Head of HR

Job Description

Job Title:
Department:
Grade:
Location:
Responsible to:
Responsible for:

Head of HR
Human Resources
G
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Chief Operating Officer
The HR team

Appointed Candidates Signature:
Please sign and date here upon receiving your offer of employment
I confirm I have read the Job Description below:

Full Name: ………………………………………………………….

Signature ………………………..………. Date: …………………

Purpose of Post

The Head of HR will champion a people-centred, high-performing culture that enables
the Guildhall School to thrive artistically, academically, and organisationally. They will
lead a confident, proactive HR function that is trusted across the School, known for its
professionalism, strategic insight, and commitment to inclusion and wellbeing.

Through strong partnership with senior leaders, the Head of HR will ensure that the
School attracts, develops, and retains exceptional talent; that policies and processes
are modern, fair, and compliant; and that the HR team continues to deliver consistent,
high-quality  outcomes.  They  will  build  on  the  strong  foundations  already  in  place,
driving continuous improvement and ensuring the School’s people strategy supports
long-term sustainability, creativity, and excellence.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

•  Provide strategic leadership for the HR function, ensuring a consistent,

professional, and high-quality approach to all people-related matters across
the School.

•  Lead the delivery of the School’s people strategy, ensuring alignment with the

Guildhall

•  School’s mission, values, and the City of London Corporation’s frameworks.
•  Build on the HR team’s successful outputs, embedding a culture of continuous

improvement, collaboration, and service excellence.

•  Act as a trusted adviser to the Principal, Senior Management Team, and

Heads of

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•  Department, providing expert guidance on workforce planning, organisational

development, employee relations, and people policy.

•  Ensure compliance with employment legislation, sector requirements, and

City of London policies, while developing Guildhall-specific procedures where
needed to support the School’s specialist environment.

•  Contribute actively to the Senior Management Team and Executive

Directorate

•  decision-making, shaping organisational priorities and supporting the School’s

long-term sustainability and success.

•  Provide strategic oversight of Learning & Development across the School,

ensuring staff development activity is aligned with organisational priorities and
supports a culture of continuous learning.

•  Chair the Staff Development Committee, ensuring effective governance,

prioritisation, and evaluation of development initiatives.

•  Oversee the School’s HESA staff returns, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and

timely Submission.

Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership

•  Lead the development and implementation of the School’s people strategy,

ensuring it supports artistic, academic, and operational priorities.

•  Provide strategic HR advice to senior leaders, influencing decision-making

and organisational planning.

•  Maintain strong relationships with City of London HR teams, ensuring

alignment, compliance, and effective collaboration.

HR Team Leadership

•  Lead, coach, and develop the HR team, ensuring high performance,
professional growth, and a cohesive, supportive working culture.

•  Embed consistent HR practices, ensuring the team continues to deliver timely,

accurate, and high-quality services.

Workforce Planning & Organisational Development

•  Lead workforce planning across the School, ensuring sustainable staffing

models, effective succession planning, and alignment with future
organisational needs.

•  Support organisational change initiatives, ensuring clear communication,

engagement, and compliance with governance requirements.

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Employee Relations & Policy

•  Oversee complex employee relations matters, ensuring fair, consistent, and

legally compliant outcomes.

•  Ensure HR policies remain current, compliant, and reflective of best practice.
•  Develop Guildhall-specific procedures where needed to support the School’s

specialist environment.

Recruitment, Talent & Inclusion

•  Oversee recruitment and onboarding, ensuring inclusive, efficient, and sector-

appropriate processes.

•  Champion equality, diversity, and inclusion across the School, ensuring EDI

principles are embedded in culture, policy, and practice.

•  Support leadership capability through coaching, development, and partnership

with City of London L&D.

Learning & Development

•  Provide strategic leadership for Learning & Development across the School,

ensuring

•  development activity supports organisational priorities, staff capability, and

long-term

•  workforce resilience.
•  Oversee the design, commissioning, and evaluation of L&D programmes,

ensuring they meet
the needs of a diverse, specialist workforce.

