Introduction

Thank you for your interest in this role at Vantage Multi Academy Trust. This job pack provides you with an overview of our organisation, our ambitions and what we want from our new Director of People and Governance.

We approach this recruitment drive with a real sense of excitement. Upon appointment, you will be joining the Trust at a critical time in our growth and development, and we look forward to the contribution you can make to our future success.

We are a successful and happy cross phase MAT, comprising of 10 schools – 6 Church of England schools and 4 Community schools. We operate across 5 local authorities and strive to ensure that, through careful strategic planning, effective central services, and meaningful collaboration, our schools are anchored in their local communities, whilst thriving in a family of schools across the Northwest.

We encourage anyone who thinks that they have the vision, drive, clarity, and competence to join our talented Executive Team. We are looking for bold thinkers, who can work collaboratively and imaginatively with others to create an organisation we can all be proud of and world class outcomes for children that ensure they thrive as happy and successful global citizens.

Welcome from the Chief Executive Officer

Dear applicant,

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Vantage Multi Academy Trust. I hope the information on our website and in this job-pack provides you with an insight into our organisation, our vision and our values and inspires you to express an interest in joining the Vantage Executive Management team.

Our people – Members; Trustees; Staff and students are at the very heart of all that we do at Vantage. They are our greatest asset to achieving our mission of excellent education and securing fantastic outcomes for the children, young people, and communities we serve. We are proud of our work to date, the achievements of our teams and the outcomes of our students. We are however ambitious and recognise there is more we can do across our workforce and governance systems to further strengthen our schools and communities.

As a new post in our Senior structure, the post of Director of People will have responsibility for leading on the co-construction of an exciting and innovative People Strategy that will support the trust growth and development over the next 5 years and beyond. Building on our progress to date, the role will ensure that organisational development and planning for people successfully contributes to the success of the trust.

The successful candidate must have high aspirations for children and young people; a strong workforce vision and a clear understanding of what great governance looks like. We are seeking someone who can work collaboratively; is passionate about making a positive difference to the lives of others; and can bring harmonisation and innovation to our practices. We seek someone who can identify, develop, and promote talent; think creatively and maximise resources to ensure our entire workforce and student population flourishes.

Our new Director of People must be aligned to our mission and values; be someone who demonstrates exceptional leadership capabilities, be able to communicate well and is able to set – and deliver, bold priorities in a timely manner.

Already operating at a Senior level and as a HR or Governance professional, you will be an inclusive leader who will play a significant part in shaping our culture, be able to lead teams to support new ways of working, develop new mindsets and new behaviours and use a wide range of research, data and intelligence to inform the decisions we make and the approach we take to people, culture and education. You will be a high performing professional with a track record of success in HR and/or Governance.

As an experienced manager, you will bring a breadth of experience to develop and lead a high performing team, you will be a natural relationship builder and clear communicator, with experience of operating in a complex, multi-site environment.

We are looking for a person with in-depth professional knowledge and extensive career experience. Whilst the successful candidate may or may not have an educational background, they must have the passion and drive for taking this award-winning Trust further.

The Trust is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive organisation. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.

If you are inspired by our mission, and aligned with our values then I would encourage you to contact Yasmin Vart at Hays Leadership on 07581315021 or at yasmin.vart@hays.com for a private and confidential discussion about the opportunity.

I look forward to hearing about you, your talents, your ambition  and your vision for this tremendous opportunity and role.