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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Shape employee experience and culture while supporting talent acquisition in a dynamic environment.
- Company: Join Zen Educate, a tech company revolutionising education recruitment.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, share options, and opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborative team culture with endless career growth opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on people strategy in a rapidly scaling startup.
- Qualifications: Experience in HR roles with a focus on employee engagement and performance management.
The predicted salary is between 35000 - 45000 £ per year.
Location: London
Job Type: Full-time, on site
Salary: £35,000 - 45,000 + share options
About The Role
We are seeking a dynamic and commercially minded People & Talent Partner to join our growing People team. This is a high-impact, broad scope role with a strong focus on people partnering, culture building, and employee experience, alongside some talent acquisition responsibilities. You will act as a trusted advisor to leaders and teams, helping shape how we support, develop, and engage our people as we scale. This role offers significant scope to grow into broader international HR expertise across the US, Canada, and South Africa as we expand.
About Zen
Zen Educate is a technology company that matches schools with temporary educator staff. Our mission is to change the world of education recruitment. By leveraging the latest technology, we purpose built a platform that helps schools to pay less while educators earn more. We want students to have access to the best education possible, and we go the extra mile to find, onboard, match, and coach incredible educators that deeply care about their students. We wake up every day on a mission to care more.
This is your chance to make a difference and join a high growth tech startup on the ground floor. We are a collaborative company, and the career growth opportunities are endless if you are someone willing to dive in, be entrepreneurial, and do whatever is needed to get the job done. We are passionate about learning and development, and will invest in both your personal and professional growth.
What The People Team Achieved Last Year
- Made 195 new hires, and onboarded them
- Conducted and coordinated 1,518 interviews
- Revamped our handbooks, policies, and processes to ensure 100% company compliance
- Delivered countless training sessions across People Operations and Talent, upskilling leaders on how to interview, offer, reference, and manage their people
- Developed our People Drumbeat with a regular cadence of employee engagement surveys and performance reviews across all of our regions
- Managed countless daily moments across onboarding, offboarding, documentation, engagement, and general team support
Who You’ll Be Working With
You’ll report directly to Sandy Vo, People Lead at Zen. My background is in agency recruitment across all types of hiring: volume, permanent, contractors, as well as strategic exec level hiring. I now manage the Talent function at Zen as well as all of our HR and People Operations and I can’t wait to coach you in everything I know. We're a small, collaborative People team, UK & Canada based but globally minded and we’re ready to support you as you grow and own your work.
What You’ll Own
People Partnering & Employee Experience- Act as a trusted partner to managers and teams across the business on all people-related matters.
- Support and guide managers through performance management cycles, including goal setting, reviews, and performance improvement processes.
- Provide coaching and advice on team effectiveness, leadership capability, and employee development.
- Manage and evolve the company’s people drumbeat (e.g. performance review cycles, check ins, calibration processes).
- Lead on employee relations matters, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant outcomes.
- Own and drive our employee engagement surveys, including design, delivery, analysis, and action planning.
- Report engagement findings to leadership and ensure meaningful follow-through on actions.
- Lead initiatives to strengthen company culture, belonging, and connection across teams.
- Own and deliver internal social, cultural, and team engagement initiatives (e.g. events, rituals, recognition programmes).
- Continuously improve the overall employee experience across the lifecycle.
- Build and evolve our Learning & Development offering.
- Identify capability gaps and design learning interventions aligned to business needs.
- Source, design, or facilitate training programmes for managers and employees.
- Support leadership development and ongoing skills growth across Zen.
- Support hiring for key or strategic roles as needed.
- Partner with leaders to ensure strong hiring decisions and alignment on talent needs.
- Contribute to improving hiring quality, onboarding experience, and early employee success.
- Handle day-to-day People queries and employee relations cases with professionalism and care.
- Ensure HR policies and processes are applied consistently and fairly.
- Contribute to improving HR systems, processes, and documentation.
Why you’ll love this role
You will step into a broad, high-ownership role with real influence on culture and people strategy, where you’ll help shape the employee experience in a rapidly scaling organisation. You’ll be able to gain exposure to international HR practices and markets, while also having significant scope for career growth into senior People leadership roles.