•
•  Work closely with senior leaders to identify development needs and ensure

targeted,
impactful interventions.

•
•  Chair the Staff Development Committee, ensuring robust governance,

prioritisation of
resources, and alignment with the School’s strategic aims.

•
•  Promote a culture of continuous learning, reflective practice, and professional

growth across all staff groups.

HR Operations, Compliance & Reporting

•  Oversee the effective use of HR systems (including iTrent/SAP), ensuring

accurate data, reporting, and payroll processes.

•  Ensure readiness for audits, inspections, and external reporting requirements

(e.g., OfS returns).

•  Lead the preparation and submission of the School’s HESA staff returns,

ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely delivery.

•  Maintain up-to-date knowledge of employment law and sector developments,

advising SMT on implications.

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To undertake any other duties that may reasonably be requested commensurate with
the grade and as directed by the GSMD Chief Operating Officer.

Person Specification

Job Title:
Department:
Grade:
Trent Position number:
DBS Criterion: (delete as appropriate)

Head of HR
Human Resources
G

No DBS required

Security Vetting Criterion: (delete as appropriate)

Politically Restricted Post Criterion: (delete as appropriate)

This post is not politically restricted

No security vetting is required

Please find below the qualifications, experience and technical skills required to undertake this
post. Each criterion will be assessed at application (A), interview (I) or test (T) as indicated
below.

Professional Qualifications / Relevant Education & Training
[Please ensure only relevant qualifications are listed for the post being advertised]    e.g.
Must be qualified as a Chartered Member of the CIPD or be able to demonstrate  a level of
knowledge at this level -   (A,I etc)

•  Chartered Member of CIPD (or equivalent experience demonstrating

knowledge at this level). (A)

•  Evidence of ongoing professional development. (A,I)

Experience

•  Significant experience operating at senior HR level, ideally within Higher
Education, the arts, or a similarly complex, specialist environment. (A,I)
Proven track record of leading HR teams and delivering high-quality,
consistent HR services. (A,I)

•  Experience advising senior leaders on strategic HR matters, including

workforce planning, organisational change, and employee relations. (A,I)

•  Strong experience working with trade unions and navigating collective

consultation. (A,I)

•  Demonstrable experience developing and implementing HR policies and

procedures. (A,I)

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Experience working within or alongside shared service HR models (e.g.,
corporate HR functions).(A,I)

•  Experience supporting EDI initiatives and embedding inclusive practices. (A,I)

•  Experience presenting to senior committees, boards, or governance

bodies.(A,I)

•  Proven ability to build, influence, and maintain strong relationships with senior
stakeholders across both the Guildhall School and the wider City of London
Corporation, navigating a complex shared-service environment with
confidence and diplomacy. (A,I)

•  Experience overseeing Learning & Development strategy and/or chairing

development-focused committees (desirable) (A,I).

•  Experience managing statutory reporting such as HESA returns (desirable).

(A,I)

Knowledge & Skills

•  Excellent knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice. (A,I)
•  Strong understanding of EDI principles and their application in HE and the

arts. (A,I)

•  Ability to analyse HR data and use insight to inform decision-making. (A,I)
•  Strong leadership, coaching, and team development skills. (A,I)
•  Excellent communication, influencing, and relationship-building skills. (A,I)
•  Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the credibility and emotional

intelligence to engage senior colleagues within the School and the City
Corporation, fostering trust, collaboration, and aligned decision-making. (A,I)

•  Ability to balance strategic thinking with operational delivery. (A,I)
•  High levels of discretion, judgement, and emotional intelligence. (I)

Personal Attributes (A,I)

•  Collaborative, inclusive, and people-centred leadership style.
•  Confident, credible, and able to influence at all levels.
•  Proactive, solutions-focused, and committed to continuous improvement.

