Description
MidKent College is seeking a dynamic and experienced Deputy Director of People to join our team and play a key role in shaping the future of our people strategy. Reporting to the Director of People, you will lead on a wide range of HR, L&D, recruitment, and systems initiatives, ensuring that our practices support both organisational goals and the wellbeing of our staff.
We are looking for a CIPD Level 7 qualified professional (MCIPD desirable) with significant experience operating at a senior level in a medium or large organisation. A background in the Further Education sector would be beneficial but is not essential.
This is a broad generalist leadership role requiring proven expertise across:
* Employee relations, including unions and collective consultation
* TUPE and change management
* Recruitment and talent development
* Learning and organisational development
* HR systems, policies, and compliance
You will be a strong communicator, strategic thinker, and collaborative leader who thrives on building positive relationships and driving continuous improvement.
At MidKent College, we are committed to supporting and developing our staff, ensuring our people are empowered to deliver an excellent experience for our students.
Why join us?
* Be part of a forward-thinking leadership team shaping the college’s people agenda
* Opportunity to make a real impact in a large, diverse organisation
* Competitive salary and benefits package
* A supportive, inclusive and ambitious environment
If you are an experienced HR leader ready to take the next step in your career, we would love to hear from you.
Main Responsibilities and Duties:
The following is an indication of the type and level of the main priorities expected of this role as directed by your line manager and is not intended to be a comprehensive list of duties or tasks:
Note: The below duties relate to both the College and any subsidiary companies.
1. Work in partnership with senior managers to deliver organisational and departmental business strategy and objectives by providing an HR consultancy and advisory service on issues affecting staff and the terms of their employment with the Group, supporting business planning processes, analysing management information to ensure an effective HR service for departments throughout the Group. This will include ensuring that managers are dealing effectively with employee relations issues by developing business focused plans and engaging and involving HR colleagues to deliver operational support for the delivery of a high-quality proactive HR service.
2. Provide expert advice, guidance and interpretation of employment law and conditions of service for all managers and staff promoting the consistent application of local HR policies and practices across the Group, leading on MKC Training by working closely with HR colleagues to support the delivery of the HR shared service in line with best practice and high quality standards. This will include undertaking HR projects and assignments as required.
3. Manage the local provision of an effective and efficient attendance management system for the Group, leading on MKC Training holding case conferences, liaising with relevant Occupational Health support and other stakeholders to achieve the swift resolution of individual cases, minimising staff absence and promoting organisational performance by driving up attendance rates with suitable interventions for persistent absentees.
4. Support the co-ordination of recruitment activity, working with managers to improve the quality of applicants and appointments and to market the Group as a great place to work Leading and overseeing recruitment and selection processes, advising managers on appropriate procedures and practice to ensure consistent methods and standards are applied throughout the organisation and staffing needs are met in a timely and efficient manner.
5. Support in identifying appropriate measures and support aimed at improving capability by supporting the development of performance, productivity and engagement measurements across the Group. This includes working with managers to monitor and review individual, team and departmental progress in respect of both performance and productivity, to ensure that all such plans achieve the relevant targets to improve and maintain the provision of high quality teaching for students and trainees. This will include applying performance management and capability processes as appropriate.
6. Promote and support change management processes for the Group, consulting with trade unions, attending meetings with managers and staff to address individual development and contractual issues, engaging and involving HR colleagues to support the delivery of change programmes, managing redeployment issues as necessary in accordance with policies and practices to facilitate the effective and timely management of change.
7. Support the revision and develop HR Policies, with a lead on MKC guidance, procedures, processes, and practices taking account of changes to legislation, ensuring the Group are legally compliant and provide good employment practices and procedures at all times to support managers and staff in delivering a first class education for students. This will include assisting with the development of the HR database and on line HR services as and when required.
8. Support job analysis and design of new and revised roles, skills audits and standards to support reward and recognition, staff development processes and succession planning initiatives to ensure the staffing needs of the Group are anticipated and planned for appropriately.
