ROLE: HR Officer

Salary Range: GRADE F – Points 30-39 (£34,409 - £42,216) – pay award pending

Contract: Full time, permanent, all year round

Hours: 36 ½ per week

Location: Forward Education Trust Central Office, Leycroft Avenue, Birmingham, B33 9UH

Start Date: 1 September 2026 or earlier

Job Overview:

Join our growing Multi-Academy Trust

We are seeking a highly organised and proactive HR Officer to join our central HR team. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a thriving Multi-Academy Trust dedicated to delivering outstanding educational outcomes for our pupils and supporting our staff to achieve their full potential.

Working closely with the Head of HR and school leaders, you will provide high quality administrative and operational HR support across our family of academies, helping to ensure an efficient, compliant and people-focused HR service.

Key Responsibilities:

· Provide first line HR advice and support to employees and managers on routine HR matters.

· Manage recruitment administration, including advertising vacancies, coordinating interviews, issuing offer letters and completing pre-employment checks.

· Maintain accurate employee records and HR systems, ensuring compliance with GDPR and employment legislation.

· Support robust and compliant onboarding and induction processes for new staff.

· Assist with absence management, probation reviews, contract changes and other employee lifecycle activities.

· Prepare HR documentation, including contracts, letters and reports.

· Be responsible for managing payroll administration (with our external provider NEO People, through iTrent) including checking variance reports, End of Year Pension Certificate and liaising with the payroll provider on pension queries.

· Monitor mandatory training and safeguarding compliance records including Single Central Record overview.

· Support HR projects and initiatives that contribute to employee engagement and organisational development.

· Produce HR data and reports to support decision making and workforce planning.

About You :

The successful candidate will:

· Have previous experience in an HR administration or HR support role in an education-based setting.

· Possess excellent organisational skills and attention to detail.

· Demonstrate strong communication and interpersonal skills.

· Be able to manage a varied workload and prioritise effectively.

· Have experience using HR information systems and Microsoft Office applications, including proficiency with Excel.

· Understand the importance of confidentiality and professional integrity.

· Ideally hold, or be working towards, a CIPD qualification or relevant experience. The opportunity to gain a CIPD qualification through the apprenticeship route is available.

What we offer:

Forward Education Trust is committed to recruiting and retaining the highest quality staff. To do this, we have an Employee Value Proposition offering a range of benefits to help our staff on a personal and professional level, which includes:

· Local Government Pension Scheme

· FET HUB – information all in one place, access to a range of benefits

· Paid for Health Cash Plan – employee and dependent children benefit – option to add partner

· Staff voice -consultation with staff on a range of issues and ideas

· Comprehensive induction and probation support and a supportive appraisal system

· Enhanced Employee Assistance Programme – free confidential advice, with face-to-face consultations

· Learning and development – including online learning and other resources

· Access to discounts and offers from Reward Gateway and My Perks

· Mental Health First Aiders

· Wellbeing package and family friendly policies

· Rewards and awards throughout the year, in line with Trust behaviours and values

Closing Date for Applications: Monday, 06 July 2026

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Sandra Martin, Head of HR via email s.martin@fet.ac

Interview Date: Tuesday, 21 July 2026

The Trust may review applications upon receipt and may call applicants for interview prior to the advert closing date. Therefore, you are encouraged to make an early application for this role, and we reserve the right to close the vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date.

Please note that only fully completed Forward Education Trust Application forms will be accepted; we will not read accompanying Curriculum Vitae (CV) or accept them in place of an application form.

If you do not hear from the school within 14 days of the closing date, please assume that your application has not been shortlisted. The successful applicants will require an enhanced DBS check and will be subject to relevant pre-employment checks.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020.

This post is covered by Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) and therefore the ability to speak fluent spoken English is an essential requirement for this role.

In line with our commitment to safeguarding the successful applicant will be subject to enhanced DBS disclosure, proof of the right to work in the UK, satisfactory references, an online search, evidence of required qualifications and medical clearance.

Forward Education Trust is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate must promote this ethos.