Resilient, adaptable, and comfortable navigating complexity.

•  Passionate about supporting a creative, diverse, and high-performing

community.

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Recruitment – Note to Applicants

The qualifications, experience and technical skills will be used in the decision-making
process for recruitment. Please give examples of how you have exhibited these
behaviours in your previous role(s) and experience.  It is essential you address the
criterion marked as (A) on your application form in the section for supporting
information, this will be the minimum criteria for shortlisting.

Be as specific as possible, we cannot guess or make assumptions, but will assess your
application solely on the information provided.   Try to provide evidence, by examples,
where  possible,  of  skills,  knowledge  and  experience  contained  in  this  person
specification.

Summary of Terms and Conditions of Employment

This summary is given as a guide and is not intended to form part of an individual’s
contract of employment.

Salary
The salary range for this job is £68,300 - £85,000 per annum including Inner London
Weighting, inclusive of all allowances. This figure will be reviewed annually from 1 July
in line with the pay award for other salaried staff within the City of London Corporation.

Contract
The position is offered on permanent basis.

Hours of Work
Normal hours of work are 9.00am – 5.00pm, being 35 hours per week excluding lunch
breaks, Monday to Friday, inclusive but the post holder shall be expected to work the
hours necessary to carry out the duties of the position.

Frequency and Method of Payment
This is a monthly paid appointment, and salaries are credited to a Bank or Building
Society Account on the 11th of each month.

Annual Leave
There  is  an  entitlement  of  28  days  annual  holiday  plus  Bank  Holidays.  There  are
subsequent increases to entitlement to annual holiday according to length of service.

Sickness Absence and Pay
The City of London Corporation has a comprehensive Occupational Sick Pay scheme,
details of which can be found in the Employee Handbook which will be made available
to you upon commencement.

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Pension
You  will  automatically  be  admitted  to  the  City  of  London  Corporation’s  Pension
Scheme. Employees contribute between 5.5% and 12.5% of their pensionable pay to
the scheme, depending on salary.
If you do not wish to join the Scheme you must make a formal declaration stating you
wish  to  opt  out. You  may  contact  the  Pensions  Office  directly  should  you  have  any
queries  relating  to  the  Local  Government  Pension  scheme  and  your  entitlements
under this scheme.

Continuous Service
If you join the City of London Corporation without a break in service (subject to certain
exceptions)  from  another  body  covered  by  the  Redundancy  Payments  (Local
Government) (Modification) Order 1999, your service with that institution will count for
the purpose of continuous service. The amount of continuous service which you have
will affect your entitlement to certain contractual benefits; for example, annual leave,
sick leave and maternity leave. A full explanation of Continuous Service is contained
within the Employee Handbook.

Probationary Period
You will be employed initially on a six-month probationary period. Should either party
wish to terminate the employment during this period, then one week’s notice will be
required on either side, except for summary termination for gross misconduct.

Notice Period
Two months by either party after satisfactory completion of probationary period.

Learning and Employee Development
The  City  of  London  provides  for  financial  support  and  time  off  for  staff  to  study  for
appropriate qualifications which relate to their duties or undertaking professional skills
update training. There is also an in-house programme covering more general training
needs.

Employee Volunteering Programme
The City Corporation, in line with its aims to contribute to a flourishing society, shape
outstanding  environments  and  support  a  thriving  economy,  offers  employees  paid
special leave time during normal hours to encourage employees to volunteer their time
and  skills  to  Volunteer  Involving  Organisations  (VIOs)  operating  within  the  Square
Mile, London and beyond.

Full-time employees may take up to 2 days or 14 hours per year in which to volunteer,
between 1 January and 31 December. For temporary and part time employees these
hours are adjusted pro rata. Volunteering time can be taken in smaller bite size e.g. 2
hours a week over 7 weeks, where this can be accommodated by the City Corporation
and meets the requirements of the volunteer organisation.

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