Head of People and Culture

21 January 20262026-01-21
Leatherhead, Surrey

 

Head of People and Culture

Up to £80k plus benefits

40 hour working week

 

  • Salary: Highly competitive
  • Hours: 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 8.00am–5.00pm 

Role Purpose

The Head of People and Culture provides strategic and operational leadership for the School’s people agenda, culture and HR operations. The role ensures that th school attracts, develops and retains exceptional staff, while fostering a positive, inclusive and high-performance culture aligned with the School’s mission and values.

Balancing strategic leadership with hands-on delivery, the postholder oversees workforce planning, employee relations, organisational culture, learning and development, wellbeing and regulatory compliance.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Leadership and Culture

  • Develop and deliver the School’s People and Culture strategy in alignment with the School’s mission and values.
  • Lead the embedding of staff values across all aspects of staff life, role-modelling a positive, inclusive and high-performance culture.
  • Lead change management initiatives, supporting staff through growth, restructuring, job scope changes and innovation.
  • Advise the Head, COO and senior leaders on workforce planning, organisational design and strategic people decisions.
  • Ensure compliance with employment law and ISI regulatory requirements, applying best practice people management across the School.

2. Operational HR Leadership

  • Lead and develop the HR function, ensuring high standards, strong service levels and responsive support for all staff.
  • Manage complex employee relations matters, including disciplinaries, grievances, consultations, conciliation and litigation.
  • Ensure excellent recruitment and safer recruitment processes, including accuracy and compliance of the Single Central Record (SCR).
  • Strengthen HR systems, data accuracy, reporting and workforce insights to support evidence-based decision-making.
  • Drive continuous improvement in HR policies, processes and the overall staff experience.

3. Performance, Talent and Professional Development

  • Lead the delivery and ongoing development of the appraisal system, ensuring alignment with School priorities.
  • Enhance professional development in partnership with the Head of CPD, expanding coaching, mentoring and leadership development opportunities.
  • Establish talent management and succession planning frameworks to build organisational capability and address future skills needs.
  • Monitor turnover, workforce trends and risk indicators, taking proactive action to retain high-quality staff.

4. Engagement, Wellbeing and Internal Communication

  • Oversee staff engagement, communication and involvement in organisational change and cultural initiatives.
  • Ensure clear, consistent communication of priorities, values and expectations across internal channels.
  • Support leaders and managers to communicate effectively and lead their teams well.
  • Strengthen staff wellbeing through proactive mental health, physical health and work-life balance initiatives.
  • Develop staff voice and recognition mechanisms that promote belonging, motivation and engagement.

5. Reward and Workforce Planning

  • Conduct benchmarking and continue to develop competitive total reward and benefits strategies.
  • Work closely with Finance to model the impact of pay and benefit decisions.
  • Lead long-term workforce planning aligned with the School’s strategic direction.

Person Specification

Qualifications

  • CIPD Level 7 or equivalent postgraduate qualification in HR Management, or substantial equivalent senior leadership experience.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

  • Demonstrable experience of designing and delivering people and culture strategies that improve organisational performance and staff experience.
  • Proven leadership experience within a complex organisation of approximately 200–500 staff.
  • Strong change leadership capability, with experience influencing and engaging staff groups resistant to change.
  • Evidence of successfully embedding values and cultural initiatives across diverse staff groups.
  • Advanced communication skills, including the ability to craft clear messaging and support managers to communicate effectively.
  • Strong understanding of appraisal, talent development and CPD frameworks.
  • Deep knowledge of HR operations, employment law, organisational design and workforce planning.
  • Experience managing complex employee relations issues and working constructively with trade unions.
  • High emotional intelligence, resilience and credibility, with the ability to build trust quickly.
  • Strong analytical capability, using data to inform decisions and demonstrate impact.
  • Experience in the education sector and safer recruitment is desirable.
  • Working Pattern: Office-based during term time; some flexibility for remote working during school holidays
  • Holidays: 30 days per year, plus Bank Holidays and three additional Christmas closure days
  • Probation: Six months
  • Pre-Employment Checks: Appointment subject to satisfactory references and DBS clearance