People Business Partner (Central & EDI)

In this role, you will be expected to be a contributing member of the wider People Team, bringing your professional knowledge and personal creativity to continuously improve the quality of the People Service to the Central team.

This role will support the Head of Business Partnering to review the current Diversity & Inclusion Strategy and delivery of the D&I initiatives across the network.  

You will gain exposure to many different aspects of the charity’s strategy and operations and be accountable for the successful management of the full employee life cycle, including systems and processes as well as leading excellent client relationships across the organisation. You will work closely with the school facing People Business Partners to ensure consistency with policies and procedures across the network.

The People Business Partner (Central & EDI) will report into Head of Business Partnering. This role is currently operating hybrid working in our West London Office on a permanent basis working full time.

Interviews will take place w/c 6/10/2025 and 13/10/2025.

Key Responsibilities:

• Keep up to date with external trends and best practice in the areas of expertise and HR more broadly
• Continuously drive improvements in process and policies through external market trends, insight, and internal best practice
• Champion and help create an inclusive culture where all individuals feel supported to work at their best 
• Partner with Ark’s People team to support all key people processes, providing
• guidance, coaching and constructive challenge when appropriate
• Support with the design of the next D&I strategy for the organisation
• Utilise and analyse data to identify Diversity and Inclusion issues and trends both within schools and the broader organisation, to inform developments and relevant improvement initiatives
• Work closely across the People team on key projects including supplier reviews and road mapping key priorities to find efficiencies

Key Requirements:

• CIPD qualified Level 7 (or equivalent experience) (Chartered MCIPD desirable)
• Right to work in the UK

• Our hybrid working model aims to offer the best of both worlds, striking the right balance between in-person collaboration and remote working.  You will work a minimum of two days per week in our state-of-the-art office in West London allowing you to connect with colleagues, with the flexibility to work remotely, or in the office over the remaining days
• In addition to our current hybrid working arrangements, employees can request to work fully remotely for up to 10 working days a year, whether this be in the UK or abroad
• Our flexitime policy allows you to work your hours around our core hours of 10.00 - 16.00, helping you prioritise your work-life balance and personal commitments
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to. Depending on your role you may also be entitled to LGPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests

Ark is an education charity that exists to make sure that all children, regardless of their background, have access to a great education and real choices in life. Our network of 39 schools reaches traditionally underserved communities in Birmingham, Hastings, London and Portsmouth. We educate 30,000 pupils and have nearly 3,000 teaching staff across our network. We also incubate and scale innovative ventures, which we roll out beyond our network of schools for the benefit of teachers, pupils and the education system as a whole. Current Ventures include Ark Curriculum Plus, which equips teachers with the subject expertise needed to ensure students succeed, and Ark Start, a growing chain of nurseries offering affordable, high-quality early years education.

Recently, Ark moved to new offices at EdCity – a unique not-for-profit development in West London, in partnership with Hammersmith & Fulham council. EdCity is designed to bring mission-aligned organisations together to focus on improving the lives of children, especially through education. It offers leased offices, a range of venues for training and events, and an innovation hub for the education sector to connect, collaborate and learn together.