Recruitment Advisor

Recruitment Advisor

Reports to: Head of Recruitment Services

Location: Currently operating hybrid working in our West London Office

Contract: FTC (12 months) - maternity cover

Start date: May/June 2025

Pattern: Full Time (standard hours 9am - 5.30pm)

Closing date: 14/03/2025

1st round interviews (in person): 19/03/2025 and 20/03/2025

2nd round interviews (virtual): w/c 24/03/2025

Salary: circa. £40,000

About the role:

We're looking for a Recruitment Advisor to join our small but close-knit team to lead on the recruitment for Ark's central office (head office) located in West London. In this role you'll support our hiring managers in the end-to-end recruitment process offering expert advice and guidance to enhance our overall recruitment to the Ark network team and promoting our employer brand. You'll be recruiting for a wide variety of roles from standard head office functions (such as IT, HR and Finance) to more niche, education-specific opportunities, at every level from apprentices to directors.

As the Recruitment Advisor, you'll take the lead creating all Ark central job adverts, job posting, supporting hiring managers to create job descriptions, and delivering first-line support to ensure excellent recruitment practices and processes are being followed in line with Safer Recruitment practices. You'll also support our hiring managers, where necessary, with candidate management from interview scheduling, taking part in assessments and advising on offers.

This role is a one-year fixed term maternity cover contract. We are currently operating hybrid working in our West London office, with a minimum of two days a week in the office.

First-round interviews will be held in person on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th March and second-round interviews taking place virtually w/c Monday 24th March 2025.

Key Responsibilities:

• Act as the first point of contact for all Ark central recruitment enquiries, providing guidance and support to candidates
• Draft and publish Ark central's job adverts across Ark's careers website and multiple job boards to attract a diverse pool of candidates
• Create and manage various internal resources including the central Recruitment Toolkit and our weekly Internal Vacancies communication to all Ark employees
• Provide training and support for hiring managers on the ATS to empower them to use it effectively during their recruitment processes
• Coordinate and, on occasion, conduct interviews with candidates, either in person or virtually, ensuring the process is consistent and inclusive
• Work alongside the Schools Recruitment team and Communications team to ensure that the Ark employer brand continues to attract diverse candidates
• Promote safeguarding, equal opportunities and diversity in our recruitment policy and practice

Key Requirements:

• Right to work in the UK
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with an ability to communicate effectively and confidently with colleagues at all levels
• Ability to build strong relationships and work collaboratively with team members and hiring managers in a range of different roles and fields
• Experience in managing end-to-end recruitment campaigns
• Experience in using and maintaining ATS platforms to manage candidate applications and recruitment workflows
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook) and job boards (LinkedIn, Guardian Jobs)
• Knowledge of safeguarding policies and safer recruitment guidelines (i.e. Keeping Children Safe in Education)
• Ability to manage workload, meet deadlines and prioritise time effectively
• Strong administrative and organisational skills with meticulous attention to detail
• Highly collaborative and flexible approach
• Customer driven, pragmatic, action-oriented style

Benefits:

• Our hybrid working model aims to offer the best of both worlds, striking the right balance between in-person collaboration and remote working. You will work a minimum of two days per week in our state-of-the-art office in West London allowing you to connect with colleagues, with the flexibility to work remotely, or in the office over the remaining days
• In addition to our current hybrid working arrangements, employees can request to work fully remotely for up to 10 working days a year, whether this be in the UK or abroad
• Our flexitime policy allows you to work your hours around our core hours of 10.00 - 16.00, helping you prioritise your work-life balance and personal commitments
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years' service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to. Depending on your role you may also be entitled to LGPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests

About Us:

We're an international charity, transforming lives through education. We exist to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. In the UK, we're a network of 39 schools, educating around 30,000 pupils in areas where we can make the biggest difference and we're recognised as one of the highest achieving academy groups in the country. We want to change the lives of children everywhere, not just in our own schools. So, we create and incubate Ventures designed not only to help pupils in Ark schools, but also to improve education systems.

You'll be joining a group of like-minded, ambitious individuals who work collaboratively and are all committed to our core mission, that every child has the potential to succeed. Having just celebrated our 20th anniversary, we are shaping our goals for the next 20 and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

Diversity and inclusion:

We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone - staff and students - can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark's diversity and inclusion commitments, please click on this link .

Safeguarding statement:

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark's safer recruitment process, please click this link .

Please note we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this role may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response. We strongly encourage to submit your application at your earliest convenience.