HR Manager

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            recruit@daneshill.surrey.sch.uk
            01372 842509
           daneshillschool.co.uk

Thank you for showing an interest in Danes Hill School.  At our school, we believe
education should open doors, broaden horizons, and inspire young people to discover
who they can become. Every member of staff plays a vital role in shaping that journey,
and I am delighted that you are exploring the possibility of joining us.

Our vision: Belonging at heart, brilliance in every child, guides everything we do.
We believe childhood should be joyful, inspiring, and full of possibility. Our
contemporary Prep School is designed for modern families, offering a vibrant,
inclusive community where every child is celebrated, confident to grow, and
encouraged to blend curiosity, kindness, and creativity with academic excellence.

Together with families, we nurture not just bright minds but big hearts. We build
strong foundations and happy memories, preparing children not only for the next
school but for life. Our aim is to shape kind, confident individuals ready to thrive and
make their mark on the world.

This is a school where your ideas will be heard, your expertise valued, and your impact
felt. If you are passionate about nurturing potential and committed to continuous
improvement, you will find a purposeful and rewarding home here.

Debs and Colin Baty

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At Danes Hill, we work to create a school culture that fosters personal growth, inspires
passion, empowers courage and nurtures respect. We believe that these core values
truly embody the  spirit of our community and guide us on our journey towards
excellence. Our school values were articulated through a comprehensive consultation
process, involving our dedicated staff team, the valuable input of our parents through
consultations and surveys, and the voices of our pupils. Through this collaborative
effort, we gained a clear insight into what makes Danes Hill special.

Following careful analysis of feedback, we are
proud to share our four school values:
Growth, Passion, Courage, and Respect.
These values reflect the qualities we aim to
instil in our pupils, forming a strong foundation
for their academic and personal success. Our
current focus is on embedding these values
into every aspect of our school culture.

We aim to promote our values at every turn,
ensuring that they become an integral part of
our pupils’  lives. Our assemblies are dedicated
to living out these values, exploring real-life
examples and discussing the importance of
embracing growth, pursuing passions, showing
respect, and demonstrating courage. To
encourage and celebrate our pupils’
embodiment of these values, we are targeting
house points dedicated to recognising acts
aligned with our values. We are also
establishing pupil awards that commend
individuals who consistently exhibit our values
in their daily lives.

For our pupils to be able to embrace them,  our
shared understanding of our values is based
on the following statements:

• I can demonstrate Growth by – working

hard, giving my best effort, investing in my
own development, being active in the
development of those around me,
expanding my horizons, nurturing my
community

• I can demonstrate Passion by – being
inspired, showing curiosity, showing
ambition in all I do, striving to succeed,
showing dedication in all things, not giving
up

• I can demonstrate Courage by –

developing the confidence to take risks,
trying new things, not being afraid to fail,
speaking up for myself and for others,
telling the truth

• I can demonstrate Respect by – having an
awareness of others as well as myself,
treating everyone with dignity, showing
others kindness and consideration,
showing others empathy

We are excited about the positive impact our
values have on our community. Together,
we  can nurture a culture where growth,
passion, respect, and courage thrive. By
embracing these values and ensuring that
we model and demonstrate them in our
professional lives, we are confident that our
pupils will develop into confident,
compassionate, and resilient individuals,
well-prepared to face any challenge that
comes their way.

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ABOUT THE ROLE

Job title:

HR Manager

Job purpose:

The HR Manager will lead the delivery of a high-quality, professional and compliant
HR service for the school, ensuring that all staff matters are managed effectively,
consistently and in line with employment law, safeguarding requirements and the
School’s values.

The role reflects the School’s current operational needs and the postholder will act as
the senior operational HR professional, providing trusted advice to the CFO, Head
and senior leaders, managing complex casework, overseeing payroll and workforce
data, liaising with trade unions, and producing clear reports for Governors.

The HR Manager will play a key role in fostering a positive, inclusive and
well-managed working environment, supporting leaders to manage staff well and
ensuring that people-related risks are identified and mitigated.

Reporting to: Head

Management
of:

Assistant HR Manager (part time) who leads on responsibility for recruitment, payroll
and training

Hours:

Full time, based in school (40 hours per week, 52 weeks of the year). Some flexibility
required to cover meetings which may be held outside normal hours.