What We're Looking For
Experience in a People Partner, HR Business Partner, or hybrid HR/Talent role where you've been responsible for a wide range of HR-related tasks including onboardings, exit interviews, benefits, grievances, flexible working requests etc. You have experience coordinating and running performance review cycles end-to-end, and are now looking to take a more influential role in how managers interpret, calibrate, and act on performance outcomes. You’re motivated by improving consistency in how performance is managed across teams, and by helping managers build confidence in giving feedback, driving development conversations, and improving overall employee engagement and growth. You've been involved in launching and running employee engagement surveys, and are now looking to go beyond delivery into real impact, turning feedback into meaningful change. You care about what the data is saying, and more importantly, how it translates into action that improves the employee experience. You’re excited by growth environments, comfortable being a key go-to person for managers and employees, and energised by helping build and shape people processes rather than just running them.
The interview process
- Initial Screen (30 mins): With me! I’ll be delving deeper into your experience and why you’re interested in this role.
- Meet the Team interview (1 hour): Opportunity to meet the People team. We work closely together and cover each other during busy periods. They’ll be asking you how you work - your approach, priorities, and ways you collaborate.
- Meet the People Managers (1 hour): You’ll meet two of our key people managers where they will interview you for skillset and stakeholder management.
If you feel that there aren't enough stages to give you insight into who we are, we’re also happy to organise any additional conversations you think may be beneficial. And if you’re curious about the role, but still have questions before you put in an application I’m happy for you to contact me directly.
£40,000 - £45,000 a year
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
People & Talent Partner employer: Zen Educate
Contact Detail:
Zen Educate Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land People & Talent Partner
✨Tip Number 1
Get to know the company culture before your interview. Check out their social media, read up on their mission, and understand what they value. This will help you tailor your answers and show that you're genuinely interested in being part of their team.
✨Tip Number 2
Practice your responses to common interview questions, but keep it natural. We want you to sound authentic, not like a robot. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers and highlight your achievements.
✨Tip Number 3
Don’t forget to prepare some thoughtful questions for your interviewers. This shows that you’re engaged and serious about the role. Ask about their team dynamics, growth opportunities, or how they measure success in the position.
✨Tip Number 4
Follow up after your interview with a thank-you email. It’s a simple gesture that can set you apart from other candidates. Mention something specific from your conversation to remind them of your fit for the role and your enthusiasm for joining their team.
We think you need these skills to ace People & Talent Partner
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the People & Talent Partner role. Highlight your relevant experience in people partnering, culture building, and employee engagement to show us you’re the perfect fit!
Show Your Passion: We love candidates who are genuinely excited about making a difference in education recruitment. Share your enthusiasm for improving employee experiences and how you can contribute to our mission at Zen!
Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, keep it straightforward and to the point. Use clear language to describe your achievements and how they relate to the responsibilities of the role. We appreciate clarity!
Apply Through Our Website: Don’t forget to submit your application through our website! It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity with Zen.
How to prepare for a job interview at Zen Educate
✨Know Your Stuff
Before the interview, dive deep into Zen Educate's mission and values. Understand how they leverage technology in education recruitment and be ready to discuss how your experience aligns with their goals. This shows genuine interest and helps you connect your background to their needs.
✨Showcase Your People Skills
As a People & Talent Partner, your ability to engage and support teams is crucial. Prepare examples of how you've successfully managed performance reviews or improved employee engagement in previous roles. Highlight your coaching style and how it has positively impacted team dynamics.
✨Ask Thoughtful Questions
During the Meet the Team interview, come armed with questions that reflect your understanding of the role and the company culture. Inquire about their current challenges in people management or how they measure the success of their employee engagement initiatives. This demonstrates your proactive mindset.
✨Be Yourself
Zen Educate values authenticity and collaboration. Don’t hesitate to share your personality during the interviews. Whether it's your passion for education or your approach to building relationships, let your enthusiasm shine through. They want to see the real you and how you'd fit into their vibrant culture.