People and Culture Partner

Help brilliant people do their best work

At Sparx Learning, we exist to improve lives and the world through learning. Our products are used by 2,600+ schools, 75k+ teachers and 2.2 million students, and we've recently become a certified B-Corp - a milestone that reflects our commitment to being a genuine force for good. You'll help us keep that promise by shaping the conditions where talented people thrive and high performance feels human.

Why this role is different

At Sparx Learning, we're not looking for someone to police policies or tick boxes. We're looking for an architect, a coach, and a strategist to shape the very systems and behaviours that drive our mission forward.

• We're policy/process-lite and experience-led: you'll move fast, sweat the details that matter, and see the impact of your work quickly. No getting lost in corporate layers here.
• Work with great people: Smart, low-ego colleagues who value clarity, ownership and results.
• Your ideas matter: We expect you to test, learn and iterate - bringing a product mindset to people work.

If you're passionate about building high-performance cultures and empowering brilliant people to do their best work, we want to talk to you.

You'll thrive in this role if you...

• Are focused on outcomes over outputs: You don't just run processes; you deliver results that directly fuel our ambitious goals and raise the bar for everyone. You measure impact and retire work that isn't moving the needle.
• Have a relentless bias for action: You're an architect who thrives in a fast-paced, agile environment.
• Think like a product manager: You approach people challenges with a product mindset. You're experimental, data-informed, and you iterate quickly to design experiences and systems that actually work.
• Influence without authority: You move groups, not just write docs. You build trust quickly, enabling you to influence and challenge with confidence, clarity and empathy.
• Are comfortable with ambiguity: You're energised by "it depends," and you know how to make progress anyway.

The Mission: What You'll Achieve

As a Sparx People & Culture Partner, you won't just be supporting the business; you'll be actively shaping it.

• Lead change that actually Sticks: Plan, pilot, iterate and scale change with crisp communication and clear metrics that show real adoption, ensuring we evolve effectively.
• Level-up our leadership: Act as a trusted coach and advisor to our managers, building the toolkits and rituals that make great leadership the default.
• Champion an experience-led culture: Use lightweight data and keen insights to spot patterns early, run targeted experiments, and double-down on what truly works.
• Make it simple: Keep us policy-lite; choose clarity over complexity and practicality over perfection.
• Champion culture: Nurture a culture of accountability, healthy feedback and continuous learning.

What you can expect from us

• Mission with meaning: Your work directly supports teachers and learners at scale.
• Autonomy with support: Clear outcomes, room to operate, and leaders who value pragmatism over theatre.
• Learning, always: We care about growth - of our people, our practices and our impact.

The Practical Stuff

• Term: Permanent, full-time (40 hours per week). We're open to considering part-time for the right person (minimum 32 hours per week).
• Location: You'll be based in our Exeter office. We believe in the power of in-person connection for energy, creativity and speed, while trusting you to manage your time with the flexibility that life demands.
• Working with: You'll be a member of the People and Culture team, working alongside a People Partner and People Coordinator, and reporting to the People Director. You'll work closely with managers and team members across the business.

Not ticked every box?

Please apply anyway. We hire for mindset, values and potential. If our mission energises you and you bring relevant, transferable experience, we'd love to hear from you - even if your background isn't a perfect checklist match.

How to apply

Click on 'apply' to share your CV and a covering note detailing a people initiative you've designed or led - what you aimed to change, what you actually changed, and what you learned.

Timing

Our hiring process is designed to reflect our values. We review applications on a rolling basis and will move quickly when we meet the right person. We encourage you to apply soon, as we may close this opening at any time. The final closing date is midday on Tuesday 28 October 2025.

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