Strategic School HR Manager: Growth & Culture in Nottingham

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We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for a committed and enthusiastic Human Resources Manager to join The Fernwood School. We are an outstanding 11-16 school (stand-alone academy - SAT) enjoying a long-standing excellent reputation for high standards of achievement and behaviour.

This is a key strategic role, leading and developing our HR function at a pivotal point in the school's growth. You will oversee all aspects of HR, including recruitment, employee relations, safeguarding-related HR processes, compliance, and staff wellbeing. As a member of the wider leadership team, you will play a central role in shaping a high-performing, supportive, and values-led staff culture.

The successful candidate will have a rare opportunity to shape HR in a high-performing stand-alone academy, direct impact on whole-school culture and staff wellbeing and an opportunity to build systems and processes during a growth phase of staffing.

Following a recent expansion from 1000 to 1500 pupils, with staffing growing to over 200 colleagues across teaching and support roles, we continue to strengthen our infrastructure to support both pupils and staff to succeed. We are an oversubscribed and popular 11-16 school within Nottingham City and had over 800 applications for our 300 places this year.

We are a proudly diverse school and have children with heritage from all corners of the world. We celebrate our different cultures through our curriculum and special events like 'Culture Day' and 'Diversity Week' and have our own EDI (Equity Diversity and Inclusion working party) made up of parents, staff and our EDI student ambassadors. We welcome applications from people who will embrace the diversity of our school community.

In our annual staff survey, the most common response to what staff value most about working at Fernwood was 'being part of a welcoming staff body who look out for and support each other'. The vast majority of staff would recommend working here to a friend, and all staff agreed that children are 'happy' and 'safe' at Fernwood. Our unique culture and ethos mean we have strong staff retention statistics and a stable team of staff. We are a popular employer to potential applicants and have a strong track record of attracting and retaining high-quality staff.

We value and prioritise our staff and have a comprehensive programme of support, both in terms of professional development and personal support. All staff have access to our comprehensive EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) which includes benefits like free physiotherapy appointments, telephone GP access, counselling and financial advice to name a few. We have several staff social groups including an LGBTQ+ group, a theatre group, and staff yoga. We also have several staff social events each year. We are part of the 'cycle to work' scheme and provide staff with free flu jabs and eye tests and a voucher for purchasing glasses for staff using display screens.

We are an open school and are always keen to work with other organisations and networks as we believe in community and sharing support and expertise. We are currently supporting another local secondary school through the RISE (DfE) programme and have strong working relationships with both of our local universities too. We are an ambitious school and are continually developing and improving our provision and approaches to ensure we can provide our children with the best education possible.

By joining our School, we can offer you:

• Professional Development & Excellence
• An ethos of 'High Achievement with Care and Discipline for All'
• Excellent CPD Opportunities
• An 'Outstanding' Ofsted Judgement
• A strong Progress 8 score

Wellbeing & Support

• Mental health and wellbeing services such as access to a 24/7 confidential employee assistance programme
• Healthcare schemes such as Specsavers Eyecare vouchers for DSE users
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Financial Benefits
• Incremental Pay Progression
• Generous Occupational Pension Scheme
• Blue Light Card

If this role aligns with your values, beliefs and professional ambition, we would warmly welcome your application. We strongly encourage prospective applicants to get in touch for an informal conversation about the role or to arrange a visit to the school. This is an excellent way to gain a deeper understanding of our ethos, meet colleagues and see first-hand what makes Fernwood such a rewarding place to work.

The Fernwood School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. Therefore, this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.

An online search will be undertaken on all shortlisted candidates. This search does not form part of the shortlisting process, and you will have the opportunity to discuss any issues of concern that may arise from this search at the interview.

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Equality Statement

Fernwood School is a richly diverse and inclusive community where equality, respect and belonging are at the heart of our values. We are committed to creating a workforce that reflects the diversity of our students and wider community, and we welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, identities and experiences. We value the different perspectives, skills and qualities that staff bring to our school and are committed to providing an inclusive working environment where everyone is supported to thrive and succeed.