HR Director
I am delighted to be partnering with an ambitious, values-led education organisation entering a significant phase of growth and transformation. With a clear strategy to expand its reach and impact, it is now seeking an exceptional Human Resources Director to join its central leadership team and help shape the future of the organisation through its people.
The Opportunity
Reporting directly to the CEO, the HR Director will play a pivotal role in ensuring the organisation has the capability, culture, and capacity to grow successfully. This is a broad and influential role, combining strategic leadership with hands-on operational delivery.
You will lead all aspects of HR, partnering with senior leaders to drive organisational performance, while ensuring that people practices are robust, compliant, and aligned with long-term goals.
This is a role for someone who can balance big-picture thinking with pragmatism-who is equally comfortable shaping workforce strategy and navigating complex employee relations. The Academy group is currently 3 schools c400 headcount and growing in size as they acquire more schools over the coming year.
The Role
You will:
- Lead and develop a small HR function, fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- Shape and deliver workforce planning that ensures the right people are in the right roles at the right time.
- You will implement clear people data and analytics to provide insight, identify risks, and inform strategic decision-making.
- Drive and support organisational change, including restructures, growth initiatives, and TUPE activity.
- Lead on complex employee relations matters with professionalism, sound judgement, and a solutions-focused approach.
- Ensure high-quality, compliant recruitment and safeguarding processes are embedded across the organisation.
- Champion a positive, inclusive and engaging culture, embedding strong EDI practices throughout the employee lifecycle.
- Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and the Board on all aspects of people strategy and employment practice.
About You
You are an experienced HR leader who thrives in a dynamic, purpose-driven environment. You are comfortable with both hands on HR delivery whilst working strategically to build a best in class HR offering in a growing and ambitious organisation. Experience within the education sector is not essential for this role.
You bring:
- Significant experience operating at Director (or equivalent) level, with both strategic and operational responsibility.
- Experience implementing or developing a small HR function in a similar sized organisation.
- A strong track record in managing complex employee relations and leading through organisational change. This included restructures and TUPE.
- Expertise in workforce planning and the use of data to drive insight and decision-making.
- The ability to influence and build strong relationships at executive and board level.
- A professional HR qualification (CIPD Level 7 or equivalent).
Above all, you are a collaborative and resilient leader-someone with integrity, sound judgement, and a genuine commitment to creating positive working environments where people can thrive.
Why This Role?
This is more than a functional leadership role-it is an opportunity to shape an organisation at a pivotal stage in its evolution.
You will have the autonomy to influence strategy, the scope to lead meaningful change, and the platform to make a lasting impact on culture, performance, and outcomes.
Salary: £95,000 – £105,000
Location: London, schools in Edgware and Edmonton can be based at with some travel between. Hybrid working model 3 days a week in office.
The SR Group (UK) Limited is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.
