Head of HR
The Great Schools Trust, Warrington, WA1 4PF18 days remaining to apply
Start date details
Negotiable
Closing date
12 July 2026 at 11:59pm
Date listed
24 June 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
- Competitive senior package, commensurate with experience
Additional allowances
Competitive senior package, commensurate with experience
Head of HR job summary
Head of HR at the Great Schools Trust
Contract: Permanent, full-time, 37 hours, all year round
Location: Hybrid, with weekly site visits across Trust academies
Salary: Competitive senior package, commensurate with experience
This is an important appointment for us. We already have a strong People function, with committed colleagues, established systems and a clear culture of professional judgement, care and accountability. We are now looking for someone who can help us make it stronger still.
As Head of HR, you will work closely with the Director of Culture, academy leaders and central colleagues to strengthen HR practice across the Trust. You will help us build on what is working well and develop an even more proactive, strategic and insightful service for our schools.
This role is about much more than policy and process. Of course, those things matter, chaos is rarely improved by optimism alone. But the real value of this post is in helping leaders make better people decisions earlier, with confidence, care and sound judgement.
About usGreat Schools Trust is a family of academies united by a shared mission: to develop in every student the academic skills, intellectual habits, qualities of character and leadership traits needed to become successful, healthy citizens in the global community.
Our values are ASPIRE: Aspiration, Self-awareness, Professionalism, Integrity, Respect and Endeavour. They shape how we work with pupils, families and each other.
Further information about our Trust, culture and priorities can be found in the recruitment guide attached.
About the roleYou will lead and develop key areas of HR practice across the Trust, including employee relations, HR advice, workforce insight, staff attendance, people risk, HR systems and process assurance.
You will support leaders with complex and sensitive people matters, including conduct, capability, grievance, absence, occupational health, consultation and organisational change. You will help ensure these are handled fairly, consistently and in line with both employment law and GST values.
You will also help us strengthen the way we use HR data, systems and technology so that our leaders have clearer insight, better processes and more time to focus on people rather than paperwork.
About you
- A calm, credible and experienced HR professional with strong generalist knowledge and significant employee relations expertise.
- Someone already operating in a senior HR role, or ready to step into a broader Trust-wide opportunity.
- Strong judgement, discretion and emotional intelligence.
- The ability to coach, challenge and support leaders well.
- Experience in schools, multi-academy trusts, local authorities, education or the wider public sector would be helpful.
- Experience in a unionised environment would be valuable.
- A belief that excellent HR should be both human and rigorous: values-led, legally sound and genuinely useful.
You will be joining a Trust that takes culture seriously and sees People practice as central to school improvement.
This is an opportunity to shape the next stage of a strong HR function, work with committed leaders and help create the conditions in which adults and pupils flourish.
If you want a role where HR is strategic, relational and valued, we would be pleased to hear from you.
How to applyPlease submit your application via MyNewTerm.
For an informal conversation about the role or to arrange a visit to one of our academies, please contact: h.fenlon@greatschoolstrust.com
Great Schools Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All staff are expected to share this commitment. Any appointment will be subject to the successful completion of all relevant pre-employment checks, as outlined in the recruitment guide.
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
All offers of employment are subject to a robust set of pre-employment checks, which may include (as applicable):
Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
Prohibition from teaching check
Childcare disqualification declaration
Verification of right to work in the UK
Medical fitness to work
Online and social media screening
Receipt of two satisfactory references
Suitability to work with children assessment
Applicants are required to declare any unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings as outlined 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.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About The Great Schools Trust
- Type
- Multi-academy trust
At Great Schools Trust, we don’t just build schools, we forge futures. We are a high-performing, values-driven multi-academy trust committed to delivering transformational education for over 4,000 students across our academies in the North West of England. Our vision is simple yet bold: to develop a family of Great Schools where every student, regardless of background or starting point, flourishes, is happy, and achieves their full potential.
GST academies combine the rigour and ambition of independent education with the inclusivity and moral purpose of the state sector. Each school in our trust instils our core ASPIRE values; Aspiration, Self-awareness, Professionalism, Integrity, Respect, and Endeavour into everything we do. These are not just words; they’re the foundations of a culture where excellence becomes a habit.
As a National Behaviour Hub and leader in educational technology, we are proud pioneers in innovation and character education. Our King’s Adventure Programme develops young leaders of tomorrow through robust character-building, leadership experiences and a "King’s CV" that evidences every student’s growth journey. From AI-powered learning platforms to industry-leading CPD, we ensure our staff and students thrive in environments that champion curiosity, resilience and progress.
Our track record speaks volumes. From transforming schools in special measures into oversubscribed centres of excellence to closing the Progress 8 gap for disadvantaged students, GST is a beacon of social mobility and community transformation.
We are not just a trust, we are a movement. A movement powered by belief. *Credo-Credimus.* I believe, we believe.
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