Home / Roles / Director of People (0.6 FTE) | The Edward James Foundation (West Dean)

Director of People (0.6 FTE) The Edward James Foundation (West Dean)

The Edward James Foundation and West Dean are seeking an exceptional Director of People to lead their culture, workforce and organisational development through this next chapter.

• Location: Hybrid / West Dean, West Sussex (some travel to London)

We are at once a specialist higher education provider, a centre for endangered crafts, a historic garden and estate and a visitor destination. The Foundation is entering a period of significant change, balancing the need for financial sustainability with a continued commitment to Edward James’s founding vision.

The Director of People will be central to this transformation, ensuring that our people and culture provide the foundation for long-term success.

Our mission is to advance creativity, conserve heritage, and care for our extraordinary estate, providing world-class education in arts, design, craft and conservation, while enriching culture and the environment.

Our vision is to be recognised internationally as a centre of excellence, where creativity, heritage and landscape are brought together to inspire and equip future generations.

Across West Dean — from our college to our gardens, collections and estate — we bring people together to learn, make and experience. Students and visitors are guided by leading practitioners and the distinctive environment we care for. In turn, they develop the insight, skill and imagination to conserve heritage, enrich culture and contribute to a better world.

Who we are

West Dean College

At West Dean, we believe that making makes a better world. West Dean College is a leading specialist institution for craft practice, art, design, conservation, and material-based creativity. It is a remaining example of an experimental rural arts college founded with the express purpose of changing society through education and creative work.

In the 50 years since its foundation, the college has developed an international reputation as a centre of excellence in conservation, fine art, design, and contemporary craft.

It offers a unique educational environment – one that nurtures technical skill, critical inquiry, and the transformative power of making.

Our impact is disproportionately high for our size. We have awarded over 2,000 degrees and diplomas, and more than 250,000 people have taken one of our short courses.

Our graduates work in major museums, heritage organisations, studios and ateliers around the world. The work of our staff and students – frequently rooted in traditional craft skills – is both innovative and world-leading.

The idea for West Dean College began in 1939 in a remarkable correspondence between Edward James and Aldous Huxley. Inspired by Ends and Means, James committed to gifting his estate for the creation of a radical centre for arts education.

The college opened in 1971 as a place of learning, practice, and imaginative freedom. That independent spirit continues to animate our work today.

In August 2021, the college acquired KLC School of Design, bringing together two long-established and respected providers of specialist creative education. Today, West Dean College consists of three schools – arts, conservation and design – operating across two campuses: our historic rural site near Chichester and a central London campus in Bloomsbury.

Together, these campuses offer an unparalleled setting for interdisciplinary practice and learning, supported by expert tutors, specialist workshops, and access to nationally significant archives and collections. The West Dean campus is also home to the West Dean Tapestry Studio and a number of iconic Surrealist works, including pieces by Salvador Dalí and Leonora Carrington, of whom Edward James was a close friend and patron.

In numbers:

• 65,000+ student days of creative, practice-based education annually (targeting 100,000 by 2030)
• 500+ expert tutors delivering short courses and degree-level education
• 70,000+ visitors to West Dean Gardens each year

West Dean Estate is integral to the life and identity of the Foundation. Spanning over 6,500 acres in the South Downs National Park, it includes farmland, woodland, tenancies, gardens, and heritage buildings – a landscape shaped by centuries of care and adaptation.

The estate is both a working environment and a place of learning, creativity, and public engagement. It includes:

• West Dean Gardens – a major visitor attraction open to the public throughout the year
• Residential and commercial lettings – providing long-term income and supporting the local economy
• Historic parkland and woodlands – managed to enhance biodiversity and landscape value
• The college campus – including studios, workshops, classrooms, student accommodation and exhibition space

Our stewardship of the estate reflects the Foundation’s long-term values: conservation, sustainability, and education. We are committed to increasing biodiversity, investing in environmental land management, and integrating our rural context more fully into the educational and public-facing work of the organisation.

In numbers:

• 6,500 acres of land owned and managed across West Dean Estate
• 14,000+ habitat units of biodiversity

About the role

The Director of People will provide strategic leadership and operational oversight of the People function across West Dean. They will develop and deliver a People Strategy that aligns with West Dean’s vision and values, enabling us to attract, retain and develop talented colleagues across diverse domains – education, gardens, estates, visitor services, and commercial operations.

