HR Operations Manager

Full-time permanent, 37 hours per week. Salary: £57,358.00 - £57,358.00 Annually (FTE) Application closing date: 12pm, 9 October 2026 About this Role We have a new and exciting opportunity for an ambitious and forward-thinking people operations manager to play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering our people services across Diverse Academies Trust. Reporting directly to the head of people culture, this is a high-profile leadership role responsible for leading our people operations function and ensuring the delivery of professional, efficient and customer-focused services that support more than 1,300 colleagues across our family of academies and central teams.  The successful candidate will:

• Lead and develop a high-performing people operations team, creating a culture of service excellence, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Provide expert advice and support on complex workforce matters, organisational change, job evaluation, employee relations and workforce planning.
• Drive innovation and transformation through the optimisation of people systems, workforce analytics and operational processes, helping the Trust make informed, evidence-based decisions.
• Oversee outsourced payroll and pensions provision, ensuring robust governance, compliance and high-quality service delivery.
• Work collaboratively with leaders across the Trust to deliver strategic priorities, support organisational development and enhance the colleague experience. Essential
• Significant experience operating at a senior HR or people leadership level.
• Experience leading people operations within a complex, multi-site organisation.
• Extensive knowledge of employee relations, employment law, workforce practice and people service delivery.
• Demonstrable experience leading and developing teams whilst influencing senior stakeholders.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret workforce data and translate insight into action.
• CIPD Level 7 qualification or equivalent senior professional experience If you have any initial questions or would like to learn more about this opportunity, please contact Sarah Green – Head of people culture at sgreen@diverse-ac.org.uk