People Partner

The Independent Schools Council; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 48,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Leisure facilities access

Cycle to work

Season ticket loans

Private medical insurance

Christmas shutdown

Professional development

Free school meals

Job summary

Westminster School is seeking an experienced People Partner to work with the wider People Partnering team in delivering a proactive, high-quality people service across the School. Working closely with leaders and managers, the postholder provides guidance on employee relations, performance management, recruitment, wellbeing and engagement.

The role acts as a trusted partner across academic and operational departments, helping managers handle people matters while ensuring compliance with

Qualifications

• Experience as a People Partner delivering proactive HR services.
• Knowledge of UK employment law and safeguarding requirements.
• Ability to advise managers on performance, ER, and recruitment.

Responsibilities

• Provide proactive guidance on employee relations, performance management, and wellbeing.
• Support recruitment campaigns and onboarding across the School.
• Ensure HR records comply with GDPR and school policies.
• Deliver HR policies and procedures training to managers.
• Contribute to workforce planning and salary review processes.

Skills

Employee relations

Recruitment

HR policies

People management

Compliance

Job description

Required for: as soon as possible

Location: Deans Yard, Westminster School

Contract: full-time, permanent

Hours of work: 35 hours per week, 52 weeks per week. Preferred hours are 9am – 5pm, however there may be flexibility to start earlier or later and hours may need to occasionally be adjusted to support business needs.

Salary: £56,000 per annum

Benefits of working at Westminster include:

• Generous School pension scheme
• Free access to the School’s leisure facilities, including a fitness gym (restricted hours)
• Cycle to Work Scheme and season ticket loans following completion of our standard probation period
• Private medical insurance (opt in)
• Discretionary Christmas shutdown period
• Professional development opportunities

Free school meals are also available when on-site during working hours for the role.

Westminster School is seeking an experienced People Partner to work with the wider People Partnering team in delivering a proactive, high-quality people service across the school. Working closely with leaders and managers, the postholder provides pro-active (and where necessary reactive) guidance and support on all areas of people management including employee relations, performance management, recruitment, wellbeing and employee engagement.

The role acts as a trusted partner to managers across academic and operational departments, helping them manage people matters effectively while ensuring compliance with employment legislation, safeguarding requirements and school policies. The postholder will contribute to the delivery of the school's people priorities and support a positive, inclusive and high-performing workplace culture.

Working closely, collegiately and flexibly with other members of the People and Payroll team to deliver an excellent service across the School, the role will also work closely with the Under Master and Senior Management Committee of the Great School as their designated People Partner.

The People & Payroll function operates and works across both The Great School and the Under School, therefore unless explicitly mentioned any reference to the “School” means both Great and Under Schools.

Key Responsibilities

People management

• Build effective working relationships with leaders and managers across the school.
• Deliver respected and valued advice and support to allocated School and departments to deliver improved performance and increase efficiency on people management issues.
• Use knowledge of employment law and good practice to identify and provide innovative solutions to people problems, supporting managers in applying HR policies and procedures consistently and fairly.
• Work with managers in developing solutions to difficult problems and analysing information quickly to ensure effective decision making.
• Partner managers and senior managers on individual issues such as performance management, capability, disciplinary, grievance and sickness cases, up to and including dismissal, always working within accepted good practice and School procedures, escalating more complex or high-risk matters to the Head of People Partnering and Operations where appropriate.
• Involvement and embedding of staff engagement activities (e.g. EDI and Wellbeing) in respect of all staff. The role will work closely with the Senior People Partner in the development, updating, creation and embedding of people focused policies and procedures, whilst also providing guidance and supervision to the Training, Development and Staff Engagement Officer as required.
• Coach and train management and staff in all elements of human resources policy and procedure.

Employee Relations

• Manage a range of employee relations cases including absence management, disciplinary, grievance, capability and flexible working matters, escalating to the Head of People Partnering and Operations where necessary.
• Support investigations and formal meetings, preparing documentation and providing advice throughout the process.
• Promote early intervention and informal resolution of workplace issues where appropriate.
• Ensure employee relations matters are handled in line with employment legislation and school policies.
• Recruitment and onboarding
• Work with the Recruitment and Onboarding Officer to support recruitment campaigns, interviews and selection processes as required and ensure the delivery of an effective recruitment and onboarding process across the School.
• Promote and ensure compliance with safer recruitment practices.
• Support the wider People team in auditing all new starter files before start dates to ensure compliance with the school’s SCR.
• Support initiatives aimed at improving staff retention.

