Human Resources Administrator

ACS International Schools; Cobham; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

ACS Cobham is seeking a UK-based HR Administrator to join the HR Operations Team at our Cobham campus. The role focuses on safeguarding and compliance checks to ensure records are accurate and compliant, including DBS, references, and right-to-work checks, while supporting HR administration across the employee lifecycle.

You will work with managers, candidates, agencies and colleagues to monitor checks, identify gaps, and support audits.

Qualifications

• Experience of working in education in a compliance-focused role is preferred.
• You understand the importance of compliance within a school environment and are comfortable with detailed processes and records.
• CIPD study or qualifications would be advantageous, but school-based compliance experience is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and monitor safeguarding and compliance checks (DBS, references, right-to-work, etc.).
• Maintain and monitor the Single Central Register (SCR) and assist with audits and inspections.
• Provide HR administration support across the employee lifecycle (recruitment, induction, joiners/leavers, payroll, records).
• Identify process improvements and assist wider HR team with systems and workflow enhancements.

Skills

Compliance awareness

Attention to detail

Payroll support

HR administration

Job description

About the role

We are looking for a UK based HR Administrator to join our friendly and supportive HR Operations Team at our stunning Cobham campus.

At ACS International Schools, we are not your ordinary school. We are an international school community with a professional, forward-thinking environment that combines the purpose and community of education with the standards, pace and opportunities you would expect from a corporate organisation.

This is a varied HR role with safer recruitment and compliance at its heart. You will play a key role in ensuring that our employees and other members of the school community have completed the appropriate checks and that our records remain accurate, complete and compliant.

Working closely with managers, candidates, agencies and colleagues across HR, you will coordinate and monitor a wide range of safeguarding and compliance checks, including:

• Enhanced DBS and other safeguarding checks
• References and employment history checks
• Overseas and international checks
• Right to work checks
• Prohibition from teaching and other relevant regulatory checks
• Online searches and other safer recruitment requirements
• Maintaining and monitoring the Single Central Register (SCR)
• Identifying, investigating and following up compliance gaps
• Ensuring employee records accurately reflect the checks completed
• Supporting audits, inspections and compliance reviews.

You will need to understand why these checks matter, be confident following up outstanding information and have the judgement to recognise when something needs further investigation or escalation.

Alongside this, you will provide HR administration support across the employee lifecycle, including recruitment and induction, joiners and leavers, payroll, employee records, HR correspondence and supporting colleagues across the wider HR team. You will also have the opportunity to identify and implement improvements to our processes, systems and ways of working.

What we're looking for

Experience of working in education in a compliance-focused role is preferred.

You may have worked in school HR, safer recruitment, safeguarding administration, compliance, or another role where you have been responsible for ensuring that regulatory requirements and checks are completed accurately.

What matters is that you understand the importance of compliance within a school environment, are comfortable working with detailed processes and records, and take pride in getting things right.

Just as importantly, we are looking for someone with a great attitude. Someone who is approachable, helpful and willing to get stuck in; who takes responsibility for their work; and who enjoys being part of a friendly, collaborative team.

Beyond this, we are open-minded about your experience. You don't need to have used every system we use or have detailed knowledge of every area of UK employment or immigration legislation. We can support the right person to develop their knowledge.

We are looking for someone who is:

• Already based in and UK and can easily commute to our campuses
• Organised and highly detail-focused
• Conscientious and reliable
• Confident following up outstanding actions and challenging where necessary
• Customer-focused and professional
• Able to manage competing priorities
• A clear and effective communicator
• Proactive and interested in improving processes
• Willing to learn and develop
• A genuine team player
• HR experience and CIPD study or qualifications would be advantageous, but school-based compliance experience, attitude and attention to detail are highly desirable.

Why ACS?

You will be joining a really friendly HR team where people support one another, share knowledge and work collaboratively. Our Cobham campus is a stunning place to work, with excellent facilities including access to our gym and swimming pool. And ACS is genuinely different from a typical school environment. We have the professionalism, structure and ambition of a corporate organisation, combined with the purpose, community and rewarding environment of education. It is a polished, international and people-focused organisation, and HR plays an important part in making it work.

This is an opportunity to develop your experience across safer recruitment, safeguarding compliance, HR operations, systems and employee lifecycle processes, while working alongside an experienced HR team.

The Cobham campus is not easily accessible by public transport, so a car is essential for this role. Occasional travel to our Egham and Hillingdon campuses may also be required.

Our values

Our values underpin everything we do:

Imagine better | Welcome everyone | Aim high & make it happen | Work together | Act with kindness

We are looking for someone who shares these values, brings a positive attitude to work and wants to make a genuine contribution to our school community.

Roles Details

Working hours: 08:30 – 16:30, Monday to Friday, 35 hours per week

Contract: Permanent

Location:ACS Cobham, Portsmouth Road, Cobham, KT11 1BL

Safeguarding:

ACS International Schools is committed to inclusion across race, gender, faith, identity and abilities. We believe that diversity strengthens our community and helps us fulfil our purpose, realise our vision and exemplify our values.

ACS is also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. All appointments are therefore subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check with barred list check, satisfactory references, prohibition checks and overseas checks where applicable. In line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), we may also carry out online searches on shortlisted candidates.