About Us

Manor Hall Academy Trust is an expanding Multi-Academy Trust, uniquely founded by a collaboration of special schools, united by a shared ethos, values, and collective aspirations.

At the heart of our approach is mutual respect, where the exchange of best practices, expertise, support, and challenge thrives. We maintain high expectations across all aspects of our work, ensuring continuous growth and improvement.

Why Join us?

Joining Manor Hall Academy Trust offers you the opportunity to be part of a forward-thinking organisation that specialises in providing education to children with special educational needs. Our inclusive and supportive culture, combined with a commitment to professional growth, provides abundant opportunities for career development and progression.

We strive to foster an inclusive and supportive work environment where every team member feels valued and empowered to contribute to our mission. By joining us, you will play a key role in shaping our workplace culture and ensuring our people are supported, motivated, and equipped to succeed.

About the Opportunity:

Are you a visionary leader with a passion for building thriving teams and cultivating a positive workplace culture? We are looking for an experienced and dynamic Head of People to join our team and lead the development of our people strategy at Manor Hall Academy Trust.

As the Head of People, you will be responsible for overseeing and driving the organisation’s people strategy, ensuring that we continue to build an inclusive, high-performing, and innovative workforce. You will also manage a small HR team.  You’ll partner with senior leadership to shape our talent practices, employee experience, and organisational culture, ultimately helping to drive our business forward.

We are looking for:

• Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

•          CIPD/ level 5, relevant Degree or equivalent qualification/experience

•         Working towards or be willing to work towards CIPD Level 7/Degree qualification would be desirable.

•         Proven experience working in a Senior/ HR Business Partner role in a demanding environment or at a management level

•         Experience of leading and managing organisational change

•         Experience of managing a team/or proven experience of developing others

•         Experience of developing key HR Strategies

•         Strong Employment Law and HR best practice

•         Excellent communication skills in both writing and orally

•         Identifies and promotes best practice and encourage the sharing of ideas.

•         Values the diversity of individuals, adaptable approach to meet individual needs and effectively utilise the diversity of team members.

•         Works with others to resolve differences of opinion and resolve conflict

We Can Offer:

•         Support for your role with a dedicated school and central team

•         Continued professional development opportunities

•         Pay progression and recognition of continuous service

•         Generous local government pension scheme

•         Tech Schemes

•         Cycle to Work Schemes

•         Online gym classes

•         Health and wellbeing support and advice e.g., Men's Health, Wellbeing Action Plans, Better Sleep, Relaxation and Meditation, Understanding Menopause

•         Think Well, fast track counselling service

•         Physiotherapy

•         Eye-sight testing

•         Retail discounts in supermarkets, high street shops, restaurants and days out

•         Onsite gym, free to use

•         Lovely office working environment and community 

How to Apply

Please apply via My New Term. We will acknowledge receipt of your application and notify you if you are shortlisted for an interview. We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis and actively interviewing, so we reserve the right to close the vacancy once we find the right candidate.

For an informal discussion or to arrange a visit to the central Trust office please contact us on 01782 340011.

What will the process involve?

The process will include:

•         Completion of Psychometric / professional online tests

•         Attendance in person to at least one interview

•         Completion of one or more job-related tasks and presentation to an interview panel

If you are selected for interview, you will be required to visit one of our schools accompanied by a member of staff from our Central Team.

If you need any support or adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know, and we will be happy to accommodate you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

As a ‘Disability Confident’ employer, we are committed to ensuring disabled candidates are included in our recruitment process. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria of the role, we will invite you to interview. Please let us know if you are eligible for this scheme at the application stage.

Don’t meet every single requirement?

At Manor Hall Trust, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. If you’re excited about this role but don’t meet every single requirement in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the perfect candidate for this or another role within our organisation.

If you are successful after shortlisting, you will be provided with the full details of the recruitment and selection process, together will the timeline.

We look forward to receiving your application!

Manor Hall Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment. Child safety recruitment procedures operate and appointment is subject to satisfactory references, enhanced DBS, qualifications check and all other relevant employment checks. Please also note that if you are shortlisted for the role, we may conduct an online search as part of our due diligence on shortlisted candidates. This may help to identify any incidents or issues that have happened, and are publicly available online, which may indicate that you are unsuitable to work with children, and that we may want to explore with you at interview.