People Development Manager

The People Services Team (HR) at Leigh Academies Trust is expanding!  We have a fantastic opportunity to appoint a People Development Manager to join us in April 2022. The main purpose of the role will be to establish and grow a new L&D function as part of the existing People Services Team. You will lead the learning and development function for the Trust, ensuring that all staff have access to and receive the necessary training and development opportunities that ensure they can perform their role to the best of their abilities, and can meet the changing needs of the education sector.

We already have a number of training and development opportunities in place at LAT which are delivered by our partner organisations, and available to employees of LAT;   

• Kent & Medway Training is a well-established  teacher training provider 
• Thames Gateway Teaching School Hub is a school-led centre of excellence for teacher and leadership training and development 
• LAT Apprenticeships deliver six appren ticeship programmes from Level 2-4 

We also work with a number of external organisations to deliver additional development opportunities, but these relationships could be strengthened. Our successful People Development Manager will adopt a holistic approach in linking the existing development paths as well as identifying new opportunities to ensure that all LAT employees have access to fulfilling and purposeful training and development.  

The People Development Manager who joins our team will be a genuine team player, thrive on working both independently and as part of a team, and have confidence in using your initiative. We are a very busy department, so you will have to multitask and prioritise your workload with great skill! Ideally, you’ll have prior experience in an L&D setting and will be an innovative and dynamic person, open-minded in your thinking and able to work with a variety of stakeholders to produce excellent results. Above all else, a positive attitude and motivation to perform well in this role is essential, as is a real passion for L&D and pride in representing Leigh Academies Trust in the best way possible. We want to develop our people to be the best they can be at Leigh Academies Trust, and we hope you want to be part of it.  

Click here to view the management structure of the People Services function at Leigh Academies Trust. 

Our successful candidate will receive;

• A starting salary of circa £45,000 per annum which increases annually subject to satisfactory performance reviews 
• 25 days annual leave per annum plus bank holidays, which increases with length of service
• Further career development and training opportunities to suit your needs and career objectives

A full range of benefits, available to all LAT employees (click here to view) 

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The role is based at Leigh Academies Trust Head Office in Strood, Rochester.  Given how the pandemic has changed the way we work, LAT has adopted a hybrid approach for Head Office staff with 4 days being based in the office and the remaining day working from home. The working basis of the role is 37 hours per week throughout the full year. There is also the chance, when required, to travel to our various sites situated in South East London and Kent, for which you will be reimbursed for travel in line with LAT’s expenses policy.  

Please note that interviews will be conducted on Friday 11th February 2022 and our successful candidate will start in April.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Olivia Couzins (Head of Recruitment) on 07889 653 215 or olivia.couzins@latrust.org.uk. Please note that all applications must be submitted electronically via our e-recruitment system; we cannot accept CVs or speculative emails outside of this system.  

Being part of Leigh Academies Trust: As of 1st September 2021, our Trust will comprise 31 geographically organised academies (15 secondaries, 14 primaries and 2 special) educating 20,000 students, and employing 2,500 talented staff. The Trust is establishing four ‘clusters’ of academies: North West Kent; Central Kent; South East London; Medway. In addition, the Trust is responsible for one of the region’s biggest initial teaching training organisations, a large teaching school hub and is an accredited apprenticeship provider.  Click here to view our future plans in our Vision 2025 document.​​​​​​​ 

As part of Leigh Academies Trust, you will have ample opportunity to collaborate with your peers both within the academy and across the whole Trust. This is an important part of our vision as we know through experience that we perform better when we work together. You are supported to undertake regular self-development to continue your professional development and hopefully progress further within the organisation.

Our commitment to safeguarding: Leigh Academies Trust and all of our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair, robust and consistent recruitment process across all academies and business units. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.  ​​​​​​​

Our commitment to equality and diversity: As a Trust, we are passionate about diversity and recognise that as individuals, we all bring something unique to the role regardless of any protected characteristics which are why we treat all of our people equally, without compromise. We are committed to providing equality and fairness throughout our recruitment and employment practices and not discriminating on any grounds.