Head of People and Talent

Welcome to Ada!
Our mission is to educate and empower the next generation of diverse digital talent. We are searching for a dynamic, new Head of People and Talent as the College enters an exciting new period of growth across our Greater London and Greater Manchester regions and beyond. Ada is a high-performing specialist technical College, the first brand new Further Education College in England since 1993. We use our deep relationships with our learners and industry partners to deliver a transformative education experience and train the next generation of diverse digital talent. We achieve top-tier achievement rates and outcomes for our learners with a particular focus on recruiting learners from less privileged circumstances, ethnically diverse backgrounds and young women, who are particularly underrepresented in the tech sector. 90% of our alumni are in employment or further education. For those in employment, 67% earn greater than the median graduate salary and 97% earn greater than the local living wage. Our wide range of diverse, talented staff members, from education, private sector and non-profit backgrounds, is one of the things that makes us unique and we’re passionate about building a supportive, values driven environment for both our students and staff, which is where you come in!

About You:
Are you an experienced People and Talent professional? Do you have experience in the education and skills or similar sectors? Can you tangibly articulate your experience of leading a small People and Talent focused team to achieve great things and dealing with a wide-range of People and Talent related projects and topics? If so we’d love to hear from you!

Title: Head of People and Talent

Nature of the Role: 0.8 FTE or Full time. Permanent (fixed term considered if preferable)Working Pattern: Minimum of 3 days per week on campus if full time (2 days a week if contracted to 0.8 FTE)  

Core Hours from 10am – 4pm

Annual Salary: £50,000 – £55,000 pro-rata

Pension: Workplace pension, employer contribution @ 10%

Holidays: 27 days per annum (with 3 additional days reserved for Christmas and New Year closure days)  [pro-rata for part time]

Location: London (Pimlico)

Application Process: Initial screening and then 2 x in-person interviews.

Closing Date: 31st October. However, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

What’s your mission?
In this role you will embody Ada’s culture, being responsible for the wellbeing of the staff and attracting new talent as well as providing effective leadership and line management of the People function. Reporting directly into the CEO, you will act as a trusted, strategic partner, ensuring alignment on both organisation and people capabilities, fostering a culture of high performance and growth. You will regularly attend Executive Leadership Team (ELT) meetings and engage with Board Members and have the opportunity to harness the experience and expertise of some of our private sector pro bono supporters to drive forward the vital People Management agenda at Ada, which is a core pillar of our ‘Evolving to Ada 2.0’ strategy and critical to scaling our impact.You will be responsible for leading the People and Talent team across our London and Manchester campuses, and ensuring relevant processes are followed as well as driving forward people management priorities and initiatives. This is a hands-on operational role that will also stretch your strategic thinking and planning skills. The role is expected to evolve in seniority as you build out the team underneath you in line with the College’s planned growth in learner volumes and staff headcount. The postholder will be expected to make regular visits to the college’s campus in Manchester/London.

Key responsibilities of this role include:

• Management –

• Partner the Executive Leadership Team to lead on the implementation of Ada’s people management strategy as part of our new organisational strategy.
• You will set clear priorities and focus areas for the People team, effectively managing performance, and supporting development.○ Provide effective day-to-day support for the Executive Leadership Team and line managers to ensure the College runs smoothly, is attracting ever an ever better quality of candidates for vacant roles and is HR compliant at all times.
• Design and implement initiatives that enhance employee satisfaction and retention, promoting a positive and inclusive culture for Ada.

• Building our Employer Brand – Working with internal and external stakeholders, work to ensure we significantly improve our ability to attract and retain the best talent in a competitive market.  Create a transparent and authentic brand externally to help Ada to welcome more amazing people.

• Employee Relations – Advise line managers and staff on best practices for managing employee relation cases and conflict resolution using external best practice and up to date legislation.
• Partner with the ELT on complex, high risk cases or disputes to deliver a pragmatic outcome that reduces risk to Ada.
• Stay up to date with relevant employment laws and regulations, and ensure compliance in all employee activities while upholding Ada’s organisational values.

• Policies & Procedures – Provide support and guidance to line managers and the Executive Leadership Team. Acting as a trusted advisor in all cases including performance management, conflict resolution and disciplinary cases ensuring Ada’s policies and procedures are adhered to at all times.
• Act as the leader on topics/requests related to policies, employment law and compliance.

• Ensure policies and procedures are reviewed regularly and are up to date.

• Systems & Processes – Provide support on change management programmes including restructures, ensuring change processes are implemented smoothly and risks are identified and mitigated in a timely manner.
• Drive adoption of the recently implemented HR platform (i.e. AccessHR). Ensure all staff adhere to the agreed processes including performance management. Plans are to effectively link performance management to reward and recognition.

• Proactively review existing processes and identify areas to introduce efficiencies.
• Diversity & Inclusion – Partner with the Executive Leadership Team, and lead on the implementation of the EDI action plan. In time, evolve this into a more formal strategy that ensures Ada remains an inclusive and welcoming employer across our campuses for all our staff and other stakeholders.

Key Skills and experience required

• A minimum of 4 years previous People/HR generalist and partnering experience preferably with some experience of working in schools, colleges, universities, training providers or education management organisations.
•  Level 7 CIPD qualified, or similar experience is essential Demonstrable experience of improving talent attraction, selection and development
•  Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of UK employment law and experience in handling complex ER cases, Employment Tribunals, ACAS Conciliations and Settlements. 
•  Demonstrable experience of working with leaders on complex people related issues.
•  High level of integrity, discretion and confidentiality
•  Evidence of delivering HR solutions, including strategic HR initiatives and change projects.
• Strong problem solving and decision making ability, with a proactive and solutions oriented mindset and approach.
• Excellent leadership skills with a track record of building and/or maintaining a high-performance culture and role modelling excellent behaviours.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills with the ability to build rapport and influence stakeholders at all levels of the organisation.
•  Highly collaborative with the ability to work effectively with colleagues across the function, showing a united front to stakeholders.
•  Ability to balance commercial outcomes with mitigation of business risks.
•  Willingness to travel to the different College sites on a monthly basis, often involving overnight stays
•  A personal commitment to safeguarding and learner/colleague wellbeing.
•  Willingness to undergo pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check.

Safeguarding

Ada, the National College for Digital Skill is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment.

Equal opportunities

Ada. National College for Digital Skills recognises that equality of opportunity and the recognition and promotion of diversity are integral to its strengths.

Applicants with disabilities

Ada is keen to increase the number of disabled people it employs. We, therefore, encourage applications from individuals with a disability who are able to carry out the duties of the post. If you have special needs in relation to your application please contact hr@ada.ac.uk.

Sponsorship
We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role so can only accept applications from candidates who have the legal right to work and remain in the United Kingdom.

If you have any queries in advance of applying then please email the HR Team: HR@ada.ac.uk.
Good Luck with your application!