HEAD OF HR

Erskine Stewart Melville is currently recruiting for a Head of HR to join the School on a permanent basis. The role is full time, working 38.75 hours with a salary of £72,870. The role is based at our Ravelston Dykes site.

About ESMS: Welcome to the Erskine Stewart Melville, a vibrant family of independent schools, set in beautiful grounds in the heart of Edinburgh. We offer a co‑educational nursery and junior school, single‑sex but closely twinned secondary education, and a co‑educational sixth form. We are a consistently award‑winning School, with an educational legacy that stretches back more than 300 years. Our Schools have always been pioneers of rounded education. Children’s education is underpinned by our values: kindness, confidence, resilience, integrity and curiosity. From virtual reality headsets in the classroom to developing one of the first outdoor learning programmes in Scotland, we are always searching for new ways to develop the whole child. The people that work for us are passionate, pioneering and strive for excellence in everything they do. We value the incredible contributions they make to school life, we invest in their careers and we support their ambitions so that they flourish professionally and personally.

Duties:

• Responsibility for the HR function, including developing and implementing a vision to transform HR to become a strategic, solutions‑focused, high‑performing, and collaborative partner that directly supports the delivery of the organisation’s strategic aims and promotes ESMS as an employer of choice.
• Formulating and executing HR strategies aligned with organisational objectives, providing strategic leadership and operational management to the HR team promoting best practice and building a quality advisory function that adds value across the whole organisation.
• Acting as a strategic partner on all people‑related matters, including succession planning, leadership development, and organisational design.

The successful candidate must have significant experience in a senior HR leadership role, proven ability to manage, develop and lead teams effectively, and previous experience in trade union consultation and negotiation. Experience in the education sector and independent schools is desirable.

Eligibility: ESMS is unable to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. International applicants will therefore be unable to apply for and secure a Skilled Worker visa. The successful candidate will only be able to take up this role if they can demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK.

Benefits:

• Fee remission from Nursery to S6
• Free school lunches
• Free Sports’ Club membership, including access to pool and fitness suites
• 30 days annual holiday leave plus 10 days statutory holiday at Christmas and Easter, when the Schools are closed
• Paid moving house day
• Employer pension contributions of up to 8%
• Death in service benefit
• Family friendly policies, including enhanced maternity leave
• Membership of the ESMS Discount and Benefits Scheme, including a range of discounts at 130,000 retail and entertainment locations
• Employee Assistance Service
• Cycle to work scheme
• Car leasing salary sacrifice scheme
• Annual professional review process
• Regular salary reviews
• Funding towards professional qualifications

Values: We are looking for individuals who can embody and promote ESMS values of Kindness, Confidence, Resilience, Integrity, and Curiosity while role‑modeling behaviours in line with our school pillars of Ambition, Innovation, and Community. ESMS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Applicants must undergo child protection screening, including checks with past employers and Disclosure Scotland. All staff working at ESMS have direct access to young people; therefore all posts within the school are considered exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Any enquiries about this position should be directed to recruitment@esms.org.uk.