HR Manager (FTC – Maternity Cover)
Location: West London (Ealing) (Onsite)
Contract: Fixed-Term Contract – Maternity Cover
Sector: Education / Higher Education / International Education
Drive People Strategy. Enable Growth. Shape Culture.
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced HR Manager to join a fast-growing international education organisation during a period of continued expansion.
This is a broad and hands-on role offering exposure across the full employee lifecycle, partnering closely with senior leaders and supporting a diverse workforce across multiple UK entities and international locations.
If you're a commercially minded HR professional who enjoys balancing operational delivery with strategic business partnering, this could be the perfect next step.
The Opportunity
Reporting to the Global Head of HR, you will play a key role in delivering people initiatives that support organisational growth, employee engagement, compliance, and performance.
Working across multiple brands and business units, you'll provide expert HR guidance to leaders while ensuring HR processes, policies, and practices remain effective, compliant, and employee-focused.
Key Responsibilities
HR Business Partnering
- Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and managers across the business.
- Provide pragmatic HR guidance on people-related matters and organisational challenges.
- Support leadership teams in driving performance, engagement, and organisational effectiveness.
- Partner with stakeholders to deliver strategic people initiatives aligned to business goals.
Employee Relations
- Lead and manage a broad range of employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, absence management, and performance issues.
- Provide expert advice on employment legislation and best practice.
- Support managers in resolving complex employee matters fairly and effectively.
- Ensure consistency and compliance across all employee relations activities.
Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning
- Oversee end-to-end recruitment activities across multiple brands and locations.
- Partner with hiring managers to attract and retain high-quality talent.
- Ensure recruitment processes comply with safeguarding and regulatory requirements.
- Support workforce planning and organisational growth initiatives.
Performance, Reward & Development
- Support performance management processes and talent development initiatives.
- Contribute to compensation and reward programmes.
- Assist with organisational design and change management projects.
- Promote learning, development, and career progression opportunities.
Culture, Engagement & Wellbeing
- Champion employee engagement, wellbeing, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
- Support the development of a positive and collaborative workplace culture.
- Drive initiatives that enhance employee experience and retention.
HR Operations & Compliance
- Ensure HR policies and procedures remain compliant with UK employment legislation.
- Support HR governance and risk management activities.
- Produce HR metrics, reports, and people insights to support decision-making.
- Maintain accurate employee records and HR documentation.
About You
You are a confident and proactive HR professional who thrives in fast-paced environments and enjoys building strong relationships across all levels of an organisation.
You'll bring:
- Proven experience in a generalist HR Manager or Senior HR Advisor role.
- Strong knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
- Significant experience managing complex employee relations cases.
- Experience partnering with senior stakeholders and influencing decision-making.
- Strong organisational and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to balance operational delivery with strategic thinking.
- Excellent communication and relationship-building abilities.
- Experience working within multi-site, multi-brand, or international organisations is advantageous.
- CIPD Level 5 or above (or equivalent qualification).
Desirable Experience
- Experience supporting international or multi-country workforces.
- Exposure to organisational change and transformation projects.
- Previous experience within education, professional services, or fast-growth environments.
- Experience using HR systems and people analytics tools.
What's on Offer
- Opportunity to join a growing international organisation with ambitious expansion plans.
- Broad and varied HR remit with exposure to senior leadership.
- Collaborative and supportive working environment.
- Opportunity to make a meaningful impact on people strategy and culture.
- Professional development and career growth opportunities.
- Competitive salary and benefits package.
If you're an experienced HR professional looking for a varied and impactful maternity cover opportunity, we'd love to hear from you.
