We are seeking an experienced and proactive interim HR People Partner to join our central team for a fixed term contract of 12 months. You will be supporting leaders across a network of schools and a busy central Office. This role is ideal for a confident HR generalist who thrives in a varied, multi‑site environment and who enjoys building strong relationships with senior leaders.
You will provide high‑quality, customer‑focused HR support, offering both operational and strategic guidance on a wide range of people matters. This includes advising on complex employee relations cases, coaching leaders to strengthen their people management capability, and supporting organisational change such as restructures and TUPE processes. You will work closely with HR colleagues across different functions to ensure consistency, share learning and promote best practice.
A key part of the role is building trusted relationships with Heads and Sen ior Leadership Teams. You'll act as a critical friend—balancing pragmatism with strong employment law expertise—to enable leaders to make confident, well‑informed decisions. You will also contribute to wider people initiatives, including engagement activities, data reporting, policy development and continuous improvement projects.
To succeed, you will need a strong generalist background, ideally gained in a multi‑site or complex organisation, with experience of managing difficult ER cases, operating in a unionised environment and partnering senior stakeholders. You'll be comfortable switching between operational detail and strategic thinking, with strong influencing skills and the confidence to work independently. Part‑CIPD qualification (or comparable experience) is essential, and full CIPD qualification is an advantage. Experience in the education sector, and skills in training design, diversity and inclusion, wellbeing or HR data a nalysis, would also be beneficial.
You will bring a collaborative approach, excellent communication skills, good attention to detail, sound judgement and the ability to remain calm and diplomatic under pressure. Flexibility, initiative and a focus on learning and improvement are key.
This role is based in London Victoria - hybrid of 2 days in the office .
