HR Manager

• The School  
• Established in 1991, Newton Prep
• is a thriving school for children, aged 3-13. The School is unashamedly
• ambitious for its pupils who have access to outstanding facilities. We want

them to achieve their academic potential whilst also engaging in sport, art,

• music and drama. In the School, there are currently 530 pupils from Nursery to
• Year 8. 
• We want the children to involve
• themselves in the total life of the School, which includes after school clubs

and activities and a wide range of trips. We celebrate the diversity of our pupils;

• we want our children to develop a strong sense of community, learning how to
• make a positive contribution to the community of Newton Prep and the world
• around them. The ethos and philosophy is one that is based on mutual respect
• and kindness shown to others. 
• Our Vision is to provide the
• children in our care with a first-rate education in the knowledge that time is
• precious and irreversible. The education we provide has a strong academic base
• and an imaginatively broad curriculum giving a rich learning experience for all
• children including provision for children with a range of abilities, including
• those with high aptitudes in specific subjects. Moreover, the Newton education
• has a lasting impact as children progress through their school years and
• throughout their lives, developing both intelligence and character. Our
• atmosphere is full of happiness and enthusiasm with a sense of purpose and
• achievement as both pupils and staff aim high. Good governance bolsters these
• aspirations. We focus on developing ambition in the children so that they move
• on to the most appropriate senior school. Newton Prep is a model for best
• practice in all aspects of prep education. 
• The School places a strong
• emphasis on the education of the whole person. We attach great importance to
• the teaching of Art, Drama, Music and Sport as well as the more academic
• subjects. Our curriculum and extensive co-curricular programme, together with
• the House system, reflect the School’s commitment to providing both high
• quality learning opportunities and strong pastoral support so that our pupils
• have the best opportunities to achieve their full potential and are successful

in all areas of school life.

• Fundamentally, we want Newton Prep
• children to enjoy their precious childhood years. 
• Location  
• Newton Prep is positioned in the
• heart of central London’s newest vibrant and dynamic development. The area
• stretching from Nine Elms to Battersea is home to a bustling new ‘town’. The
• iconic Battersea Power Station, now rebuilt, has transformed this part of the
• capital. With the opening of the Northern Line tube extension, the school
• enjoys exceptional connectivity, we are within fiveminutes’ reach of three
• different stations, served by four bus routes and even accessible by river! 
• Summary of the Role  
• We are looking to recruit an
• enthusiastic and proactive HR Manager to work at Newton Prep. Our staff are our
• greatest resource, and our HR Manager will hold a key role. Our atmosphere is
• full of happiness and enthusiasm with a sense of purpose and achievement as
• both pupils and staff aim high. We are seeking someone who mirrors this
• approach and is a model for best practice, as we look forward to a new chapter
• in the School’s life. The theme is continuity and development – to build on the
• School’s culture and many achievements to date, not least of all its most recent
• ISI report issued following inspection in January 2025. Applications are

invited from candidates who are CIPD qualified (Level 5 or 7 or equivalent),

• with excellent communication and organisational skills. You will need a proven
• track record in your previous roles and will need to show dedication and
• commitment to develop in this role. 
• This is an excellent opportunity
• for someone to broaden their experience in human resources, manage an HR
• Assistant and work alongside other teams including the Governing Body, the
• Head, the Bursar, the Finance Team, the Communications Team as well as other
• leaders and staff within the School. The successful candidate will benefit from
• excellent facilities and resources combined with a competitive salary. The
• successful candidate will be subject to child protection screening, including a
• DBS check and barred list check. 
• Main Duties &

Responsibilities

• The main duties of the HR
• Manager include:  
• Employee relations:  
• Lead on all Employee Relations

cases working closely with the Head, Bursar, Deputy Heads and line managers;

including but not limited to investigations, disciplinary, grievances,

capability, redundancies, restructures and dismissals.

• Follow up on sickness absence
• triggers, including referrals to occupational health when required, advising
• and working closely with line managers and occupational health where
• applicable. Ensure compliance with UK Employment law and best practice in Human
• Resources
• Manage and advise employees and
• managers on leave of absence, family leave and other leave requests in line
• with School policies and procedures