Required:

As soon as possible

Salary:

£54,060 per annum, rising to £55,590 after first year

Benefits:

Generous pension scheme, with an employer contribution of 7.2%, rising to up to
11%.. Free lunch on site during term time. Annual flu jabs, online EAP service and
counselling. Training and development support. Parking on site.

Closing Date:

Friday 10th April 2026. Please note that applications will be reviewed as they are
received, and the recruitment may close ahead of this date, if the right candidate has
been found.

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Job specification

Lead member of staff responsible for HR casework, policies and projects including:

Employee relations and casework

• Act as the lead professional for employee relations matters across the School.

• Manage complex casework including disciplinary, grievance, capability, absence management,
performance concerns, restructures and redundancies, escalating to the appropriate member
of SLT or Head where required.

• Advise and coach line managers on the fair, consistent and lawful application of HR policies and

procedures.

• Support formal meetings and hearings, ensuring appropriate documentation and processes are

in place.

• Liaise with recognised trade unions and staff representatives, maintaining constructive and

professional relationships.

• Monitor workforce trends, risk indicators and casework themes, taking proactive action to

reduce risk and improve practice.

HR policies, procedures and compliance

• Maintain and update all HR policies, ensuring compliance with current employment legislation

and best practice within the independent school sector.

• Ensure managers and staff understand HR policies and are supported in their consistent

application.

• Keep abreast of changes in employment law and regulatory guidance, advising the Head and

senior leaders on implications for the School.

• Support internal and external audits and inspections, including ISI, by providing accurate

documentation and evidence.

Pay, rewards and benefits

• Support the Head and CFO in pay and reward matters, including benchmarking, pay modelling

and the impact of pay decisions.

• Oversee administration of staff benefits, pensions and leave arrangements in line with School

policy.

• Ensure changes to terms and conditions are managed accurately and communicated clearly.

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Performance, development and wellbeing

• Support the Assistant HR Manager and Head of Staff Development in the operation of

performance management processes for staff, ensuring alignment with School priorities.

• Advise managers on performance management approaches and development planning.

• Contribute to staff wellbeing initiatives and employee engagement activity, working with

colleagues responsible for wellbeing and pastoral support.

• Work with the Assistant HR Manager and Head of the Common Room to support the half-termly

Staff Wellbeing and Consultation Committee meetings.

• Promote a positive staff experience, supporting a culture of professionalism, respect and

inclusion.

Governance, reporting and risk management

• Prepare regular HR reports and workforce metrics for the Head, CFO and Governors

Committees, supporting effective oversight and decision-making.

• Contribute HR insight to governance papers where required.

•

Identify HR-related risks and work with the Head and senior leaders to mitigate these.

• Ensure confidentiality, data protection and GDPR requirements are upheld at all times.

HR operations

• Line manage the Assistant HR Manager, providing supervision, guidance and development.

• Review and improve HR processes to ensure efficient, effective service delivery.

Working with the Assistant HR Manager who leads on:

Recruitment, safeguarding and safer recruitment

• Ensure that end-to-end recruitment processes for teaching and support staff, from vacancy

approval through to probation completion are effective and efficient.

• Ensure all recruitment activity complies with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) and

safer recruitment requirements.

• Maintain oversight of pre-employment checks and ensure the accurate maintenance of the

Single Central Register.

• Support and advise managers on the engagement of volunteers, casual workers, contractors

and agency staff, ensuring appropriate vetting.

• Work closely with Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) to support safeguarding induction and

training for staff where required.

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Job specification

Payroll, contracts and workforce data

• Oversee payroll processes, ensuring accuracy, timeliness and appropriate authorisation.

• Oversee contractual documentation including contracts of employment, variations, leaver

documentation and references.

• Maintain accurate workforce data including staffing numbers, FTE, absence, turnover and

contract status.

• Support workforce planning discussions by providing accurate data and analysis.

HR systems

• Ensure accurate maintenance of HR records and systems (Every HR), with appropriate controls

and confidentiality.

Duties of all staff

• Play a full part in the life of the school community, supporting its mission, ethos and policies.

• Set high personal standards of dress and appearance, attendance/punctuality and behaviour,

upholding the staff code of conduct at all times.

• Actively engage in safeguarding practice and health and safety awareness around the school

sites.

