Interim Head of HR
Birmingham, West Midlands
Negotiable
Education
- Paige Gillies
- Lead Principal Consultant
EDUCATION EXPERIENCE NEEDED
The Trust
We’re supporting a Multi Academy Trust with a broad, multi-site footprint and a strong focus on building a consistent, values-led culture. The Trust is investing in its people agenda to strengthen leadership capability, improve workforce planning, and ensure best-practice HR delivery across its academies and central teams.
The role
This is a senior, strategic HR leadership position with real operational credibility required. You’ll lead the HR function, acting as a trusted partner to executive leaders and academy leadership team balancing day-to-day casework oversight with longer-term workforce strategy, organisational development, and policy governance.
What you’ll be responsible for
- Owning and delivering a Trust-wide people plan (workforce planning, retention, capability, and culture)
- Providing expert guidance on complex employee relations matters (performance, absence, grievance/disciplinary, restructures, etc.)
- Leading recruitment and onboarding approach across the Trust, ensuring robust process and compliance
- Strengthening performance management and leadership development activity across academies and central services
- Reviewing and improving HR policies, ensuring alignment with current employment law and education-sector expectations
- Using people data/MI to spot themes, reduce risk, and inform decision-making at senior level
- Supporting change activity (structures, consultation, ways of working) with clear stakeholder engagement
- Ensuring safe, compliant HR practice and high standards of confidentiality and record-keeping
What we’re looking for (essential)
- Strong senior HR leadership experience within a Multi Academy Trust or similarly complex, multi-site organisation
- Deep knowledge of UK employment law and confident handling sensitive, high-impact casework
- Evidence of delivering practical HR strategy (not just maintaining processes)
- Excellent influencing skills with credibility at executive and board/stakeholder level
- Ability to lead and develop an HR team and drive consistent standards across multiple locations
- Relevant senior HR qualification (or equivalent demonstrable experience)
Useful / advantageous
- Organisational development, change, or cultural improvement programme exposure
- HR systems/process improvement experience and comfort with reporting/analytics
- Experience working in a regulated, compliance-led environment