Employment law,

• regulatory compliance, contracts and policy:  
• Ensure the School’s compliance
• with all aspects of employment law applicable to Schools incorporated as a

limited company, The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014,

• the school’s status as a UKVI sponsor in relation to employees, other
• regulations, DfE requirements, insurance requirements and best
• practice
• Manage the school’s Single
• Central Register, including conducting at least termly audits with the Bursar
• to ensure that it is up to date and accurate so that we are ever ready for any
• inspection
• Comply with all aspects of safer
• recruitment and Keeping Children Safe in Education
• Organise safer recruitment
• training for the School on a cyclical basis
• Lead annual reviews and updates
• of the School’s suite of employment contracts and HR policies Keep up to date
• with future employment regulation and law applicable to the School, and prepare
• for changes in ways that mitigate risk
• Update policies and procedures in
• line with employment law changes, submitting proposed changes to the Governing
• Body via the Bursar Liaise with the School’s legal advisors on staff related issues
• together with the Governing Body 
• Manage the employee
• lifecycle from attraction to exit:  
• Manage recruitment, including the
• production of adverts, job descriptions, person specifications, shortlisting
• processes, interview schedules and safer recruitment processes
• Keep up to date with labour
• market trends and how this affects the School’s ability to recruit, including
• the use of AI (for example, in assisting drafting)
• Utilise recruitment campaigns and
• sourcing channels as required for roles advertised and work with the
• Communications Team to make these go live
• Design fair and inclusive
• assessment approaches which identify the right candidates for the
• roles
• Use campaign, recruitment and
• onboarding data and feedback to drive better people experiences and more
• effective recruitment approaches
• Manage onboarding and offboarding
• processes, reviewing and re-designing the processes where necessary and
• updating the School’s induction policy accordingly
• Ensure that all staff receive
• appropriate advice and support on conditions of service, policies and
• procedures, ensuring they are effectively and consistently inducted and
• communicated with throughout their service at the School and kept abreast of
• changes to school policies
• Facilitate exit interviews with
• all departing staff members, analyse staff turnover and exit interview data to
• report on potential issues and trends to the Head, Bursar and Governing
• Body

Workforce planning,

• absence management and cover:  
• Assist with workforce planning
• across the School by assessing immediate and future capability needs and assist
• design career pathways to achieve future capability
• Report on and manage staff
• attendance, monitor all absences and analyse absence trends
• Arrange cover where
• necessary
• Conduct return to work
• interviews
• Maintain relationships with
• agencies and third parties used by the School to arrange cover
• Manage requests for flexible ways
• of working whilst balancing the School’s needs and parental
• expectations 
• Performance management:  
• Assist the Head and the Bursar
• with appraisal processes, and manage all records in relation to the
• same
• Analyse performance management
• data to suggest improvements
• Enable managers and leaders to
• support others to be their best at work
• Coach, advise and build people
• management capability at various levels across the School
• Assist in creating professional
• learning culture and environment that supports continuing professional
• development across the School and promotes career progression in line with the
• School’s future capability needs 
• Maintain HR records &
• Manage HR Projects:  

Together with the HR Assistant,

• ensure that all personnel records are maintained in accordance with best
• practice and are able to meet the information needs, data protection and
• insurance requirements of the School. This includes all standard employment
• records, annual self-declarations, appraisal and training records
• Keep job descriptions up to date
• across the School
• Continuously review, improve and
• streamline HR processes
• Manage and undertake HR Projects
• such as DBS renewals and registration to the Update Service, Digitisation of HR
• records, HRIS implementation 
• Budgets and reward
• packages:  
• Manage the HR budget and ensure
• the most effective use of spend
• Work with the Finance Office to
• manage changes in payroll and reward packages, pensions
• Conduct and report on resource
• audits as required by the Head, the Bursar and the Governing Body
• Use evidence-based practice to
• assist the Fees and Salaries Review Committee to conduct annual salary and
• benefits reviews
• Translate HR issues into
• answerable questions, with recommended solutions
• Use benchmarking data to provide
• insight about the external reward environment
• Use relevant research to assist
• the committee to make informed decisions
• Collectively develop and improve
• the quality of ideas and proposals that create a total reward offering which is
• risk assured
• Update the committee on reward
• and recognition approaches which attract, motivate and retain staff, and
• support the School’s value proposition 
• People practice:  
• Assist with maintaining the
• culture and conditions in which the School’s staff can thrive and perform Use a
• range of people practices in an integrated and systemic way for the School and
• its culture
• Define outcomes for people
• practices and measure their impact and value
• Further integrate wellbeing into
• the School’s people practices to enable a perpetually resilient workforce that
• operates in a healthy environment with a shared responsibility
• Assist with equality, diversity
• and inclusion approaches that positively impact the School’s culture and
• performance
• Make use of the different
• technologies available across the School and more widely available to support
• the delivery and improvement of people practices
• Culture and behaviour:  
• Understand the School’s Mission
• Statement and Key Aims, how this is brought to life in the everyday life of the
• School and how your team impacts this Model best practice and collaborative
• relationships across the School
• Challenge decisions and actions
• which are not in the best interests of the School by explaining the
• risks
• Coach managers and leaders to
• consider the implications of their decisions
• Encourage transparency in
• decision making and communicating across all those involved in people
• management across the School
• Create and maintain an
• environment where others feel safe to admit mistakes, share ideas and challenge
• ways of working 
• Work ethic:  

Network and connect with peers,

• other people professionals in other schools and associations to keep up to date
• with industry practices, benchmark and share good practice
• Deve