Aston Community Education Trust are a forward thinking and ambitious multi-academy trust, comprising of three secondary academies and nine junior academies across the Rotherham, Sheffield and North Derbyshire areas. ACET is committed to making a real difference to the lives of our young people and will provide excellent learning and enrichment opportunities for them throughout their time with us.  To be able to achieve this, we need to have a team of dedicated and outstanding staff, who will contribute to our exceptional learning community.

We are seeking an experienced and motivated HR professional to join our people team and play a key role in supporting our academies to deliver outstanding education through excellent people practice.

 Working 37 hours per week, 52 weeks per year – Alternative working patterns can be considered and can be agreed with the successful candidate.

Reporting to the Deputy Chief People Officer, you will work in partnership with Principals and senior leaders across a portfolio of academies, providing high-quality, pragmatic HR. You will support the effective implementation of our People Strategy at academy level, ensuring consistent, compliant and values-led HR practice that prioritises wellbeing, inclusion, engagement and professional standards.

This is an exciting opportunity for an HR professional who enjoys building strong relationships, managing complex employee relations, and making a tangible difference to staff experience and organisational effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted HR Business Partner to Principals and senior leaders, providing expert advice across the full employee lifecycle
• Lead on complex employee relations cases, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, absence and dignity at work matters
• Work constructively with recognised trade unions, supporting consultation and positive employee relations
• Support organisational change at academy level, including restructures, redundancy processes and TUPE transfers
• Embed Trust-wide wellbeing, engagement and EDI initiatives across academies
• Provide strategic oversight and operational implementation of recruitment activity, ensuring safer recruitment and safeguarding standards are met
• Use people data and insight to inform decision-making and highlight workforce risks and trends
• Ensure accurate staff records, compliance with statutory requirements and completion of workforce returns
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of Trust people policies and practices

You will be a confident, credible HR professional with:

• A CIPD Level 5 qualification (or working towards)
• Strong, up-to-date knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice
• Proven experience managing complex employee relations cases with minimal supervision
• Experience working in a unionised environment
• The ability to influence and advise senior leaders with professionalism and confidence
• A values-driven approach, with a strong commitment to wellbeing, equality, diversity and inclusion
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage a varied workload across multiple sites

You will be based at ACET Business Hub; however, the role may involve working at other sites or academies within the trust.

Safeguarding

ACET is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

All applicants should read our safeguarding Policy and Safer Recruitment Policy, which are available on the ‘policy’ section of our academy websites.

It is an offence to seek employment in regulated activity if you are barred from working with children.  This post will involve regular contact with children and therefore is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Applicants are therefore not entitled to withhold information about convictions, cautions or bind-over orders which for any other purposes are “spent” under the provisions of the Act.  Any information that is “protected” under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 will not appear on a DBS certificate and does not need to be declared.  Guidance on this can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-guidance-on-the-rehabilitation-of-offenders-act-1974

Successful candidates will be subject to a DBS check at the appropriate level. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a self-declaration related to their criminal record or any information that would make them unsuitable to work with children.  Additional checks in relation to the Childcare Disqualification Regulations will be undertaken for successful candidates to junior academies. If you have lived or worked outside of the UK, additional information may be required from you to satisfy safer recruitment checks.

Equality

ACET is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity throughout the recruitment process.  We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, and your application will be assessed purely on your ability to do the job.

We undertake to make any ‘reasonable adjustments’ to a job or workplace to counteract any disadvantages a disabled person may face. Where required, we will make reasonable adjustments to the selection process for an applicant with a disability.