People Business Partner (Central & EDI)

ARK SCHOOLS; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading educational charity in London seeks a People Business Partner to enhance their HR services. This role focuses on Diversity & Inclusion strategy and works closely with the People team to manage the full employee lifecycle. Ideal candidates will be CIPD qualified and have strong data analysis skills. The position supports a hybrid working model and offers competitive benefits, including 27 days of annual leave.

Benefits

Hybrid working model

27 days of annual leave plus bank holidays

Access to professional learning

Pension scheme with employer contribution

Gym discounts and other benefits

Qualifications

• CIPD qualification or equivalent experience required.
• Right to work in the UK.
• Experience in HR and employee lifecycle management.

Responsibilities

• Drive improvements in HR processes and policies.
• Support design of D&I strategies.
• Partner with People team on key processes.

Skills

CIPD qualified Level 7

Data analysis

Knowledge of D&I best practices

Education

CIPD qualification or equivalent experience

Job description

Overview

People Business Partner (Central & EDI)

Reports to: Head of Business Partnering

Location: Currently operating hybrid working in our West London Office, with two core days (Tuesday and Wednesday) in the office.

Contract: Permanent

Pattern: Full Time (standard hours 9am – 5.30pm).

Closing date: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Interviews: w/c 6/10/2025 and 13/10/2025.

Salary: £50,000 to £60,000 (depending on experience).

In this role, you will be a contributing member of the wider People Team, bringing your professional knowledge and personal creativity to continuously improve the quality of the People Service to the Central team.

This role will support the Head of Business Partnering to review the current Diversity & Inclusion Strategy and delivery of the D&I initiatives across the network.

You will gain exposure to many different aspects of the charity’s strategy and operations and be accountable for the successful management of the full employee life cycle, including systems and processes as well as leading excellent client relationships across the organisation. You will work closely with the school facing People Business Partners to ensure consistency with policies and procedures across the network.

The People Business Partner (Central & EDI) will report into Head of Business Partnering. This role is currently operating hybrid working in our West London Office on a permanent basis working full time.

Interviews will take place w/c 6/10/2025 and 13/10/2025.

Key Responsibilities

• Keep up to date with external trends and best practice in the areas of expertise and HR more broadly
• Continuously drive improvements in process and policies through external market trends, insight, and internal best practice
• Champion and help create an inclusive culture where all individuals feel supported to work at their best
• Partner with Ark’s People team to support all key people processes, providing guidance, coaching and constructive challenge when appropriate
• Support with the design of the next D&I strategy for the organisation
• Utilise and analyse data to identify Diversity and Inclusion issues and trends both within schools and the broader organisation, to inform developments and relevant improvement initiatives
• Work closely across the People team on key projects including supplier reviews and road mapping key priorities to find efficiencies

Key Requirements

• CIPD qualified Level 7 (or equivalent experience) (Chartered MCIPD desirable).
• Right to work in the UK.

Benefits

• Our hybrid working model aims to offer the best of both worlds, striking the right balance between in-person collaboration and remote working. You will work a minimum of two days per week in our state-of-the-art office in West London allowing you to connect with colleagues, with the flexibility to work remotely, or in the office over the remaining days
• In addition to our current hybrid working arrangements, employees can request to work fully remotely for up to 10 working days a year, whether this be in the UK or abroad
• Our flexitime policy allows you to work your hours around our core hours of 10.00 - 16.00, helping you prioritise your work-life balance and personal commitments
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to. Depending on your role you may also be entitled to LGPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests.

About Us

Ark is an education charity that exists to make sure that all children, regardless of their background, have access to a great education and real choices in life. Our network of 39 schools reaches traditionally underserved communities in Birmingham, Hastings, London and Portsmouth. We educate 30,000 pupils and have nearly 3,000 teaching staff across our network. We also incubate and scale innovative ventures, which we roll out beyond our network of schools for the benefit of teachers, pupils and the education system as a whole. Current Ventures include Ark Curriculum Plus, which equips teachers with the subject expertise needed to ensure students succeed, and Ark Start, a growing chain of nurseries offering affordable, high-quality early years education.

Recently, Ark moved to new offices at EdCity – a unique not-for-profit development in West London, in partnership with Hammersmith & Fulham council. EdCity is designed to bring mission-aligned organisations together to focus on improving the lives of children, especially through education. It offers leased offices, a range of venues for training and events, and an innovation hub for the education sector to connect, collaborate and learn together.

Diversity and Inclusion

We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments, please refer to Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments.

Safeguarding

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants. Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please refer to Ark’s safer recruitment process.

Please note we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this role may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response. We strongly encourage to submit your application at your earliest convenience.

For any questions, please contact [e-mail]