9. Develop and oversee the implementation of plans within directorates to improve the people management skills of managers at MKC, designing and delivering staff development programmes, including sickness absence, grievance, disciplinary and recruitment and selection programmes to ensure that managers are equipped with the necessary skills required to manage staff. This will include supporting the Learning & Development function as and when required.
10. Line manage People Officer, Associate Business Partner, Recruitment & Onboarding Manager and Senior Business Partner undertaking recruitment, selection and absence management, taking responsibility for allocation of duties, training, managing and monitoring individual and team workloads, discipline, development, time keeping, approval of annual leave etc., and the cost effective use of overtime and time off in lieu for staff, ensuring full compliance with relevant college policies and procedures at all times.
11. Support the Director of People by undertaking the lead in projects as required.
12. Deputise for the Director of People as required.
Application Requirements
To ensure compliance with safeguarding guidelines, all applicants must complete the application form in full. This includes providing:
* A full employment history from the time you left full-time education, with details of any gaps in employment explained.
* Information on all relevant education and qualifications.
Please note, incomplete applications will not be considered. Your co-operation helps us maintain the highest standards of safety and care for children and young people.
Benefits
Click here to view MidKent College benefits.
A GOOD local College for Maidstone and Medway
Every year over 6000 students from Medway, Maidstone and beyond choose MidKent College to continue their studies and prepare for their future career.
Our sparkling campuses in Maidstone and Medway boast some of the best vocational training facilities in the country as well as staff and student social zones and more. Our University Centre Maidstone campus provides a valuable higher education and professional training centre for Maidstone, including South East Institute of Technology and the College's Home Energy Centre. Additionally, in September 2024 we proudly opened Medway School of Arts in Chatham's Historic Dockyard.
All of our campuses benefit from ongoing investment programmes so that we can provide fantastic learning environments for our students.
For over 100 years we've been providing high-quality technical training and apprenticeships in a range of subject areas.
In October 2024 Ofsted rated the College as 'Good'.
Commitment to Safeguarding
We are committed to the safeguarding of all our students and staff. This means everyone who works here is required to actively protect them from preventable harm. Our recruitment and selection process includes background checks which will be undertaken on the successful applicant, including an enhanced DBS, and in your application you are required to demonstrate how you meet the Colleges requirements on safeguarding.
The background checks will be carried-out in accordance with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Code of Practice. The DBS helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. We operate in accordance with the DBS Code of Conduct and Privacy Policy. You can access both of these documents at https://www.midkent.ac.uk/about-us/policy-and-privacy-information
MidKent College is committed to safeguarding and the Prevent Agenda and to promoting the welfare of children and we expect all staff to share this commitment. MKC complies fully with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Code of Practice regarding the correct handling, storage, retention and disposal of Disclosures and Disclosure information, and undertakes not to discriminate unfairly against any subject of a disclosure on the basis of a conviction or other information revealed.
Since the post for which you are applying may involve unsupervised access to children and vulnerable adults, it will be exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. It is an offence to apply for this role if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children or young people. Candidates who are preliminarily offered a position for such posts will be required to disclose details, cautions (including final warnings or reprimands), or convictions which are not "protected" as defined by the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020 or any other matters that may be relevant to their suitability to work for the College including sanctions relating to work with children in any country outside of the UK.
Please note that the College is unable to consider an application further if the candidate declines to complete the Disclosure form.
Commitment to Equal Opportunities
As a proud user of the disability confident scheme the College is committed to equal opportunities and celebrates the diversity of staff and students. As part of our commitment to the scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a vacancy.
We welcome applications from anyone wishing to work flexibly and those considering a return to work from a career break.
Important Notice for Applicants: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Requirement
To ensure the security of our college systems and protect personal / sensitive information, all staff are now required to use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) should your application be successful. This mandated security measure helps reduce the risk of unauthorised access aligned to our cyber security requirements.
Should your application be successful, MFA can be enabled using the Microsoft Authenticator app on your personal or college mobile device. Alternatively, you may request a YubiKey, a physical security key that plugs into your allocated laptop or desktop.