephone, email, and mail enquiries.
• Ordering stationary, general office supplies and IT equipment within budget.
• Maintaining the general upkeep of the office premises.
• Manage day-to-day office operations, including visitors, access, post and general administration.
• Managing relationships with outsourced office providers, monitoring and reviewing service levels and performance, and supporting sourcing or renewals.
• Managing relationship with Millbank Tower building management.
• Supporting general office projects as required.

IT & Systems

• Lead on office and IT equipment with line manager support.
• Provide admin support for IT projects as required.

Other

• Supporting with new starter and leaver operational processes.
• Supporting centrally organised team activities.
• Ad hoc support with GDPR queries.
• Other duties as necessary from time to time.

Person Specification

We welcome applications from individuals who can demonstrate:

• Excellent verbal and written communication and strong interpersonal skills
• Strong organisational and problem solving skills, with the ability to multi-task
• A flexible and adaptable approach to accommodate the varying aspects of the role, able to prioritise tasks and work to deadlines
• Good understanding of the importance of confidentiality in the workplace

We are also looking for an individual who is or has:

• Sympathetic to the aims of the Trust and its mission to address educational disadvantage;
• Excellent attention to detail;
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and independently with a high degree of initiative
• Personable, flexible and discreet; able to fit in to a small team
• Is eligible to work in the UK (see here for information about right to work)

In addition, experience in the following areas will help you to stand out. However, this is not required, and training will be provided if needed for the right candidate:

• Experience of office administration/coordination
• Experience of managing a range of different projects
• Experience of working in the education or not-for-profit sector

Terms of Appointment

• Salary: £31,700 - £ 32,400 per annum
• Contract: Full time (part-time 4 days considered), Permanent
• Working location: Minimum of 2 office days per week
• Office location: The Sutton Trust, 9th Floor, Millbank Tower, 21-24 Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP. Our home working policy gives staff the option to work from home for up to 60% of the time, with approval from their line manager.
• Hours: The standard working hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and may also be required to attend events / meetings outside of their normal working hours during weekday evenings and occasionally at weekends
• DBS check may be required
• Please note that we are unfortunately not a licensed visa sponsor

Scroll down to find out about our staff benefits!

Please note that your application should be submitted in one go - you can view the questions by clicking on the link if you would like to prepare in advance.

Please also note our guidance here about using AI when applying to jobs at the Sutton Trust.

Interviews

Applications should reach us by 08/10/26, with the interview round held at our London offices on 22/10/26.

Safeguarding statement

The Sutton Trust believes that a child, young person or vulnerable adult should never experience abuse of any kind. We all have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people and to keep them safe. Therefore all posts undergo a safer recruitment process, including but not limited to, disclosure of criminal records where necessary and eligibility to work in the UK. We have procedures in place to promote safeguarding and a safe culture at the Trust.

Contextual recruitment

The Trust is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and that all applicants receive equal consideration for employment. We strongly encourage individuals from all backgrounds, including those underrepresented at present at the Trust, to apply for this role. As such we particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities, Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ and from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds. We are committed to being an inclusive and welcoming place to work and know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for the young people we support.

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for disabled candidates throughout our recruitment process and during employment.

We also operate contextual recruitment at the Sutton Trust. Our application process gives you the option to include information about your background, such as whether you were eligible for free school meals, whether your parents went to university, or whether you attended a state school. For more examples and information on contextual recruitment, please see our website.