About this role
Discovery Schools Trust
Salary: Grade 11, Pay Point Range 27-30, £41,259 - £44,109
Hours: 37 hours per week, 52 weeks per year
Contract Type: Permanent
Help our leaders create a great place to work.
Are you an experienced HR professional ready to take the next step in your career?
We are looking for a proactive and people-focused Junior People Business Partner to join our People Team and support schools and central teams across Discovery Trust.
This is an exciting opportunity to develop your business partnering experience within a supportive, values-led organisation. You will build trusted relationships with leaders, provide practical and confident people advice, and help shape local people plans that support recruitment, retention, staff development and organisational change.
About the Role
Working closely with our Senior People Business Partner and wider People Team, you will provide a proactive and effective partnering service to school and central leaders.
You will support leaders to develop and deliver people plans for their settings, around workforce planning, recruitment, retention, colleague development and change management. You will also help ensure our People Strategy is brought to life consistently across the Trust.
Your responsibilities will include
- Building strong and credible relationships with school and central leaders.
- Supporting the development of local people plans aligned with school improvement priorities.
- Advising on workforce planning, recruitment, retention, staff development and change.
- Helping leaders deliver consistent recruitment, selection and induction experiences.
- Coaching and developing managers to build confidence in leading their teams.
- Using people data and colleague survey feedback to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
- Supporting organisational change and design activity.
- Assisting with more complex employee relations matters when required.
- Delivering training sessions and workshops for managers and leaders.
- Contributing to Trust-wide projects linked to the People Strategy.
You will also have the opportunity to take responsibility for an area of the wider people agenda, such as wellbeing, reward and benefits, or diversity and inclusion.
What You'll Be Doing
- Support leaders to deliver consistent, high-quality recruitment, selection and induction experiences.
- Coach and constructively challenge managers, helping them build confidence in leading and managing their people.
- Use workforce and colleague survey data to identify trends, highlight potential risks and support local action planning.
- Contribute to organisational change and design work, helping settings prepare for and manage change effectively.
- Work alongside the People Advisor to support more complex employee relations matters, including investigations, disciplinary, capability and sickness absence processes.
- Help deliver training sessions and workshops for managers and leaders.
- Contribute to Trust-wide projects that support the delivery of our People Strategy.
- Take responsibility for a specific area of the people agenda, such as wellbeing, reward and benefits, or diversity and inclusion.
We're Looking for Someone Who
- A CIPD qualification, or be working towards a minimum of Level 5, or an equivalent qualification.
- Up-to-date knowledge of employment law and equality legislation.
- Experience working at Junior Business Partner, Senior HR Advisor or HR Officer level.
- Experience coaching and developing managers.
- The ability to build credible, collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
- Strong problem-solving, critical-thinking and analytical skills, with the ability to consider wider implications and strategic priorities.
- Excellent organisation and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage competing deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
- A flexible, adaptable and positive approach to changing priorities and workloads.
- Confidence in presenting and delivering training on a range of people-related topics.
- A commitment to continuous learning and your own professional development.
- The ability to travel between Trust sites and other locations when required.
Why Join Discovery Trust?
At Discovery Trust, our values of Belonging, Ambition and Equity sit at the heart of everything we do. We believe that when colleagues feel valued, supported and empowered, they can make the greatest impact on the lives of our children and young people.
If you're looking for an opportunity to make your mark in a new role, contribute to a high performing People Team and deliver a service that genuinely supports our schools, we'd love to hear from you.
Join us and help ensure every colleague receives the outstanding support they deserve.