Senior People Business Manager

Youth Engagement Schools Trust, Macclesfield, SK11 8JF

28 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  As soon as possible

• Closing date

  28 August 2026 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  31 July 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Other leadership role
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Pay scale: £55,746.00 – £64,690.00 (L4 – L10) *subject to September pay award

What skills and experience we're looking for

About us

The Youth Engagement Schools Trust (YES Trust) is on an exciting and ambitious journey of growth and transformation, and we are seeking an outstanding Senior People Business Partner to join our team.

As a growing specialist MAT, The YES Trust brings together a diverse family of alternative provision, SEMH, and specialist settings, united by a shared commitment to transforming the lives of children and vulnerable young people. Our schools are home to highly skilled professionals with expertise in trauma-informed practice, relational approaches, SEND, behaviour support, inclusion, and personalised learning. As a Senior People Business Partner, you will be instrumental in helping us attract exceptional talent who share our values, nurture their development, create conditions for them to thrive, and retain the specialist expertise that enables our children, colleagues, and communities to flourish.

We believe that every young person deserves the chance to succeed, regardless of their starting point or the challenges they face. Through exceptional teaching, outstanding pastoral care, and an unwavering commitment to inclusion, we are transforming lives and creating brighter futures for some of the region's most vulnerable learners. We know that to achieve this mission, our greatest asset is our people.

As we continue to expand our national footprint, we are shaping our regional hub model that brings together schools with shared expertise, strong local partnerships, and a collective ambition to transform lives. Our expert central leadership team will work alongside school and hub leaders, creating the capacity, capability, and strategic support that enables them to focus on what matters most – delivering exceptional education. You will be at the heart of this journey, influencing workforce strategy, developing outstanding leaders, and fostering inclusive, high-performing cultures where colleagues can grow, innovate, and excel.

While aligned to a regional hub, your influence will extend far beyond it. As a senior member of the People Team, you will help to shape Trust-wide strategy, lead cross-organisational initiatives, and deputise for the Director of People. This is a role for someone who wants to make an impact – not only on the colleagues and leaders they support directly, but on success of the Trust as a whole. By helping to build and shape an exceptional workforce, you will play a vital part in ensuring every child and young person has access to the specialist education and future opportunities that they deserve.

Job Description

Salary: Leadership scale L4 – L10

Holiday: 32 days + bank holidays

Location: Flexible across The YES Trust North-West Region. Regular travel to schools and working from home

Contract: Full Time | Permanent / Flexible working available

About the Role

As Senior People Business Partner, you will be a trusted advisor to Headteachers and senior leaders, supporting them to navigate complex people challenges while delivering innovative solutions that enable schools to thrive.

Working in partnership with the Director of People, you will support the delivery of the Trust's People Strategy, Trust and hub-wide development priorities, and high-quality People and HR services across the Trust.

This is a highly visible role that will allow you to influence decision-making at every level of the organisation and make a tangible contribution to our continued growth and success.

Purpose of the Role

To act as an operational and strategic partner to school and Trust leaders, supporting the Director of People in delivering the People Strategy, workforce development priorities, and effective people solutions that support our schools to achieve excellent outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

You will lead and support a broad portfolio of strategic and operational priorities including:

• Workforce planning and organisational development.
• Talent management, succession planning and leadership development.
• Recruitment and retention strategies.
• Employee relations and complex case management, including performance, attendance, capability, disciplinary and grievance matters.
• Wellbeing, employee engagement, reward and recognition, and EDI initiatives.
• Change management, restructuring, consultation and TUPE projects.
• Trust growth, HR due diligence and school integration projects.
• HR analytics, reporting, workforce insights and Trustee reporting.
• Continuous improvement of people systems, data quality, processes and automation.

In addition, you will:

• Provide expert HR advice and guidance to leaders across the Trust.
• Lead complex casework and coach leaders in the application of Trust policies and employment law.
• Support implementation of Integrated Curriculum Financial Planning (ICFP) and workforce planning activities across Trust schools.
• Identify trends in absence, turnover, retention and employee relations, recommending improvement actions.
• Review, develop and implement HR policies, procedures and manager toolkits.
• Build productive relationships with trade unions and support consultation and negotiation processes.
• Support leadership recruitment, induction, probation and talent development programmes.
• Coordinate apprenticeship levy opportunities, CPD initiatives and career pathway development.
• Work with payroll, occupational health, legal and wellbeing providers to deliver effective people services.
• Prepare reports, business cases and project plans for strategic people initiatives.
• Deputise for the Director of People in meetings, projects and committees as required.
• Undertake other duties as required, commensurate with the responsibilities of the role.

