Head of People/HR, Zen Educate
£65-75k
Plus ownership in the company
4+ days a week in office (Oval, London)
Education recruitment platform
Job no longer available
Education recruitment platform
201-500 employees
Job no longer available
£65-75k
Plus ownership in the company
4+ days a week in office (Oval, London)
201-500 employees
Company mission
To make a positive impact and bring about meaningful change within the education recruitment sector.
Role
Who you are
- 5+ years of hands-on experience in either People Functions (Human Resources), Talent Acquisition, or a related discipline
- Deep knowledge and passion for how to build a world class People Function – we’re looking for someone keen to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in
- Growth mindset – dedicated to growing your skills as a professional and ready to step in and own the entire People function
- Passion for the education sector and commitment to the company’s success
- Strong bias to action
- We’re happy to consider Full-time or Part-time candidates
What the job involves
- You’ll be joining Zen in a key position supporting our Co-Founders, Slava and Oren, Chief of Staff, and wider management team to deliver on key people priorities
- We’re still young and you’ll play a significant role in the development of the company and team
- The Head of People/HR role is a crucial enabler to our growth and delivery and you will be a key part of how Zen helps to both transform the supply and recruitment experience for schools and generate the savings the education system needs
- This is a great opportunity for someone looking to apply themselves for a great cause and with great responsibility and autonomy to shape the company for years to come
- Own all aspects of our people function including employee relations, learning & development, people operations, and retention
- Design and own Zen Educate’s People Strategy and be responsible for the delivery
- Directly manage a high-performing People Team (currently 4 individuals) within an organisation of 350 people looking to double over the coming year
- Communicate our People Roadmap at all levels of the organisation (at the Board, Management Team, and Company-wide level)
- Drive employee development and retention
- Participate in coaching, counselling and advising of management and staff to ensure resolution of all employment related matters
- Lead on investigations, grievances and other employee relations
- Support the Senior Leadership Team in Organisational Design
- Get your hands dirty. Like any true start-up, no two weeks will be the same and a general interest in ‘mucking in’ and just getting the job done is crucial
Salary benchmarks
Our take
With UK schools under immense financial pressure, Zen Educate is providing a smarter approach to education staffing. Recruitment in schools often relies on inefficient and expensive practices. Zen Educate is focused on tackling the pain points in the industry and providing a way to ensure schools get the best teachers possible.
It provides an online platform as an alternative to recruitment agencies, which is the only online platform accredited by the UK's Department of Education, helping schools fill staffing needs quickly and cost-effectively. Schools using the platform have reportedly saved 20-30% on supply cover costs.
On top of this, the company has also raised significant funding to support acquisitions in the UK and the US, plus the expansion of its operations and offering.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Aug 2025
$17.7m
SERIES B
May 2024
$37m
SERIES B
Total funding: $103.2m
Company benefits
- Macbook and tech equipment provided
- Regular "lunch 'n' learns" every month on a range of topics
- Investment in your professional development
- Regular socials
- Ownership in the company
- Pension scheme
- 25 days of holidays + all UK public holidays off
- Central London dog-friendly office with perks like fresh fruit, bike parking, showers, and an on-site gym and café
- Life insurance
- Vitality health insurance and benefits
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Electric Car Scheme
Company values
- Commit to the mission- We commit to our mission, our customers, and our teams. We work hard because we care more
- Choose greatness over comfort- Greatness and comfort rarely coexist. We seek greatness. We understand success takes grit & determination so we seek colleagues that possess it
- Act like an owner- We all take responsibility for driving the company forward and making it a success. If we see something that could be better, we fix it. We offer stock options to all employees
- Help each other be better- Every person at Zen is someone we can respect and learn from
- A culture of trust- We hire people who are great at their jobs and we let them get on with it while being there to lend a hand when needed
- Challenge the status quo- We take action when we can see opportunities for improvement. We are in it to make our customers' lives better and to fix a broken system
- Embrace learning over perfection- We make decisions quickly and we don't hesitate. We may disagree with a decision, but we support the team and the mission by committing to it. We embrace making unknowable mistakes and learning from them
Company HQ
HQ, London
Articles
Leadership
Slava Kremerman
(Co-Founder & CEO)Previously a member of the Leadership Team at Nutmeg a FS startup, they also worked at Barclays and Aon.
Oren Cohen
(Co-Founder & Chief Customer Officer)Ran the UK office of Optimizely, a Silicon Valley tech company. Prior to this, they worked at G-STAT and Intel.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Zen Educate
- At Zen, we strive to build a culture of equity and inclusion, where everyone is respected, valued and appreciated for their unique traits, experiences and perspectives. We are committed to creating a safe, inclusive and equitable environment where our team can thrive, regardless of age, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, disability, religion or beliefs. We value our differences and believe that practices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion help us create a fairer, more compassionate environment for all
- We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds and different experiences and perspectives — just like the staff who teach through Zen and the children at the schools we work with. We believe in hiring the best people from the widest pool and creating an inclusive culture where people’s voices are heard and all our team can look forward to coming to work
- We are committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of our community and promoting an equitable and inclusive environment for all. We seek out diverse opinions, beliefs, and experiences because they collectively make us stronger; we’ve had former teachers, pilots, fundraisers, engineers, lawyers, marketers, social media experts and more join our team
Share this job
View 44 more jobs at Zen Educate