• Commit to personal professional development, including active engagement in staff training and

the performance review process.

• Comply with relevant school policies and procedures at all times.

This job description should be seen as enabling rather than prescriptive and will be subject to
regular review as the needs of the School evolve. You will be required to undertake other
comparable duties as the line manager, Head or senior colleague may require from time to time.

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Person specification

Qualifications

• Strong educational background, ideally with a minimum of A-level standard.

• CIPD qualification (level 5 or above)

• Strong working knowledge of UK employment law and its application

Experience

Essential:

• Significant experience in a generalist HR role, managing complex employee relations casework

• Experience of payroll oversight and workforce data management

• Experience demonstrating understanding of safeguarding principles and safer recruitment

requirements within an education setting

• Experience with HR information systems – preferably Every HR

Desirable:

• Experience working in a school or educational environment.

• Experience working with governors or board-level reporting

Skills

• Ability to advise and influence senior leaders with credibility and professionalism

• High level of discretion, integrity and attention to detail

• Excellent interpersonal, communication and organisational skills

• Confident IT user with experience in databases, spreadsheets, and email systems

• Ability to work effectively as a team leader, managing the workloads of colleagues as well as their

own

• Commitment to equal opportunities, safeguarding, and high professional standards

• Personal warmth and ability to build rapport with parents, visitors and colleagues

• Flexibility and willingness to support school events and activities outside normal working hours as

required

Danes Hill School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We expect all
staff to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to the receipt of an enhanced DBS
check, satisfactory references and medical clearance, and other statutory checks. Online checks of
publicly available information will be carried out for shortlisted candidates, in line with KCSIE 2025. .

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Location:

Danes Hill offers an exceptional working
environment, and when you visit the site you get
a proper sense of the grounds, facilities and
resources. Set in 55 acres with views across the
beautiful Surrey countryside, it can be hard to
believe that it’s still an easy distance from
London. Staff travel to Danes Hill from a wide
radius, with Oxshott station less than a 20-minute
walk from the Prep School (15 minutes from
Bevendean). Car parking is available for all staff,
as well as our Cycle to Work scheme.

Community:

Working at Danes Hill, you become part of a
large, dynamic community encompassing all the
teaching and non-teaching staff. Dedicated
support staff work in tandem with teaching staff,
taking care of many administrative and support
tasks in a friendly, cooperative environment.
Teaching takes place across 34 weeks of the year
(with additional training days). Appropriate
technology is provided during induction,
including laptops and accessories. Class sizes are
small and the resources available to support
teaching, pastoral care and our co-curricular
programme are fantastic.

Development:

As a place of education, it’s vital to us that we all
invest in our learning. Weekly staff meetings and
twilight training sessions takes place after school,
with updates and focused training on a range of
subjects. Our Head of Staff Development works
with teachers new to the profession, to make
sure they get the support that they need. Our
appraisal and probation systems ensure that
everyone gets the chance to review their work
with their line manager, and we invest in CPD and
training across the School – including
professional qualifications and apprenticeships.

Reward:

At Danes Hill, we are committed to ensuring that
everyone who works here benefits from fair and
transparent pay systems. Our pay scales offer a
generous core salary along with opportunities to
take on additional responsibilities through
management allowances.

Benefits:

Generous pension schemes for both Teachers
and Support staff. Non-contractual fee remission
is given to all staff on a pro rata basis and
currently represents up to 50% reduction on full
fees, as well as free wraparound care and
discounted holiday clubs.

We offer a salary sacrifice scheme for electric
vehicles, giving staff the opportunity to lease a
brand-new electric car at a reduced cost. This
benefit supports our commitment to
sustainability while helping employees save on
tax and National Insurance contributions.

Healthcare:

The dedicated medical team at Danes Hill provide
excellent support to staff as well as pupils and
parents and organise flu jabs for staff annually.
Education Support are in place as the School’s
Employee Assistance Programme – providing
confidential help 24/7, 365 days a year.

Wellbeing:

Lunch is provided to all staff during term time
(and is healthy, plentiful and delicious!), and
several members of staff offer their expertise free
of charge to run different activities. A weekly ‘boot
camp’ class is popular, as well as access to sports
facilities at specific times. The Common Room
team organises social events and charity
fundraisers.

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Danes Hill School
Leatherhead Rd, Oxshott KT22 0JG