HR Manager; Cluster

""HR Manager (Cluster) – Sheffield, Nottingham, Norwich & Northampton

GDST (The Girls' Day School Trust) is seeking an experienced, resilient HR professional to lead high‑quality HR delivery across a group of schools within our Sheffield, Nottingham, Norwich and Northampton cluster. This pivotal role thrives in a busy, multi‑site environment, providing senior‑level HR advice and overseeing operational processes.

Contract
:
Permanent

Hours
:
Full time

Salary range:
Negotiated based on skills and experience.

What you’ll be doing:

• Provide expert HR advice and oversight across all schools in the cluster, ensuring alignment with GDST policies, legal requirements and safer recruitment expectations.
• Lead, guide and develop HR Officers, overseeing accuracy of HR processes such as payroll, SCR compliance and onboarding.
• Support managers across the schools in applying HR policies and building effective people practices.
• Collaborate with People & Culture Business Partners on complex casework, organisational change (including restructures and TUPE) and consistency across the Trust.
• Analyse HR data via dashboards to identify patterns and emerging issues, enabling timely action on absence, performance, ER trends and compliance.
• Serve as a central figure in the smooth running of HR operations across the cluster, delivering at pace while maintaining professionalism.

• Strong generalist HR experience with significant employee relations expertise and senior‑level advice.
• Demonstrable line‑management experience and the ability to develop others.
• Confidence handling sensitive and complex cases with tact, diplomacy and sound judgement.
• Strong understanding of safer recruitment and SCR compliance (education experience helpful but not essential).
• Ability to analyse HR data and produce insightful reports and recommendations.
• Excellent written communication, organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to build positive working relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Confidence working autonomously, prioritising effectively and maintaining accuracy in a busy variety of tasks.
• High levels of integrity, confidentiality and professionalism.

The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) is the UK's leading group of 24 independent girls' schools and two academies across England and Wales. We educate around 19,000 students and employ 4,000 staff, united in the purpose of helping girls learn without limits.

Our core values:

• We put girls first.
• We think and act fearlessly.
• We embrace a forward‑thinking mindset that shapes the educational offer for girls.
• We are a family of schools.
• We provide careers that are fulfilling and purposeful for our staff.

Benefits include competitive salaries, extensive professional development opportunities, training grants, a discount on charges for children at GDST schools, free life assurance, interest‑free loans for training and travel, a Cycle to Work scheme, and competitive terms and conditions of employment.

For further details and to apply, please click the apply button.

The closing date for applications is 5th January 2026 at 10:00 AM.

GDST is dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All applicants will undergo appropriate child protection screening, including checks with past employers and an enhanced DBS disclosure.

Mid‑Senior level

Full‑time

Human Resources

Education and Primary and Secondary Education