Senior VA – Customer Operations, Systems & Marketing


20 hours per week | Remote | The Starlight Academy


Purpose of the Role


We are looking for a proactive, experienced VA to take ownership of the day-to-day administration and customer journey at The Starlight Academy.

The aim is to remove routine admin from the Principal so she can focus on leading and growing the business, while ensuring every family receives a warm, personal and five-star experience.

We want someone who can learn how Starlight works, take ownership, improve systems and help reduce unnecessary manual administration.


Core Responsibilities



Customer Service & Inbox

• Manage the general inbox and routine customer enquiries.
• Answer questions about classes, timetables, trials, fees, payments, uniform, events and term dates.
• Handle enrolments, withdrawals and class changes.
• Resolve routine issues independently.
• Communicate in Starlight’s warm, professional tone.
• Ask when information is genuinely needed, then retain or document that information for next time.

Dance Studio Pro (DSP)


Take ownership of routine DSP administration, including:

• Enrolments and withdrawals.
• Moving students between classes.
• Trials and waiting lists.
• Editing class and customer information.
• Customer accounts, statements and payment histories.
• Routine account adjustments.
• Processing authorised refunds and credits.
• Keeping records accurate and up to date.

We also want someone who can help us use DSP more effectively to reduce repetitive admin.


Leads, Trials & Customer Journey


Be accountable for ensuring genuine leads and trials are properly followed through.

This includes:

• Monitoring website, Meta and Instagram leads/forms.
• Responding to comments, messages and enquiries promptly.
• Helping families choose the right class.
• Booking trials.
• Sending pre-trial information.
• Following up trials and no-shows.
• Converting suitable trials into enrolments.
• Welcoming new families.
• Tracking leads until they are converted, lost or closed.

Customer Accounts & Payments

• Monitor outstanding balances and failed payments.
• Chase overdue fees.
• Answer routine account queries.
• Follow up promised payments.
• Process authorised refunds/credits.
• Keep clear account notes.
• Escalate significant debt or unusual situations.

The Principal should not routinely be chasing payments or dealing with standard customer account queries.


Dance Business Solutions (DBS), Automations & Workflows


Help us make better use of DBS alongside DSP to improve:

• Lead capture.
• Customer journeys.
• Follow-up sequences.
• Email/SMS communication.
• Automations and workflows.
• Retention and re-engagement.
• Reducing repetitive manual work.

We want someone who naturally looks for ways to make the business easier and more efficient to run.


Marketing Execution


The Principal will continue to lead Starlight’s overall creative and marketing direction.

The VA should be able to turn those ideas into action by:

• Setting up agreed Meta campaigns.
• Creating audiences and lead forms.
• Monitoring campaigns.
• Responding to and following through on leads.
• Setting up email campaigns.
• Building automations and follow-up workflows.
• Scheduling social content.
• Creating straightforward Canva content.
• Promoting classes with spaces.
• Updating or pausing campaigns when needed.
• Tracking campaigns through from lead to trial to enrolment.

AI & Smarter Working


Experience using ChatGPT, Claude or similar AI tools professionally is highly desirable.

We want someone comfortable using AI to:

• Draft and improve customer communications.
• Create first drafts of newsletters and marketing copy.
• Support social content.
• Analyse basic business data.
• Build templates and processes.
• Reduce repetitive admin.
• Improve workflows and automations.

AI should help us become more efficient without losing Starlight’s personal touch.


Routine Academy Administration

• Termly newsletters and customer updates.
• Event, competition and exam information.
• Forms, deadlines and student lists.
• Collecting/chasing information from teachers.
• Collecting photos, videos and achievements for marketing.
• Following outstanding actions through to completion.

Monthly Oversight


We do not want unnecessary reporting, but we do want clear visibility of:

• Leads.
• Trials.
• Trial conversion.
• New enrolments.
• Withdrawals and reasons for leaving.
• Overall student movement.
• Classes with spaces or at capacity.
• Outstanding balances.
• Marketing campaign performance.

We value someone who can spot patterns and flag what needs attention, rather than just provide numbers.


Priorities


When workload is high, priorities should be:

• Customer enquiries and urgent account issues.
• New leads, trials and enrolment follow-up.
• Outstanding payments.
• Essential DSP/DBS administration.
• Time-sensitive event and competition admin.
• Marketing campaign execution and monitoring.
• Routine social content and non-urgent improvements.

The Person We Need


We need someone who is:

• Proactive and organised.
• An excellent written communicator.
• Warm and confident with customers.
• Comfortable with customer accounts and payment conversations.
• Confident using CRM systems.
• Comfortable with Meta Business Suite/Ads Manager.
• Experienced with workflows and automations.
• Comfortable with Canva and basic data/reporting.
• Ideally experienced using AI professionally.
• Able to learn independently.
• Able to follow tasks through to completion.
• Able to judge when to act independently and when to escalate.

Experience working with a dance school is a significant advantage.

Experience with Dance Studio Pro and/or Dance Business Solutions would be particularly valuable.


Ownership


We do not expect someone to know Starlight immediately.

We do expect them to learn Starlight.

If you do not know something, ask. Once you know it, retain it.

If something keeps happening, look for a better process.

If something can be automated, suggest it.

If a lead has not been followed up, follow it up.

If a routine customer issue can be resolved within agreed guidelines, resolve it.

If something genuinely requires the Principal’s judgement, bring her the information needed to make the decision.