Secretary to the Head (Local Hire) Lisboa

Secretary to the Head (Local Hire)

Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

St. Julian's School Portugal

Job type: Full Time, Fixed Term  Start date: 02 November 2025  Apply by: 3 October 2025

Job overview

The Secretary to the Head is responsible for providing administrative and organisational support, acting as the primary point of contact for both internal and external stakeholders.

About the School

Founded in 1932, St. Julian’s is a highly successful British international school for children aged 3 to 18. It is a unique and special place in character, history and location. Known for academic excellence, there are 1, 250 students from more than 60 nationalities across four school sections: Pre-Prep (ages 3 to 5), Prep (5 to 11), Secondary (11 to 18) and Bilingual (6 to 15).

The whole school is led by a team that consists of the Head, Bursar, Deputy Head (Teaching & Learning) & Secondary Principal, Deputy Head (Pastoral), Head of Pre-Prep, Head of Prep, Bilingual Principal, Director of PL and Director of Technology.

Complementing the academics, the School focuses on personal skills development through our 6Cs: compassion, curiosity, communication, courage, collaboration and global citizenship.

For the third year running, St. Julian’s has been recognised as one of the top 15 private schools in Europe in the Schools Index published by Carfax Education and as one of the top 10 by Spear’s Magazine.

Job requirements

• Manage the Head’s calendar by scheduling appointments and coordinating meetings and important events as needed.
• Manage all communications and correspondence for the Head, including emails, phone calls, staff bulletins, parent newsletters and mail.
• Organise and manage the Head’s office, including filing and record management.
• Assist the Head with administrative tasks as required, such as preparing reports, presentations and other documents.
• Translate documents, key policies and correspondence between English and Portuguese. Coordination of the translation of key policies into Portuguese.
• Collaborate with the Leadership Team in the policy revision and drafting process, ensuring that revision deadlines are met, and manage the storage and communication of policies.
• Keep track of staff and students’ attendance data.
• The School is located between Lisbon and Cascais, with an idyllic location and campus facilities, and offers a range of school clubs including Nature Club, ballet, chess and rugby.
• The School is about to embark on a €40 million building project over five years that will see significant enhancements to the existing site.
• Collaborate with other support staff on tasks as requested by the Head.
• Assist in the organisation of meetings for the Board, the Association or leadership teams.
• Take minutes during meetings chaired by the Head.
• Assist with staff recruitment and staff relocation.
• Coordinate all travel arrangements for the Head.

Person specifications

• An ability to thrive in a
  - paced,
  - pressure environment.
• Strong organisational and time management skills.
• Highly proficient in IT, able to manage documents with precision and speed. Specific experience with Microsoft Office or Google Suite required.
• Excellent communicator with the ability to remain calm under pressure.
• Highly personable and able to build strong relationships with all stakeholders (staff, parents, students and members of the Board of Governors).
• Diplomatic and discreet, with a high level of personal and professional integrity.
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently and take initiative in
  -
  - day tasks.
• Ability to work effectively with multiple teams, adopting a flexible and collaborative approach.
• Previous experience in administrative roles at a senior / executive level.
• Written and spoken fluency in both English and Portuguese is essential.
• The Secretary to the Head will be expected to work closely with various departments across the school to ensure smooth coordination of school activities and events.

What we offer

• Professional development: opportunities for career growth and skills development through ongoing training and exposure to a variety of tasks.
• Supportive environment: a dynamic and collaborative workplace that focuses on teamwork and mutual support.
• Networking opportunities: build valuable relationships with internal and external stakeholders across different levels of the organisation.
• Exposure to senior leadership: direct interaction with senior colleagues, offering valuable insight into the
  - making processes of the organisation.

How to apply

Please submit your letter of application to the Head, Paul Morgan, explaining how you meet the requirements outlined in this job description. Please also provide a CV and the contact details of two referees. The closing date for applications is Friday 3 October 2025.

St. Julian’s School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. The offer of the role will be made subject to receipt of satisfactory references, proof of relevant qualifications, identification checks and criminal record screening, including overseas (where appropriate).

St. Julian’s School is committed to a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. Diversity is a core value at St. Julian’s. We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working and learning environment for all students and staff. We believe every member of our team enriches our diversity by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and discover, design and deliver solutions.

Attached documents

• Secretary to the Head (September 2025). pdf

About St. Julian's School

St. Julian’s School, Quinta Nova Carcavelos 2775-588 Portugal

Phone: +351 1 458 5300

Safeguarding Statement

St. Julian’s School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. The offer of the role will be made subject to receipt of satisfactory references, proof of relevant qualifications, identification checks and criminal record screening including overseas (where appropriate).

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement

St. Julian’s School is committed to a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. Diversity is a core value at St. Julian’s. We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working and learning environment for all students and staff. We believe every member of our team enriches our diversity by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and discover, design and deliver solutions.

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