Benefits

In addition to a rewarding and meaningful career, we offer:

• Access to high-quality CPD and professional qualifications
• Flexible and supportive working arrangements
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Employee wellbeing support and counselling services
• Perkbox benefits platform
• Car salary sacrifice scheme
• Electric car charging points
• Cycle to work scheme
• Free parking
• The opportunity to work alongside exceptional leaders in a growing Trust with a genuine focus on people development and culture

Flexible Working

We recognise that attracting and retaining the highest quality candidates means offering a flexible working environment. We consider a variety of flexible arrangements, including part-time roles, job-sharing, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid opportunities where appropriate. By adopting a flexible approach, we empower our staff to bring their best selves to work every day, fostering creativity, commitment, and resilience. Our teams remain diverse, motivated, and aligned with our vision of transforming children's lives through world-changing education. We believe that by investing in the wellbeing and professional fulfilment of our staff, we are also investing in the futures of the communities we serve.

Candidates are encouraged to discuss flexible working from recruitment onwards, in line with the statutory "day one right" principle, and ensuring equal opportunities for all groups of prospective employees

Contact

We are proud of our Trust. We encourage all applicants to view our website or contact us informally. Opportunities for an informal discussion with the Director of People are available. To arrange this please contact hr@theyestrust.org.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive sufficient applications. Therefore, if you are interested, we encourage you to submit your application as early as possible.

What the school offers its staff

In addition to a rewarding and meaningful career, we offer:

• Access to high-quality CPD and professional qualifications
• Flexible and supportive working arrangements
• Teacher Pension Scheme
• Employee wellbeing support and counselling services
• Perkbox benefits platform
• Car salary sacrifice scheme
• Electric car charging points
• Cycle to work scheme
• Free parking
• The opportunity to work alongside exceptional leaders in a growing Trust with a genuine focus on people development and culture

Flexible working opportunities

Flexible Working

We recognise that attracting and retaining the highest quality candidates means offering a flexible working environment. We consider a variety of flexible arrangements, including part-time roles, job-sharing, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid opportunities where appropriate. By adopting a flexible approach, we empower our staff to bring their best selves to work every day, fostering creativity, commitment, and resilience. Our teams remain diverse, motivated, and aligned with our vision of transforming children's lives through world-changing education. We believe that by investing in the wellbeing and professional fulfilment of our staff, we are also investing in the futures of the communities we serve.

Candidates are encouraged to discuss flexible working from recruitment onwards, in line with the statutory "day one right" principle, and ensuring equal opportunities for all groups of prospective employees

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

The safe recruitment of staff in the Trust is the first step in the effective safeguarding and promotion of welfare for our children. The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, volunteers and other workers in the Trust to share this commitment. It is recognised that this can only be achieved through sound procedures, good inter-agency co-operation and the recruitment and retention of competent, motivated employees who are suited to, and fulfilled in the roles they undertake.

A copy of the Trust’s Safer Recruitment Policy is available on request.

Applying for the job

Apply for the job by following the link below.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

Additional documents

If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.

Application Pack - Senior People Buisness Partner - YES Trust (1).pdf - 389 KB (opens in new tab)

About Youth Engagement Schools Trust

• Type: Multi-academy trust
• Website: Youth Engagement Schools Trust website
• Email address: j.crouch@theyestrust.org
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/youth-engagement-schools-trust

The Youth Engagement Schools (YES) Trust is a multi-academy trust based broadly in the North West of England. Together, we have developed a growing family of schools which makes a difference for children and young people. As we continue to set and raise the bar in all the work we undertake, we are keen to maintain our national recognition as one of the highest achieving alternative and SEN multi-academy trusts in the country.

We unashamedly use words like “kindness” and “compassion” in our values. Our ability to make that difference rests on our vision and our core values which include an absolute belief in the importance of collaboration and mutual support, and on our recognition of the trust as a family of schools in which colleagues are equally valued. We want to continue this further, and to become the employer of choice for teaching and support staff across the region.

We are:
• Child centred
• Adaptive and sensitive to need
• Authentic in our relationships

We strive for:
• Solution-focused mindsets
• A climate of reflection and feedback
• Intrinsic motivation *
• Continual improvement
• A culture of collaboration

Our minimum expectations of our staff are:
• Belief in our core values
• Professional conduct at all times
• Appropriate communication
• Ability to follow direction
• Kindness and compassion
• Flexibility and adaptability

Head office location

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