Human Resources Director (HR) - International Schools Group (PE-Backed)

Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer

Location: UK or EU based

Our client, a confidential, private equity-backed international schools group, is building a new benchmark in premium K-12 education across Europe. Backed by a leading global investor and supported by a highly prestigious British school brand, the organisation is entering a critical phase of expansion, with multiple campuses launching from 2027 and a clear ambition to scale to 10 - 15 schools across key European markets.

-We are ideally seeking background in the schools and academic sector with successful schools build out experience.-

This is a rare opportunity to join at a formative stage and play a defining role in shaping the talent strategy and cultural foundations to support a high-growth, multi-country education platform.

The Opportunity

Reporting directly to the CEO, the HR Director will establish and lead the group’s people strategy, building the foundations required to support both initial school openings and long-term scale.

This is a true “build” role - designing the organisational model, creating the HR function from first principles, and embedding the frameworks, processes and culture that will underpin a premium, values-driven schools network.

In the near term, the role will focus on supporting the successful launch of new campuses in Southern Europe, including the recruitment of founding teaching and leadership teams, while developing a repeatable and scalable model for future school openings.

Working closely with senior leadership, you will ensure that talent, culture, safeguarding and organisational capability are fully aligned to the group’s growth ambitions and educational standards.

Key Accountabilities

• Define and deliver the group-wide people strategy, organisational design and HR infrastructure
• Lead international talent acquisition, building high-quality teaching and leadership teams
• Support new school openings, ensuring organisational readiness and developing a repeatable launch model
• Embed a high-performance, values-driven culture and effective performance frameworks
• Ensure robust safeguarding, compliance and governance across multiple jurisdictions
• Partner with senior leadership to drive organisational effectiveness and growth

Profile

• Experienced HR leader operating at Director/CPO level within international, multi-site environments
• Track record of building or scaling HR functions in high-growth or complex organisations, ideally within K12 education, or similar regulated sectors.
• Strong capability in talent, organisational design and leadership development
• Comfortable operating across jurisdictions, balancing central consistency with local requirements
• Commercially aware, hands-on and credible at senior stakeholder level
• A values-driven leader with a genuine commitment to education and organisational excellence

This is an opportunity to play a foundational role in building a premium European schools platform, shaping the people strategy, culture and leadership capability that will define its long-term success.