People Director Job description About Teaching Leaders Teaching Leaders is an innovative not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to address educational disadvantage by growing a movement of outstanding middle leaders in schools in challenging contexts. The organisation was set up in partnership with four of the UK s most forward thinking organisations: Absolute Return for Kids (ARK), the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL), Teach First and Future Leaders (TFLT). We currently realise our mission by delivering three specific training and development programmes for middle leaders in schools challenging contexts: the Fellows Programme which is focused on retaining and stretching high potential middle leaders; the Primary Programme which is focused on developing teams and individuals and has just launched this year, and Teaching Leaders Teams which is focused on building capacity across groups of middle leaders in one school or across an alliance of schools. The Teaching Leaders Fellows Programme was launched in 2008 with an inaugural cohort of 30 and has grown to work with over 1,000 Fellows across more than 500 schools in the South, Midlands and North regions. The North East launched as our fourth region in 2014. In 2013 the organisation secured two year funding from the National College for expansion to all regions of England. Our Fellowship has grown substantially year on year, with 450 middle leaders joining the programme nationally in 2015. The Teaching Leaders Primary programme was launched last year and has now recruited 500 middle leaders from 200 primary schools across twelve locations in the North, South and Midlands. The TL Primary is a new two-year development programme designed for middle leaders who work in primary schools in the most challenging contexts. By building the skills of this critical tier of leadership, the programme aims to have a measurable impact on pupil progress and attainment in English and mathematics. The Teaching Leaders Schools programmes are active in over 100 schools nationally, and offer a bespoke modular development programme for groups of up to 15 middle leaders or those aspiring to middle leadership in one or more schools. From 2013 schools have been able to choose our licence package, which gives participants the chance to work towards a professional qualification (NPQML) and allows senior leaders access to Teaching Leaders facilitation training and the opportunity to co-facilitate sessions in their school. As the organisation grows, there will be a key focus on ensuring we grow our impact and mission; this will be done by maintaining programme quality and innovation, building an outstanding team who deliver according to the Teaching Leaders values, and building lasting relationships with schools, making Teaching Leaders a rite of passage for all middle leaders in schools in challenging contexts, and thereby influencing national policy. More information can be found at www.teachingleaders.org.uk
Person Specification As we reach 100 staff, Teaching Leaders is looking for an ambitious, creative and high performing individual to become its first People Director. The candidate should have experience of leading or growing a People function in an organisation which views its staff as a key strategic priority and of similar or larger size. They should have experience growing and delivering a compelling vision to attract, retain and develop staff in a fast-moving and dynamic organisation, in order to ensure the organisation achieves challenging objectives. They will also work as part of the senior leadership team reporting directly to the CEO. The Role Teaching Leaders values all the people who work within the organisation. We recognise that our staff are our most important asset, and that we will only be able to meet our mission through having high quality staff in the right roles, who are supported, developed and rewarded to perform well. The People team and subsequent strategy is essential in ensuring that these attributes are embedded within the organisation, setting the cultural standards, and driving forward new areas to continue to have a happy and highly functioning organisation. We have grown rapidly in staff numbers, rising from 20 to 100 staff in the last years, and by 20% in headcount over the last year alone having recruited 60 staff over four offices. In light of our growth and changes facing the organisation, we are strategically investing in our people, and Teaching Leaders is, for the first time, recruiting a People Director to lead the People function joining the People Manager to enable the team to reach higher levels of performance. The People Director will join Teaching Leaders senior leadership team, reporting to the CEO, and will set the strategic direction of the People function, lead and oversee strategic projects, line manage the People team day-to-day, and increase the scope, scale and activities of the People team, engaging all members of staff in the People offer to increase performance, progression and retention. This strategy will tie in with a 4-year Sustainability Strategy currently being led by the CEO. The People Director will have expertise of HR and Learning and Development and have experience of leading a People function in an organisation of similar or larger scale. One of the first tasks will be to set the new strategy and then work with Regional Directors who lead the largest teams, and by working with the CEO to align the People strategy with the organisation s vision and strategy.
