Human Resources Officer

Human Resources Officer

Contract Type: Full time, all year round

Salary: £40,404-£42,264

Start Date: 2 November 2026

The Saint John Southworth Catholic Academy Trust is seeking an experienced and highly organised Human Resources (HR) Officer to join our Shared Services Team. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in delivering high-quality HR support across our family of Catholic schools, helping to ensure excellent employee experiences throughout all aspects of the employee life cycle.

About the Role

Reporting to the HR Manager, you will provide professional HR support to schools and central services across the Trust. You will be responsible for a broad range of HR activities including safer recruitment, onboarding, absence management, HR systems, casework support and compliance monitoring.

Working closely with school leaders and colleagues across the Trust, you will help ensure that our HR services are efficient, compliant and focused on supporting staff wellbeing, equality, diversity and belonging. You will also contribute to HR projects and service improvements that enhance our support to schools.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality HR support and advice to schools and Shared Services colleagues
• Coordinate safer recruitment processes, pre-employment checks and staff onboarding
• Maintain compliant personnel records in line with statutory requirements
• Support employee relations casework and HR administration across the employee lifecycle
• Monitor staff absence, support attendance processes and contribute to staff wellbeing initiatives
• Produce HR reports, workforce data and management information to support decision-making
• Contribute to HR projects, service improvements and compliance assurance activities
• Support and develop positive working relationships with leaders, employees and stakeholders across the Trust

What We Are Looking For
The ideal candidate will be:

• Experienced in providing HR support and managing a varied workload with competing priorities
• Qualified to CIPD Level 5 or willing to work towards this qualification
• An excellent communicator with strong interpersonal and customer service skills
• Highly organised, proactive and able to work accurately under pressure
• Confident using HR management information systems and Microsoft Office applications
• Able to handle confidential and sensitive matters with professionalism and discretion
• Committed to safeguarding, inclusion, equality, diversity and continuous improvement
• A collaborative team player who can build effective relationships across multiple sites and stakeholders

About the Trust

The Saint John Southworth Catholic Academy Trust is a growing family of Catholic schools (primary, secondary and post-16), a registered charity and a trading company committed to providing an outstanding education rooted in faith, aspiration and service.

Our Shared Services Team provides high-quality professional and operational support across the Trust, enabling schools to focus on teaching, learning and pastoral care.

What We Offer

• A supportive and collaborative working environment
• Opportunities for training and development to help you grow in your career
• The chance to contribute to a trust committed to delivering high-quality education and supporting staff wellbeing
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme and generous holiday entitlement
• An Employee Assistance Programme providing free, confidential 24-hour support and counselling services
• A cycle scheme to help spread the cost of purchasing a bicycle and equipment

How to Apply
For further details on the role, please view the Job Description and Person Specification via https://www.sjscat.co.uk/Vacancies/ or visit our website to find out more about us.

To apply for this role, please complete the application forms available on our Vacancies webpage. Applications should be sent via email to hrteam@sjscat.co.uk.

Closing Date: 8am on 2 October 2026.

Interview Date: Week commencing 5 October 2026

The Saint John Southworth Catholic Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people. All roles are subject to satisfactory vetting, including an Enhanced DBS check with Children’s Barred List.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (amended 2013 and 2020)) provide that when applying for certain jobs, certain spent convictions and cautions are protected and they do not need to be disclosed to employers. If they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Guidance about whether a conviction or caution should be disclosed can be found on the Ministry of Justice website and further information about filtering offences can be found in DBS filtering guide.

Join us in our mission to cultivate an educational environment that inspires growth, respect and academic achievement!