HR System Change Manager

About The Role

Location: Currently operating hybrid working in our West London Office (The role will be office and home based, with a requirement to be either onsite at a school or in the office 2 to 3 times a week.)

Contract: Fixed‑term contract until June 2027

Pattern: Full Time (standard hours 9am – 5.30pm)

Interviews will be held on 9th January 2026

About the role: The Change Manager will ensure a smooth transition to the new system working with a dedicated Project Manager and other internal project roles. Working alongside key members of the Ark’s central teams, schools, and the supplier.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify and work with key stakeholders (HR, Payroll, IT, Finance, line managers, employees).
• Analyse how the new system will affect processes, roles, and responsibilities and document the changes users will need to adopt.
• Collaborate with Learning & Development to design training programs tailored to different user groups.
• Develop a change readiness strategy, including surveys or assessments to gauge preparedness.
• Identify potential risks and resistance points related to the change.
• Ensure change activities are aligned with project timelines, governance structures, and business objectives.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Experience in various launch mechanisms, covering iterative implementations (e.g. school by school) rollouts, pilots, multiple pay rolls in an organisation.
• Able to build trust across senior leadership and school communities; politically astute; capable of balancing pace with sensitivity.
• Operational knowledge of Payroll and HR processes and systems.
• Experience working within complex migration projects with multiple workstreams and integrations.
• Experience with Midland HR’s iTrent (desirable).

Qualification Criteria

• Right to Work in the U.K.
• Change Management qualifications (desirable) or significant equivalent professional experience.
• Commitment to equality of opportunity and the safeguarding and welfare of all students.

Benefits

• Our hybrid working model aims to offer the best of both worlds, striking the right balance between in‑person collaboration and remote working. You will work a minimum of two days per week in our state‑of‑the‑art office in West London, with flexibility to work remotely or in the office on the remaining days.
• Employees can request to work fully remotely for up to 10 working days a year, whether this be in the UK or abroad.
• Our flexitime policy allows you to work your hours around our core hours of 10.00 – 16.00, helping you prioritise your work‑life balance and personal commitments.
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3 years of service. This entitlement is pro‑rata for part‑time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays.
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year.
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute unless you choose to. Depending on your role you may also be entitled to LGPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on your earnings in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot each year.
• Access to high‑quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face‑to‑face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform.
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest‑free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests.

About Us

Ark is an education charity that exists to make sure that all children, regardless of their background, have access to a great education and real choices in life. Our network of 39 schools reaches traditionally underserved communities in Birmingham, Hastings, London and Portsmouth. We educate 30,000 pupils and have nearly 3,000 teaching staff across our network. We also incubate and scale innovative ventures, which we roll out beyond our network of schools for the benefit of teachers, pupils and the education system as a whole. Current ventures include Ark Curriculum Plus, which equips teachers with the subject expertise needed to ensure students succeed, and Ark Start, a growing chain of nurseries offering affordable, high‑quality early years education.

Recently, Ark moved to new offices at EdCity – a unique not‑for‑profit development in West London, in partnership with Hammersmith & Fulham council. EdCity is designed to bring mission‑aligned organisations together to focus on improving the lives of children, especially through education. It offers leased offices, a range of venues for training and events, and an innovation hub for the education sector to connect, collaborate and learn together.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion

We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments, please click on this link.

Safeguarding statement

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non‑disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment – this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.

Please note we will be reviewing applications on an on‑going basis and this role may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response. We strongly encourage you to submit your application at your earliest convenience.

For any questions, please contact recruitment@arkonline.org.