Key Responsibilities Strategy Lead the People function and develop and embed a rigorous, comprehensive and engaging People strategy which responds to the current challenges faced by the organisation and staff and helps achieve the future vision of the organisation. Work with the wider Director tier to shape organisational priorities. Through the strategy ensuring staff are deployed, trained and motivated to continue to excel at work, guaranteeing organisational success. Develop a forward thinking, context based People strategy, working with Directors of regions and functions to define organisational People priorities Oversee and review the organisational structure ensuring we are deploying staff effectively and allocating roles and responsibilities in the right way to allow excellent performance Feed into the Sustainability strategy and its direction, ensuring the People perspective is recognised Advise, support and challenge the CEO on how leadership decisions and strategy will impact on the organisation Leading the organisation through change management around sensitive issues that affect staff Create a comprehensive risk strategy, planning for potential organisational changes Chair the People Steering Group Learning and Development Design and create the learning and development offer to staff at all levels within the organisation, equipping staff to excel within their own roles, and progress in and out of the organisation. Continue to embed the culture of reflection, self-awareness and learning. Create an organisational strategy and plan for L&D across the organisation Re-design and implement new training pathways for staff at all levels and with differing development needs within the organisation Identify future training needs within the organisation as it evolves, and up skill staff as required Create a talent development strand, identifying our highest potential staff, and developing them for progression within the organisation Facilitate, where appropriate, engaging and impactful training sessions Coach senior staff to higher levels of self-awareness and performance Employee relations and HR best practice Using HR expertise to create formal processes and procedures to monitor and resolve underperformance and conflict within the organisation and manage our risk, ensuring we are complying with legal requirements and employing HR best practice. Work with the People Manager and staff to resolve specific challenges across the organisation. Create and implement best practice HR practices Embed an organisational culture that can articulate and address conflict constructively
Use emotional intelligence and logical decision making to ensure complex issues are led to the best outcomes Facilitate effective team interventions, ensuring all parties are supported Ensure underperformance and misconduct is recognised and addressed within the organisation, and dealt with appropriately Ensure the performance management and pay and reward approach is appropriate for organisational need, and consistently applied and fairly implemented across the organisation Employer brand and attraction Grow Teaching Leaders reputation as an outstanding employer, working with External Relations, in order to attract the highest quality talent into the organisation Develop an employer brand value proposition Review advertising channels and places for key roles Grow Teaching Leaders presence on social media e.g. LinkedIn Increase number and quality of applications to key roles Review job descriptions and pay bands to ensure high quality applicants Increase brand recognition and awareness of Teaching Leaders within education and nonprofit sectors Line manage the People team Work closely as a People team to deliver all elements of the People offer. Role model excellent line manager practices and operate as a highly functioning team. Support, challenge, empower and advise the team on their performance. Ensure they deliver their areas of work to a high standard, supporting as necessary on their following accountabilities: Recruiting all staff in collaboration with line managers Advising line managers on line management best practice Creating and implementing the performance management approach across the organisation Creating and implementing an organisational approach to wellbeing and staff experience Reviewing staff and organisation policies and processes Facilitation and Coaching as required Advising on HR polices across the organisation Role definition and consultation Managing the People budget All HR administration and HR system management Personal Qualities and Experience Essential: Mission: a strong commitment to education, the non-profit sector and raising the aspirations, achievement and life chances of all children Experience of working in a fast-moving environment, adapting to change and managing a complex brief
Experience of creating and implementing a comprehensive HR strategy within a similar or larger organisation Experience of change management and organisational development Strong and balanced decision maker within complex areas Ability to hold others accountable and create consistent practices across an organisation Ability to manage complex, emotive issues to achieve positive outcomes Experience of designing training packages leading to higher levels of staff performance Strong facilitation and coaching skills Experience of developing leadership and management capability in direct reports Experience of successfully managing senior internal relationships in a previous role Demonstrated ability to build relationships and influence across a number of key stakeholders Ability to work collaboratively across multiple levels in a matrix organisation Highly motivated self-starter Emotionally intelligent practitioner Confident presenting to large audiences Willingness to travel to other regional offices regularly where required and a willingness to work outside of contract hours as and when needed including evenings and weekends (Time Off In Lieu policy will apply) Desirable: Experience of competency and assessment based recruitment MBTI accredited Qualifications University Graduate CIPD Member Reports to Chief Executive Officer Direct Reports People Manager Location Manchester, London or Birmingham Duration Permanent Salary 52,000 (+ 2,000 London weighting where appropriate) plus, an 11% contribution into a TL stakeholder pension scheme.
How to apply: Interested candidates from Teaching Leaders should email the following to Shaun Reeve by 9am Friday 30 October. Shaun.Reeve@teachingleaders.org.uk Cover Letter Please explain why you want this role and how your experience is relevant. CV No longer than two A4 pages. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted to come for an interview. Following this, those who are shortlisted after the interview will be invited to attend an assessment centre. Questions If you have questions about the role please contact Shaun Reeve shaun.reeve@teachingleaders.org.uk / 0203 116 6361/ 07595932848