People and Culture Manager

Summary of the role

The People and Culture Manager leads the small People and Culture team, and their function is centred on equity, wellbeing, talent and organisational capability. The postholder will be responsible for ensuring the institution remains a safe, compliant and inclusive workspace, providing insight to the Executive and converting legal and operational decisions into practice across the full employee lifecycle. This is a hands-on, operational role, delivering high-quality People Services including advising line managers and the Executive team.

The postholder will hold accountability and operational management responsibility for People & Culture compliance; Safeguarding compliance, including safer recruitment and Single Central Register; Implementation and adherence to employment law in partnership with our retain legal team; Data integrity and GDPR within the People Team and across People processes; Professional records required for inspection, audit, and quality reviews.

For the first year, the role holder will report to the Principal, with the aim that the People and Culture function will then transfer into the Finance and Operations portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

1.Operational Management and Compliance of People and Culture:

• Manage and develop the People and Culture team to deliver a professional, responsive and people-centred service, ensuring that the employee lifecycle, including onboarding, contracts, performance management, absence, and offboarding is effectively managed and enhanced.
• Provide insight on workforce trends, risks, and cultural development to the Executive.
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders and managers to create a high-performance, values driven culture.

2. People Operations and Compliance:

• Maintain accountability for statutory and safeguarding compliance across the employee lifecycle including safe recruitment guidance, the Single Central Record, right-to-work, UKVI and mandatory training records.
• Ensure policies are fully implemented and applied consistently across the institution.
• Maintain accurate and secure People systems, employee records and reporting in line with GDPR and internal controls.
• Interpret legal and regulatory requirements and lead the implementation of compliant and proportionate People processes.

3. Workforce Planning, Resourcing and Talent:

• Oversee recruitment and onboarding across the institution, ensuring safer recruitment standards and continuous improvement of candidate experience.
• Provide workforce planning insights to support Executive decision-making on resourcing, succession and organisational design.
• Support and advise on employee relation matters, ensuring timely and respectful progression of processes.
• Develop and deliver and effective programme of learning and development, including leadership and manager capability development.

4. Management of Employment Law Specialists:

• Brief our retained legal firm on People matters requiring specialist advice, ensuring they have the correct information and context.
• Translate legal advice into accessible guidance, decisions, and practice People processes.
• Coordinate the application of legal advice across the institution and ensure associated risk is monitored and escalated appropriately.
• Ensure decision-making reflects legal requirements, safeguarding duties and organisational values.

5. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Leadership:

• Lead and support initiatives that support an inclusive culture where all colleagues feel valued and able to thrive.
• Ensure equitable employment practices across the employee lifecycle.
• Lead the staff survey programme (annual and pulse) and convert insights into meaningful culture and wellbeing actions.
• Champion wellbeing and psychological safety, enabling managers to embed supportive and proactive practice.

6. Performance, Development and Reward:

• Manage the performance and probation processes, ensuring a framework that supports high standards, accountability and professional growth.
• Support discussion on reward, benefits and recognition, providing insights to inform Executive decision-making.
• Ensure People & Culture budgets are monitored effectively and linked to institutional priorities and value for money. Promote a positive and inclusive culture.

Please view our Job Description to view the candidate profile.