Head of HR at the Great Schools Trust

Contract: Permanent, full-time, 37 hours, all year round
Location: Hybrid, with weekly site visits across Trust academies
Salary: Competitive senior package, commensurate with experience

This is an important appointment for us. We already have a strong People function, with committed colleagues, established systems and a clear culture of professional judgement, care and accountability. We are now looking for someone who can help us make it stronger still.

As Head of HR, you will work closely with the Director of Culture, academy leaders and central colleagues to strengthen HR practice across the Trust. You will help us build on what is working well and develop an even more proactive, strategic and insightful service for our schools.

This role is about much more than policy and process. Of course, those things matter, chaos is rarely improved by optimism alone. But the real value of this post is in helping leaders make better people decisions earlier, with confidence, care and sound judgement.

About us

Great Schools Trust is a family of academies united by a shared mission: to develop in every student the academic skills, intellectual habits, qualities of character and leadership traits needed to become successful, healthy citizens in the global community.

Our values are ASPIRE: Aspiration, Self-awareness, Professionalism, Integrity, Respect and Endeavour. They shape how we work with pupils, families and each other.

Further information about our Trust, culture and priorities can be found in the recruitment guide attached. 

About the role

You will lead and develop key areas of HR practice across the Trust, including employee relations, HR advice, workforce insight, staff attendance, people risk, HR systems and process assurance.

You will support leaders with complex and sensitive people matters, including conduct, capability, grievance, absence, occupational health, consultation and organisational change. You will help ensure these are handled fairly, consistently and in line with both employment law and GST values.

You will also help us strengthen the way we use HR data, systems and technology so that our leaders have clearer insight, better processes and more time to focus on people rather than paperwork.

About you

• A calm, credible and experienced HR professional with strong generalist knowledge and significant employee relations expertise.
• Someone already operating in a senior HR role, or ready to step into a broader Trust-wide opportunity.
• Strong judgement, discretion and emotional intelligence.
• The ability to coach, challenge and support leaders well.
• Experience in schools, multi-academy trusts, local authorities, education or the wider public sector would be helpful.
• Experience in a unionised environment would be valuable.
• A belief that excellent HR should be both human and rigorous: values-led, legally sound and genuinely useful.

Why join us?

You will be joining a Trust that takes culture seriously and sees People practice as central to school improvement.

This is an opportunity to shape the next stage of a strong HR function, work with committed leaders and help create the conditions in which adults and pupils flourish.

If you want a role where HR is strategic, relational and valued, we would be pleased to hear from you.

How to apply

Please submit your application via MyNewTerm.

For an informal conversation about the role or to arrange a visit to one of our academies, please contact: h.fenlon@greatschoolstrust.com

Great Schools Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All staff are expected to share this commitment. Any appointment will be subject to the successful completion of all relevant pre-employment checks, as outlined in the recruitment guide.