People and Operations Manager

The Difference is an education charity, founded to change the story on lost learning. Our vision is to see lost learning falling nationally by 2030 and for schools to be better equipped to support all children, particularly those most vulnerable.

We are a small, growing charity delivering many school leadership programmes, with a growing research and policy arm. We have had excellent early impact but there is work ahead to capture this, share learning with schools and policy-makers, and campaign to lower exclusions across England.

The Role
This is an exciting time to join The Difference as we increase our impact, reach more schools, and develop our influencing strategy. As People and Operations Manager you will:

• lead our professional development offer
• support and oversee all performance management
• refine, implement and oversee our recruitment strategy 
• support the delivery of smaller events including publication launches and symposiums
• support the operational needs of the organisation, ensuring compliance with HR policies

Our work is fast-paced, our roles are broad, and there is a culture of being highly autonomous, reactive and flexible. If this sounds exciting rather than daunting, then this could be the role for you!

The Candidate
We are seeking a combination of the following skills, aptitude and experience:

• Experience designing and delivering staff training / professional development
• Track record building productive work cultures with colleagues with a range of experiences
• Experience coaching and line managing
• Evidenced interest in thoughtful hiring practices to acknowledge and reduce impact bias, including matching competitive processes with headhunting leads to improve diversity of insight and experience in candidates
• Experience in managing a diverse portfolio of work in a standalone role, with the ability to work to deadlines, remain calm under pressure, and reprioritise work in accordance with organisational needs
• A career/volunteering which evidences commitment to The Difference's mission of improving the lives of vulnerable children

You are more likely to be successful in your application if you have either/both:

• CIPD trained or willing to begin training & accreditation process
• Experience working in fast-paced start up culture; can-do in contexts of ambiguity
• Demonstrated experience in dealing with employee relations cases
• Experience in relational practices including restorative work