Director of People

St Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust, Rotherham, S60 2EN

7 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  As soon as possible

• Closing date

  14 September 2026 at 9am

• Date listed

  4 September 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Administration, HR, data and finance
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full time equivalent salary: £66,285.00 - £70,785.00 Annually (Actual) Pay Grade NJC - BAND L.

Director of People job summary

Full time: Full time although Term-Time plus 3 Weeks would be considered

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Workforce Leadership & Culture

• Vision & Strategy: Lead the development of an overarching workforce strategy that reflects the values of the Gospel, the Trust vision and values, and contemporary best practices in Human Resources.
• Ethos Alignment: Ensure that all people policies, recruitment frameworks, and employee relations emphasise dignity, equity, fairness, and the pastoral care of our workforce.
• Trust Centralisation: Drive the ongoing harmonisation and centralisation of HR processes across all academies, ensuring consistency while respecting individual school contexts.
• Executive Advisory: Act as the chief expert to the Trust Board of Directors, the Executive Team and our schools leaders on complex matters including employment law, structural reorganisations, and executive succession planning.

2. Talent Acquisition, Retention & Workforce Planning

• Employer Value Proposition: Shape a compelling brand identity for St Francis CMAT to successfully attract high-calibre teaching and support staff in a competitive labor market.
• Recruitment Pipelines: Standardise and modernise recruitment and onboarding systems across the CMAT to minimise vacancy rates and significantly reduce reliance on expensive supply/agency staff.
• Succession & Development: Partner with the School Improvement Team and school leaders to map out clear professional growth pathways, ensuring robust internal talent pipelines for future school leaders.

3. Employee Relations, Policy & Compliance

• Union Consultation: Build and maintain mature, highly collaborative relationships with local and national trade unions and professional associations through our Joint Consultative and Negotiating Committee (JCNC) frameworks.
• Policy Harmonisation: Consolidate and update employment policies across all schools, ensuring strict compliance with UK employment legislation, the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), the Burgundy Book, and local government Green Books.
• Complex Case Management: Oversee the resolution of high-risk or complex employee relations cases, including tribunal claims, severe grievances, disciplinaries, and capability procedures.

4. Wellbeing, Engagement & Performance

• Workforce Wellbeing: Establish a holistic employee wellbeing and mental health strategy that addresses workload issues, boosts morale, and measurably reduces staff absence rates.
• Performance Development: Evolve traditional appraisal processes into a growth-oriented performance development framework that motivates staff and drives up educational outcomes.
• Data-Driven Insights: Implement trust-wide HR metrics and analytics (covering turnover, absence, diversity, and engagement surveys) to provide actionable insights directly to the Executive Team and Trust Board.

5. Financial Management & Governance

• Budget Oversight: Manage the central HR department budget effectively, ensuring maximum value from external legal advisors, occupational health providers, and payroll systems.
• Due Diligence: Lead the HR due diligence, TUPE processes, and workforce integration for any new schools expanding into the Trust.

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.

Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.

Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children

You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

Applying for the job

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About St Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust

• Type: Multi-academy trust
• Website: St Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/st-francis-catholic-multi-academy-trust

St Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust was established in September 2022 as part of the Bishop of Hallam’s vision for education. Today the St Francis family embraces 14 schools, 12 Primary Schools and 2 High School across the Local Authorities of Doncaster, Nottinghamshire and Rotherham. 

We are set to grow to 24 schools at capacity. We are so proud of each and every school in our Trust and are passionate about protecting our schools’ individuality, character and unique communities. 

Rooted in our Gospel Teachings, our ethos is one of sharing excellence and providing platforms for schools to come together, learn from each other and develop to be as good as the best. In this way, we believe that our staff get the most inspiring professional development, our children get the highest standard of provision and our community thrives.

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