This role combines strategic partnership with the Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team (ELT) with the need for hands-on delivery in a small, resource-conscious organisation. The postholder will ensure compliance, consistency and best practice across HR, organisational development and wellbeing, while helping to shape a culture that is inclusive, high-performing and resilient.

The Director of People will lead our culture, workforce and organisational development through this next chapter.

This is a rare and rewarding opportunity to:

• Shape and deliver a People Strategy that supports long-term sustainability and growth across our diverse activities: higher education, short courses, gardens, estates, visitor services and commercial operations.
• Play a central role on the Executive Leadership Team, partnering directly with the Chief Executive and Principal.
• Lead cultural change and organisational development, embedding a positive, inclusive and high-performing environment.
• Balance strategic influence with hands-on delivery, ensuring robust HR systems, compliance and good practice in a resource-conscious environment.
• Champion wellbeing, equality and inclusion, ensuring that West Dean remains a place where people feel valued and able to thrive.

This part-time role (0.6 FTE) will suit a senior HR leader who brings vision, resilience and a collaborative style, with a track record of delivering change in complex organisations. You will need to combine strategic insight with operational pragmatism, and bring empathy, credibility and confidence to engage across a wide-ranging workforce.

• The postholder will report to the Chief Executive and Principal. Be based out of West Dean, West Sussex (with occasional travel to the London campus) and have two Direct HR Business Partner Reports.
• This is a 0.6 FTE role. The ELT meets face-to-face weekly on a Wednesday morning, but beyond that working pattern is to be agreed.

Who we are looking for

A strategic people leader who is experienced at having operational oversight of a complex, multi-faceted organisation. A positive change maker who knows how to support organisational development in line with vision and values. Someone who can retain and support the talent of an organisation, knowing that people are at the heart of everything. An experienced senior leader who has operated at the highest level within organisations and can flex to be both strategic and hands-on, as needed. Someone who balances the need for high-performance with wellbeing for all staff and who brings ambition for growth with resource-consciousness. An individual who is inspired by the Edward James Foundation and can inspire others, whilst being pragmatic and action-oriented in terms of establishing robust systems and the compliance needed to underpin future growth.

We need someone with:

• Fellow or Chartered Member of CIPD (desirable).
• Evidence of continuing professional development.

If you fulfil the criteria and are energised by the idea of leading people and culture at one of the UK’s most distinctive organisations, we would be delighted to hear from you.

For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners:

If you would like to know more about this role please contact Marie McQuade

The Edward James Foundation, encompassing West Dean College of Arts and Conservation, West Dean Gardens and the wider estate, is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of its work. We are dedicated to ensuring that our opportunities, services and facilities are as accessible as possible for everyone.

We are guided by our Equality Policy and will not tolerate discrimination on the grounds of disability. We seek to ensure that all students, visitors, staff and Trustees experience the same standards of respect and support. To achieve this, we:

• Provide disability awareness and equality training where appropriate
• Consult and engage with disabled people to inform improvements
• Make reasonable adjustments to facilities, services and information, including the use of assistive devices
• Regularly review the accessibility of our estate, buildings, gardens and digital information
• Ensure all employees and volunteers are aware of our policy and its expectations.

West Dean operates from a historic Grade II listed house and estate, and while there are some physical limitations, we are committed to doing all that is reasonably possible to improve accessibility. Adapted accommodation, accessible facilities and dedicated support are available, and we continue to review and develop our provision to meet diverse needs.

We warmly welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and are committed to ensuring that our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible. If you would like this information in a different format, or if you require adjustments to participate fully in the application or selection process, please let us know.

For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners:

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For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners:

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If you require any job information in an alternative format (e.g. large print), please contact Marie McQuade. Please also let us know if you would like to submit your application in an alternative format.

Recruitment selection processes are based on evidence of competence stated in the person specification and in relation to our values.

Timetable

Closing date: 9 a.m. Monday 3rd November 2025
Candidates informed of outcome: By Friday 7th November 2025
First stage interviews (online): Monday 17th November 2025
Second stage interviews and tour (in person): Friday 28th November 2025

Peridot and The Edward James Foundation (West Dean) are committed to promoting equality and diversity. To help us raise awareness and support a culture that is diverse and recognises and develops the potential of all, we need to appreciate the profile of candidates who apply for positions.We will send you an equality monitoring survey at the point of receiving your application and at the time of placement. This ensures that our processes remain inclusive and equitable throughout, and provides us with important data to help us showcase our impact.

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