HR Officer

Hours: 37 hours per week, 52 weeks per year.

Location: Portsmouth / Hybrid with occasional travel to other academies across the Trust as required.

Salary: The salary range for this role is £31,067 - £35,235 (Band 7, Point 13-17)

Reporting to: HR Operations Manager

Role Purpose

The HR Officer will play a key role in the Central HR team, providing high-quality, effective HR support to employees and leaders across King’s Group Academies. The role will focus on supporting the Trust’s development of HR practices and managing HR transactions, covering the full employee lifecycle, ensuring that the Trust remains compliant with employment law and best practices. The HR Officer will also assist with the implementation of trust-wide HR initiatives and provide guidance and advice on HR matters, escalating queries to the HR Operations Manager and People Partners as appropriate.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide a professional, centralised HR service to schools within the Trust, covering all aspects of HR administration including recruitment, onboarding, inductions, contracts, and employee lifecycle management.
• Ensure accurate and timely processing of HR transactions such as absence management, payroll, and employee benefits.
• Maintain a trust-wide email distribution group for trust-wide communications.
• Monitoring the trust-wide recognition scheme, producing and distributing certificates to nominee’s, arranging a quarterly draw, and liaising with the Headteachers.
• Support the HR Operations Manager with the development, implementation, and review of HR policies and procedures, ensuring alignment with current employment law and best practice.
• Advise leaders and employees on HR policies, employment terms and conditions, and basic employment law.
• Setting up, compiling agendas and note taking at meetings e.g union and management meetings.
• Working with the HR Operations Manager on ensuring that the Trust’s record of visa sponsorship is maintained and reviewed regularly for required updates, and providing advice to academies on the process of sponsorship as required.
• Keep a record of the HR budget and associated spending, reporting the Director of People regularly.
• Act as the project lead for trust-wide HR initiatives as directed by the HR Operations Manager, driving development and embedding of HR processes and initiatives such as performance management, training and development, and employee wellbeing.
• Collaborate with various stakeholders across the Trust to ensure the successful delivery and integration of HR initiatives.
• Maintain accurate employee records and ensure the HRIS is updated in a timely manner.
• Ensure accurate tracking of HR metrics, providing reports to the Senior Leadership as required.
• Assist with the identification of training needs and support the delivery of training to employees and leaders across the Trust.
• Support with inductions and CPD opportunities.
• Support the People Partners with employee relations matters as required, including disciplinary, grievance, and absence management processes.
• Actively contribute to the continual improvement of HR processes to ensure an efficient, effective, and compliant HR service.
• Maintain knowledge of current HR trends and best practices, applying this knowledge to enhance the HR offering within the Trust.

Our ideal candidate

The HR Officer role requires a professional with substantial experience in a generalist HR position, preferably within an education or Multi-Academy Trust setting, and a strong understanding of HR processes and best practice. You will have:

• Significant experience in a generalist HR role.
• Understanding of employment law and HR best practices.
• Experience in using a HRIS.
• Good understanding of basic payroll.
• Strong organisational skills with proven ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships with people at all levels.
• Ability to deal with sensitive issues with confidentiality and professionalism.
• Attention to detail and a high level of accuracy in data management.
• Proficiency in Google suite for documents, workflows, reporting and meetings.

Additionally, the ideal candidate for this role will demonstrate a proactive and solution-oriented approach to HR challenges, with the ability to adapt to dynamic environments. Strong interpersonal skills, empathy, and the ability to build positive relationships across all levels of the Trust are essential. The candidate should be an excellent team player, highly organised, and capable of managing multiple priorities while maintaining attention to detail and professionalism. Integrity, confidentiality, and a commitment to continuous improvement in HR practices will be key for success in this role.