HR/People Operations Manager

Diverse Academies Trust; Retford; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

32 days plus 8 bank holidays

CPD opportunities

Employee Assistance Programme

GP helpline

Health and wellbeing support

Eyecare vouchers

Salary sacrifice schemes

Lifestyle discounts

Health cash plan

Childcare - breakfast & after school

Job summary

Diverse Academies Trust seeks a strategic People Operations Manager to shape and deliver services across this multi-academy trust. You will lead an experienced team, advising on complex workforce matters and ensuring compliant, efficient, high-quality services to 1,300+ colleagues.

You’ll drive payroll, pensions oversight, policy development and service improvement, collaborating with academy leaders and central teams to enhance the colleague experience and organisational outcomes.

Qualifications

• Significant experience operating at a senior HR or People leadership level.
• Experience leading people operations within a complex, multi-site organisation.
• Extensive knowledge of employee relations, employment law, workforce practice and people service delivery.
• Demonstrable experience leading and developing teams whilst influencing senior stakeholders.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret workforce data and translate insight into action.
• CIPD Level 7 qualification or equivalent senior professional experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead a high-performing people operations team and drive service excellence.
• Provide expert advice on complex workforce matters and planning.
• Drive innovation through HR systems, analytics and process improvements.
• Oversee outsourced payroll and pensions with governance and quality.
• Collaborate with leaders to deliver strategic priorities and enhance colleague experience.

Skills

Senior HR leadership

People operations

Employee relations

Workforce analytics

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Education

CIPD Level 7 qualification

Equivalent senior professional experience

Tools

HRIS

Payroll systems

Pensions administration systems

Job description

We have a new and exciting opportunity for an ambitious and forward-thinking People operations manager to play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering our People services across Diverse Academies Trust. Reporting directly to the Head of people culture, this is a high-profile leadership role responsible for leading our People Operations function and ensuring the delivery of professional, efficient and customer-focused services that support more than 1,300 colleagues across our family of academies and central teams.

This is a rare opportunity to influence organisation-wide workforce practice, lead service transformation, and contribute to strategic decision-making that helps our colleagues thrive and our children and young people achieve their full potential.

As our People operations manager, you will lead a talented and experienced team of operational and advisory team members and take ownership of key areas including employee relations, workforce data and reporting, people systems, payroll and pensions oversight, compliance, policy development and continuous service improvement. You will work closely with academy leaders, executive leaders and central teams to ensure our people services are efficient, compliant, responsive and focused on delivering excellent outcomes.

The successful candidate will:

• Lead and develop a high-performing people operations team, creating a culture of service excellence, accountability and continuous improvement.

• Provide expert advice and support on complex workforce matters, organisational change, job evaluation, employee relations and workforce planning.

• Drive innovation and transformation through the optimisation of people systems, workforce analytics and operational processes, helping the Trust make informed, evidence-based decisions.

• Oversee outsourced payroll and pensions provision, ensuring robust governance, compliance and high-quality service delivery.

• Work collaboratively with leaders across the Trust to deliver strategic priorities, support organisational development and enhance the colleague experience.

Essential

• Significant experience operating at a senior HR or People leadership level.

• Experience leading people operations within a complex, multi-site organisation.

• Extensive knowledge of employee relations, employment law, workforce practice and people service delivery.

• Demonstrable experience leading and developing teams whilst influencing senior stakeholders.

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret workforce data and translate insight into action.

• CIPD Level 7 qualification or equivalent senior professional experience

Desirable

• Experience working within the education, public sector or multi-academy trust environment.

• Experience implementing or developing HRIS, payroll or workforce management systems.

• Knowledge of public sector pensions administration.

• Experience supporting organisational transformation and service improvement initiatives.

Why join Diverse Academies Trust?

Diverse Academies is a multi-academy trust with a vision to inspire, to raise aspirations and to create brighter tomorrows. Across primary, secondary and special settings, we share a common mission to nurture curiosity, develop wellbeing and empower children and young people to go beyond their aspirations. Together, we believe we can make a difference in our diverse communities, and in the lives of those who learn with us and work with us.

We empower. We respect. We care.

Visits are welcomed and encouraged - please contact Sarah Green - Head of people culture at [e-mail] to arrange, or for further information.

Our employee benefits

At Diverse Academies, you’ll find yourself in a vibrant, inclusive and supportive environment, where everyone can grow, progress and achieve a fulfilling career. We offer a fantastic range of rewards and benefits, challenging and interesting work, and opportunities to achieve your potential.

In return you will benefit from:

• Enrolment into the Local Government Pension Schemewith an employer contribution of at least 21.8%

• Operational support holidays of 32 days + 8 bank holidays

• ExcellentContinuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunitiescovering technical, leadership and coaching skills via the trust’s Diverse Association for Professional Learning

• Employee Assistance Programme

• GP helpline

• Health and wellbeing advice and support

• Eyecare vouchers

• Salary sacrifice schemes - car scheme, cycle to work, home and electronics

• Lifestyle savings - discounts and offers on gym memberships, holidays, days out, shopping, restaurants, etc

• Health cash plan (personal or family) - where you pay monthly and can claim money back on private treatments such as dental, optical and therapies (e.g. physiotherapy, osteopathy etc)

• Childcare - breakfast and after school provision

• Take a look at our rewards and benefits online

If you have any initial questions or would like to learn more about this opportunity, please contact Sarah Green - Head of people culture at [e-mail]