Regional Head of HR

The Regional Head of HR Role serves as a strategic business partner to both the regional team and schools. They are responsible for ensuring the effective delivery of seamless HR guidance and support across their region in alignment with local cultural and legal contexts. Reporting to the Regional MD, and working with the Group Head of People Operations, DCOO, DCLO and RLD, the Regional Head of HR will develop and deliver a regional people plan that is fully aligned with ISP’s School of Choice, global people strategy and regional priorities, driving business goals and supporting school leadership teams. This role supports workforce planning, talent development, performance management and organisational design to ensure optimal staff engagement, operational excellence and a focus on continual improvement.

As the Regional Head of HR, you will partner with the Regional leadership team and Principals/Heads of School to ensure HR activities support the region’s growth and operational priorities. You will provide insights on performance, talent management, skills gaps and development needs and succession planning to inform the region’s workforce planning and organisational design. You will leverage Workday to track key HR metrics such as employee turnover, engagement, cost per hire, and training hours, transforming this data into actionable insights to guide HR strategy decisions across the region. You will provide expert guidance on complex employee relations matters such as grievances and disciplinary actions, act as a trusted commercial and strategic HR advisor, and coach and influence senior leaders using a data‑led, pragmatic, and solutions‑focused HR approach.

Key Responsibilities

• Partnership with Regional and School Leaders: Partner with the Regional leadership team and Principals / Heads of School to ensure HR activities support the region’s growth and operational priorities. Provide insights on performance, talent management, skills gaps and development needs and succession planning to inform the region’s workforce planning and organisational design. Leverage Workday to track key HR metrics such as employee turnover, engagement, cost per hire, and training hours, transforming this data into actionable insights to inform and guide HR strategy decisions across the region. Provide expert guidance on complex employee relations matters such as grievances, disciplinary actions. Act as a trusted commercial and strategic HR advisor, ensuring people decisions support both educational outcomes and financial sustainability. Coach and influence senior leaders using a data‑led, pragmatic, and solutions‑focused HR approach.
• Systems, Policies and Processes: Drive high proficiency across all system process and capability requirements, promote end‑users engagement with Workday and ensure that HR and line managers are capable across the whole employee lifecycle. Ensure all HR processes and activities comply with local employment laws and ISP Group policies and are reviewed and updated promptly to reflect changes in legislation and best practices across the region. Collaborate with the ISP Central team on compensation, benefits and HRIS processes. Lead continuous improvement of HR processes to enhance efficiency, consistency, compliance, and employee experience across the region. Lead regional HR projects and change initiatives, ensuring timely delivery and sustainable adoption.
• Safer Recruitment and Talent Acquisition: Ensure a comprehensive approach to safer recruitment across the region, fully aligned to ISP standards and underpinned by a commitment to upskilling own knowledge and sharing learning and initiatives with the region and schools. Uphold high recruitment standards that are rigorous, professional, and compliant with ISP guidelines and processes, thereby fostering a fair, transparent, and positive candidate experience at every stage of the hiring journey. Lead the regional implementation of ISP Group talent acquisition strategies and practices. Champion ethical, inclusive, and fair recruitment practices, embedding diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging throughout the hiring lifecycle. Use recruitment data and workforce insights to continuously improve attraction, selection, and retention outcomes.
• Performance Development and Growth: Drive best practice in performance management across the region, ensuring the performance review process is consistently implemented, with a focus on goal‑setting, continuous feedback, and employee development. Collaborate with global and regional HR and L&I to implement core learning and development programs, ensuring alignment with business needs and creating a strong pipeline for talent development at all levels.
• Recognition and Reward: Ensure that amazing learning and performance impact is recognised and celebrated across the region. Stay informed on market salaries and reward practices to support benchmarking efforts for existing and new roles and collaborate with finance and leadership teams to execute the annual salary review process.
• Talent Management And Development: Play a key role in the regional OMR talent review and succession planning process, working closely with senior leadership and Learning & Innovation colleagues to identify and develop top talent in line with ISP’s global approach, guiding, challenging and advising leaders as appropriate. Leverage data‑driven strategies and the Workday Talent Optimisation module to inform talent decisions, enabling internal mobility throughout the region and beyond and maintaining a regretted loss rate of under 5%. Drive the design and execution of tailored development initiatives, ensuring 100% of high‑performing and high‑potential employees have bespoke development plans documented in Workday, with ongoing line manager engagement and follow‑up.
• Employee Experience And Culture: Champion employee engagement by leading survey feedback discussions, facilitating collaborative action planning, and promoting the sharing and celebration of local initiatives across the wider region and division. Promote ISP's employer brand and purpose in the region, creating initiatives founded on feedback that improve the employee experience and drive physical and mental well‑being. Foster a culture of belonging by embedding ISP’s DEIB commitment across the school, ensuring all employees feel respected, valued, and included in the school community. Support new school onboarding, organisational change and transformation initiatives, ensuring alignment with business objectives whilst preserving strengthening ISP’s employee experience and culture throughout periods of growth and transition. Actively promote cultural awareness and intercultural effectiveness across diverse school communities.

Key Skills

• HR business partnering
• Commercial acumen
• People analytics
• Talent management
• Performance development
• Employee and labour relations
• Organisational design
• Change management
• Cultural awareness
• Diversity and Inclusion
• HR project management
• Coaching techniques
• Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS)
• Reward recognition
• Employee engagement

ISP Principles

• Begin with our children and students. Our children and students are at the heart of what we do. Simply, their success is our success.
• Wellbeing and safety are both essential for learners and learning. Therefore, we are consistent in identifying potential safeguarding and Health & Safety issues and acting and following up on all concerns appropriately.
• Treat everyone with care and respect. We look after one another, embrace similarities and differences and promote the well‑being of self and others.
• Operate effectively. We focus relentlessly on the things that are most important and will make the most difference. We apply school policies and procedures and embody the shared ideas of our community.
• Are financially responsible. We make financial choices carefully based on the needs of the children, students and our schools.
• Learn continuously. Getting better is what drives us. We positively engage with personal and professional development and school improvement.

ISP Commitment to Safeguarding Principles

ISP is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All post holders are subject to appropriate vetting procedures, including an online due diligence search, references and satisfactory Criminal Background Checks or equivalent covering the previous 10 years’ employment history.

ISP Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

ISP is committed to strengthening our inclusive culture by identifying, hiring, developing, and retaining high‑performing teammates regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender expression, age, disability status, neurodivergence, socio‑economic background or other demographic characteristics. Candidates who share our vision and principles and are interested in contributing to the success of ISP through this role are strongly encouraged to apply.