Executive Director – People, Culture and Wellbeing
Salary: Competitive
Closing Date: 9am Tuesday 3rd December 2024
Interview Date: Wednesday 11th December 2024
Hopwood Hall College is an award-winning, leading further education institution located in Greater Manchester, dedicated to providing high-quality education and training. With a strong commitment to inclusivity, innovation and excellence, we strive to create a supportive and dynamic learning environment that empowers our students to achieve their full potential.
We are seeking an experienced Executive Director for People, Culture and Wellbeing to join our senior leadership team. The successful candidate will provide inspirational leadership, development and direction across the college. You will focus on HR leadership for employees, safeguarding for students, and lead strategies for Equality, Diversity, Inclusion, and wellbeing. We seek a collaborative individual to work with leaders, staff, students and stakeholders, ensuring our culture aligns with our vision and values, delivering our strategic intentions and making our college an amazing place to learn and work.
We have appointed FE Associates to support us with this important appointment. Prior to submitting an application, interested parties are advised to arrange an initial conversation with our recruitment partner, by emailing Suzanne.Thurlow@fea.co.uk, to discuss the role before the closing date. Visit: Hopwood Hall College – Executive Director – People, Culture and Wellbeing – FE Associates to get started and apply today.
What we can offer you:
A positive, inclusive and dynamic working environment within an aspirational college that has a proven track record of career development and a dedication to continuous professional development.
In addition to a competitive salary, the college offers a host of benefits, which include 35 days holiday, financial incentives, personal and professional development opportunities, health and wellbeing benefits.
Many thanks for considering an application for the post of Executive Director for People, Culture and Wellbeing at Hopwood Hall College & University Centre.
Due to the recent promotion of our current postholder we are now looking to recruit a high-performing Human Resource specialist to join our Senior Leadership Team to help lead our College into its next phase. The successful candidate will be someone with the drive, experience and ambition to continue to help grow and improve our College from the strong position that has been created and maintained over a number of years.
Our College is a vibrant community providing a wide range of high-quality education and training to learners in the Borough of Rochdale and beyond. We continually strive to ensure that all learners achieve their individual, educational and employment goals, whilst meeting the skills needs of the region.
Over a sustained period of time we have maintained high standards whilst continuing to achieve a financial health rating of outstanding. Our Ofsted inspection of April 2023 confirmed our self-assessment rating of ‘Good’ and strong in skills.
We are an award-winning College, most recently a Queens Anniversary Prize for widening participation and we have huge ambitions to continue to provide amazing opportunities for our students and our community. We live and breathe our vision and values and are well on the way in delivering our strategic intentions.
The role of Executive Director for People, Culture and Wellbeing:
Our new Executive Director will provide inspirational leadership, development and direction across the College. The postholder’s specific focus will be on our people, both being the senior HR lead for our employees and the safeguarding lead for our students. The Executive Director will also be leading the strategy for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Health and Wellbeing across our College community. We are looking for a collaborative individual who will work with leaders, staff, students and stakeholders across the organisation ensuring our culture is aligned to our vision and values, delivers our strategic intentions and our College is an amazing place to learn and work.
In order to succeed in this role our new Executive Director will have the breadth and depth of senior experience in the people profession to make a significant contribution to our organisation. You will have a clear sense of safeguarding and lead on EDI. Given the focus of our values on students, staff and the community, you will be a visible and outwardly focused leader who enjoys building positive relationships with a range of stakeholders.
Yours sincerely,
Julia Heap
Principal & Chief Executive
As a member of the Senior Leadership Team:
- This is an inspirational role to drive the people experience agenda across the College, demonstrating the attributes and behaviours of the Nolan Principles of Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty and Leadership along with the college’s vision and values.
- To contribute to the development and implementation of strategies, plans and organisational climate, that will enable Hopwood Hall College to be an outstanding college and exceed the expectations of its staff, learners and employers.
- To ensure the college is agile to anticipate and respond to the educational landscape within the changing economic climate and to national, regional and local priorities. Ensuring the college is seen as an effective and responsive contributor to the communities it serves.
- To be an active and effective member of the college’s Senior Leadership Team and to make a decisive contribution to the corporate development of the college.
- To attend Corporation meetings, sub-committee meetings and Governor training sessions as appropriate and lead on relevant working groups and committees as required.
- To act as a chair for student positive behaviour meetings and student appeals.
- To build, develop and effectively manage the teams within the remit of the role using the college’s performance management system to ensure high performance and business efficiency.
