Senior People Manager

About Us

drb Ignite Multi Academy Trust is a vibrant and growing charitable organisation. As a unique family of fourteen primary schools, our vision and values are shared and constantly lived across all schools.

Established in October 2014, our Trust is an ambitious and forward looking organisation with a clear mission to drive educational excellence across its schools. As a modern civic institution, we are committed to improving education for the public good. Central to our ethos is the belief that strong, effective school leadership and collaborative working are fundamental to achieving and sustaining this mission for the benefit of all pupils.

Operating across Birmingham and Dudley, our specialist primary phase Trust consists of thirteen community schools and one Church of England school, providing education from nursery through to Year 6. The close geographic proximity of our schools enables seamless collaboration among staff, allowing for the sharing of expertise, resources, and best practice to deliver sustained school improvement. This collaborative approach is a defining feature of our organisational model and underpins the strength of our community.

As a well established Trust, we continue to look ahead with confidence, aspiring to further growth and impact across the West Midlands region.

About the role

The Senior People Manager is a hugely important role, central to the development and delivery of an effective people function across the Trust. As a key member of the central team, you will work closely with the Director of People, senior leaders and school based colleagues to provide expert advice, support and challenge, ensuring that our people practices are consistent, compliant and aligned with our strategic priorities.

This role offers an excellent opportunity to use your professional expertise to make a significant impact across a broad range of people activities. From leading on complex employee relations matters and supporting organisational change, to overseeing recruitment, payroll processes and workforce data, you will play a vital role in ensuring that our people systems and processes are effective, responsive and focused on supporting our schools.

You will also contribute to the development and delivery of the Trust's People Strategy, helping to embed our 'One Trust One Organisation' ethos and fostering a positive, inclusive and high performing culture across all schools. Through coaching and supporting leaders at all levels, you will help build capability and confidence in managing people effectively.

About you

Ideally you will be CIPD qualified to either Level 5 or Level 7 (or be willing to gain) and have significant experience advising on complex HR casework. You will have a demonstrable track record of working in an HR role of a similar level, directly and positively impacting on organisational effectiveness. You will have experience of managing and leading change programmes, restructures and TUPE processes and excellent working knowledge of employment law and its practical application. Although not essential, it would be beneficial if you have experience of working in the school, education or multi academy trust environment.

We are seeking dedicated HR professionals who have the passion, drive and commitment to progress their career to the next level, working closely with and deputising for the Director of People. If you are focused on achieving your career aspirations and if having a positive impact on the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in our community is important to you then we want to hear from you.

What can you expect from us

• Supportive and developmental culture
• High quality CPD opportunities and career development opportunities
• Collaborative networking
• Professional growth

How to apply

For an informal discussion about the role or to arrange a school visit, please contact Kirsty Woolls by email at or on . Please note that CVs are not accepted.

To see the application page, go to drbignitemat.org/jobs (via MyNewTerm).

Closing information

Closing date: 9am on Monday 1st June 2026.

Interviews: Wednesday 10th June 2026.

In line with Safer Recruitment Practice, a minimum of two references will be sought for shortlisted candidates prior to interview. One reference must be the candidate's current/most recent employer. The Trust is absolutely committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults through its safer recruitment processes. The Trust expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. An enhanced DBS check will be required for this post.

We encourage all applicants to review our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, which outlines our commitment to the safety and wellbeing of students.

As part of our due diligence an online search will be carried out for all shortlisted candidates.