HR Operations and Employee Lifecycle

• Support the administration and delivery of key employee lifecycle processes, including contract changes, promotions, family leave, resignations and leavers.
• Ensure employee records and HR systems are maintained accurately and in accordance with GDPR requirements.
• Produce letters, reports and HR documentation as required.
• Support payroll processes by ensuring timely and accurate people data is provided.

HR Policy and Compliance

• Ensure compliance with employment legislation, safeguarding requirements and school policies.
• Support the review and implementation of HR policies and procedures as directed.
• Assist with maintaining accurate employee records and HR systems.
• Support HR audits and reporting requirements.

HR Projects and Continuous Improvement

• Contribute to HR projects and initiatives as directed by the People leadership team.
• Support the implementation of improvements to HR processes and employee experience.
• Participate in annual HR processes such as workforce planning, salary review administration and staff surveys.

People and Payroll Team

• As part of the People & Payroll team, manage, develop, support and implement key objectives, policies and initiatives and promote pragmatic and focused ways of working, reviewing performance and driving improvement.
• Work with colleagues across the team to undertake policy development and projects as required.

Self

• Maintain a commitment to equality and diversity and actively promote this in all aspects of your work.
• Ensure the confidentiality of records and the security of resources for which the role is accountable.
• Use influencing skills to challenge and change others’ perceptions about problems and issues.
• Keep up to date on UK employment law, case law, benchmarking and best practice within all aspects of people management.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, partners and colleagues internally and externally.
• Contribute ideas and suggestions to enhance service delivery and customer experience.

In addition to the above areas of responsibility the position may be required to undertake any other reasonable duties relating to the broad scope of the position.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Westminster School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Working at Westminster

Westminster School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of around 750 pupils, 120 teaching staff and 108 support staff.

Our staff are friendly and welcoming, and all newcomers quickly become part of the rhythm of life here.

There is a real sense of community here as, being a boarding school many members of staff and pupils live on site and the School’s premises are very much treated as a home away from home. School life starts before breakfast and continues way beyond the working day; as a result, there is always a lively atmosphere in and around School and always someone to share a tea and biscuit with in the Common Room. Support staff as much as teaching staff are encouraged to embrace the School’s day-to-day activities, whether that be attending an evening concert or a morning service in the Abbey.

At Westminster we will always select the best candidate for every position. We do know, however, that we can only truly choose the best person on every occasion if a broad and diverse pool of candidates see the job advertised and are encouraged to apply.

As such, we continue to work on how our job roles are encountered, and particularly welcome applications from groups who have traditionally been underrepresented here.

Westminster School is for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. We hope you are encouraged to apply.

The School

Westminster School is an independent day and boarding school for boys aged 13-18 and girls aged 16-18, with a long history, a distinctive ethos, and a unique sense of place in the very heart of London. Pupils achieve exceptional examination results and entrance to some of the top universities in the world. It is a busy, passionate and purposeful place where independent and deep thinking is enjoyed, encouraged and respected by all, and where holistic excellence is nurtured and valued.

While the School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence in the country, its commitment to academic life does not make it a hothouse for passing examinations. Pupils’ success at examinations and entry to leading universities is instead a result of their enjoyment of academic enquiry, debate and search for explanation, well beyond published syllabuses. Pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged and our aim is to ensure that their enthusiasm for learning is developed further, allowing them to take full advantage of the opportunities presented to them in the future. At Westminster, pupils have the freedom to lead on projects outside of the classroom and embrace a whole range of extra-curricular activities and interests. A host of pupil-led societies take place every week at the School, often with expert guest speakers, and pupils can choose to study an additional language, play an instrument or two, volunteer in local primary schools, row along the Thames, take part in plays and musicales, and much more.

The School’s ethos resides in the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the 1560 Charter of Westminster’s Elizabethan foundation, where it is stated that: ‘the youth which is growing to manhood, as tender shoots in the wood of our state, shall be liberally instructed in good books to the greater honour of the state’. Whilst academic and cultural attainments are highly prized at Westminster, the School is fully committed also to each pupil’s spiritual, moral, emotional and physical development and wellbeing – with a particular emphasis on drawing out individual talent wherever it lies – and to prepare young people for fulfilled private and public lives.

From September 2028, the School will welcome both girls and boys at 13+ entry, offering a Westminster education to all. By 2026, Westminster Under School will have opened its brand new pre-prep for girls and boys at 4+ and girls will have joined boys in Years 3 and 7, at the 7+ and 11+ entry points. By 2030, all year groups at Westminster School and Westminster Under School, from ages four to 18, will be fully co-educational, reflecting the School’s dedication to inclusivity and excellence.