As the Executive Director – People, Culture and Wellbeing – To lead a multi-functional team across:
- Human Resources
- Safeguarding and Wellbeing
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- To be the Senior Leadership Team Lead for Safeguarding (Designated Safeguarding Officer).
- Lead the development and implementation of strategies, policies, practices and services in People, Culture and Wellbeing.
- Lead the college’s operational planning for Human Resourcing in order to ensure the effective running of the college’s business affairs and the achievement of the Strategic Intentions.
College Strategic Intentions:
- Contribute to the development of a viable long-term strategy and shorter term operational plans, that will enable the College to attract, retain & deploy the people resources necessary for it to achieve its goals. Implementation & delivery against Plans.
- Monitor the implementation and delivery of the strategy and ensure the plans are successfully implemented or amended in the context of the changing landscape of further education.
Key Accountabilities:
- To build, develop and effectively manage teams within the remit of the role using the college’s performance management system to ensure high performance and business efficiency.
- Collaborate with colleagues, communities, employers and agencies to ensure that relevant strategies, plans and actions are coordinated and the image of the organisation is promoted to support its overall growth and success.
Human Resources:
- To be accountable for the development and implementation of the College’s People Strategy aligned to the College’s Strategic Intentions, and manage the strategy and processes relating to building and optimising people centred activities, and creating an environment where people thrive and ensuring the College’s internal and external “inclusive employer of choice” brand is enhanced.
- Ensure best practice in the HR & OD function through horizon scanning and external networking.
- To ensure that the college’s people management is compliant with all related legislation and regulations.
- Contribute to the development of the people management skills, competence and confidence of all line leaders through coaching, training and advisory support. This will include the coaching of all college leaders in managing organisational change and dealing effectively with associated employee relations matters.
- Ensure our leaders are equipped to deliver change programmes and that the benefits are realised. Support the college transformation programmes as a specialist and reinforcing the leaders’ role as custodians of our culture.
- With the Principal’s support, ensuring that Senior Leadership Team are coached and challenged to hold people accountable for delivery of collective and individual objectives.
- Resource Planning & People Development – define plans to build capability amongst the leadership and staff groups across the College.
- Define and ensure the policies and practices to manage the performance improvement of individuals and teams within the College.
- Lead on the delivery and outcomes of employee engagement activity through which colleague voice is heard, captured and responded to.
- Ensuring that organisation work climate and staff attitudes are regularly assessed across the College, and that arising priorities are actioned by leading on developing colleague wellbeing initiatives to support and enhance colleague experience.
- Ensure the development and effective application of employee communication policies and practices across the College in order to promote a culture of mutual support, co-operation and shared purpose across the organisation.
- Lead on developing innovative workforce wellbeing initiatives to support and enhance our employees’ experience.
- Define recruitment, selection and appointment policies and practices for the College, and ensure their effective and consistent application so that people with the right skills are recruited and inducted into the organisation.
- Contribute to the preparation and monitoring of the College staffing budget to enable the senior team to maintain an accurate staffing establishment and meet the targets of the annual College financial budget.
- Define and ensure the effective application of remuneration policies and practices across the College to attract, retain, motivate and develop its people.
- Positively leading our partnership with recognised Trade Unions including chairing JNC and local pay negotiation meetings.
- Oversee the effective provision of the outsourced Payroll & Pensions service.
Safeguarding:
- To act as the Senior Leadership Team Safeguarding Lead on all aspects of safeguarding, Prevent and student support/wellbeing services, and be accountable for ensuring the safeguarding and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults who are students of the College, in accordance with statutory guidance.
- Ensure that safeguarding support is planned, delivered and monitored to best meet the needs of individual learners. This will include the provision of dedicated specialist support for all students.
- Lead on developing innovative student wellbeing initiatives to support and enhance our students’ experience.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:
- Lead on the College’s equality & diversity agenda for enhancing colleague and student experience, and the delivery of the Strategic Intention – Champions of Inclusivity.
- Oversee the effective delivery of the college’s EDI Strategy.
Salary: Competitive
Closing Date: 9am Tuesday 3rd December 2024
Interview Date: Wednesday 11th December 2024
We have appointed FE Associates to support us with this important appointment. Prior to submitting an application, interested parties are advised to arrange an initial conversation with our recruitment partner, by emailing Suzanne.Thurlow@fea.co.uk, to discuss the role before the closing date.
Visit: Hopwood Hall College – Executive Director – People, Culture and Wellbeing – FE Associates to get started and apply today.
