Director of People

We know from experience that things change throughout the lifetime of a role and so this job description is not a list of everything you will do – this gives our people the chance to play to their strengths.

How you will make an impact:

• Modelling ways of working that contribute to The Consortium Academy Trust (‘the Trust’) – ‘Better Together’ and driving our organisational culture forwards and embedding our values.

• You will lead and develop all areas of the organisation with a wide scope of responsibility including learning and development, business partnering, recruitment, HR services, wellbeing and employee engagement/ internal communications.

• Champion great HR practice– being a ‘people person’ who is focussed on holistic and humanistic HR approaches; and someone who can work strategically, whilst overseeing delivery.

• We have some core values that run through everything we do, and we would love it if they resonate with you too. More than anything, we are looking for a strategic team player who puts their heart into their work.

About the role:

People and Culture

• Define and build the People Strategy, objectives, and success measures to establish a high performing culture that supports the organisation's business needs and long-term goals.

• Take a systemic view of people/cultural transformation that extends beyond the core ‘HR’ approaches and ensures that cultural change is embedded across all areas of TCAT including operating models, organisational design, marketing, strategic planning, investment and change and communications frameworks.

Leadership

• Lead and manage the People Team, holding accountability for the operational delivery of a comprehensive range of HR services without getting ‘stuck’ in the doing.

• Oversee outstanding people services that are customer-focused and drive improved organisational performance.

• Provide professional advice/guidance and support on a wide range of employment and employee relations matters in-line with business and legislative requirements.

• Establish a People function where HR systems, policies, processes and metrics deliver against an ambition to be ‘process lite – people focussed – technology enabled.

• Seek out performance development feedback during the year for self, and the wider People function and undertake ‘back to the floor’ days in the Trust to continually learn, reflect and improve people approaches.

• Stay abreast of the latest developments, best practices and trends in People/HR transformation, to bring leading insight and expertise to the Trust.

Attraction, Engagement and Marketing

• Lead the development of external and internal branding/marketing to make sure that the Trust attracts key talent and is viewed as an ‘employer of choice’

• Define the employee engagement strategy, objectives, and success measures for the Trust (from attraction to talent management/development).

• Utilise HR systems to create an effective employee experience through self-service/ Intranet/ business intelligence reporting for leaders. Director of Improvement and Standards - Secondary and Post 16 Director of People 15

Workforce and Wellbeing

• Work with senior leaders to prepare for workforce needs for the future e.g., skills and competencies, alongside ensuring that the Trust has a clear workforce plan

• Define the wellbeing strategy, objectives and success measures, working closely with Wellbeing Leads to ensure alignment and fit.

• Review effectiveness of existing approach to pay and reward, benefits and recognition, recommending improvements, where required, to establish a culture that celebrates success.

• Define the Diversity and Inclusion strategy, objectives and success measures for the Trust.

Talent and Development

• Cultivate an organisational culture that promotes exceptional talent, achievement and high performance.

• Build the capability of senior leaders to lead transformational cultural change in their functions by coaching and facilitating business leaders.

Stakeholders and Relationships

• Develop and sustain strong relationships with colleagues throughout the organisation, including Trustees, and be the strategic lead for relationships with all trade unions.

• Coach and develop the People Team so that they are able to deliver a highly effective and humanistic HR service that balances organisational and people factors.

• Strategically input into wellbeing strategies/benefits as a way to create a culture of caring and work life balance.

About you:

This is the job for you if you hold the following qualifications, experience, knowledge, skills and values:

Qualifications:

Essential

• Degree qualified or equivalent experience in a senior leadership role that is focussed on cultural development, employee experience and engagement and/or people and transformation.

• Chartered Member of CIPD.

• Organisational development/ cultural change.

Experience:

• Substantial experience in the diagnosing, designing, developing, implementing and evaluating strategic culture and engagement strategies, solutions and interventions.

• Demonstrable experience of designing, delivering, and embedding people strategies, organisational design, and cultural development to deliver business objectives.

• Substantial experience in culture transformation and all the systemic elements that form part of change across a large, complex organisation.

• Subject matter expert in culture and engagement.

• Successful track record of effectively managing complex relationships.

• Experience in leading and developing a multi-faceted team that encompasses organisational development and culture, people, digital and/or transformation.

• Experience in leading and managing large-scale organisational development projects and initiatives.

• Track record of presenting to and influencing executives and board members.

Skills and Abilities:

• Expertise and confidence to operate independently of the Strategic Leadership Team and to provide advice and counsel to the Board which is unbiased and impartial.

• Exceptional communication and influencing skills.

• A strategic and innovative thinker who is able to translate strategy into a highly engaging and robust cultural transformation.

• Ability to act as a visionary and a people thought leader for the organisation.

• Inspirational leadership - able to inspire others to deliver outstanding customer service

• Robust business and financial skill.

• Proven ability to challenge, influence and do things differently with positive business benefits.

• The ability to remain calm in highly stressful situations and deal exceptionally well with conflict.

Personal Attributes

• Strong morals, ethics and sound judgement.

• A role model of the Trust’s Values:

Aspiration: We are ambitious, we aim high for ourselves and for others and we believe that we can make a real difference.

Respect: We respect ourselves and each other. We respect our diverse environment and community.

Integrity: We are honest with ourselves and each other. We do things for the right reasons.

Responsibility: We take responsibility for everything we do and see mistakes as an opportunity to improve and to get things right next time.

Values and Personal Competencies

• Committed to the values and vision of the Trust.

• Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.

• Resilience and confidence to speak truth to power.

• Achieving goals through influence.

• Committed to the Nolan principles.