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Helen Kitchen

Associate Communications Consultant, Talent Architects
Helen Kitchen represents Talent Architects, a consultancy helping schools become great places to work. She brings over two decades of corporate PR, branding, and communications expertise to the education sector, focusing on how trusts attract and retain staff. Prior to her current role, Helen spent two decades managing corporate reputations across global sectors and operating as an independent communications consultant. Over the last two years, she has worked directly with HR directors and executive leaders in school trusts to bridge the gap between human resources and communication. Helen specialises in auditing messaging, defining clear Employer Value Propositions (EVPs), and treating communication as a vital recruitment tool. Her practical approach ensures schools move past standard job listings to showcase their unique employment offer and keep top talent.
Hall 7

1 Breakout sessions: Series one

Why they join, and why they stay: Connecting your people to your trust’s mission

Is your trust telling its story to employees and potential recruits? This workshop explores how employer branding, communications, and evidence-based storytelling can strengthen recruitment, retention, and trust-wide connection, including through change and mergers - especially for trusts that have limited capacity. Join this session to learn how trusts have successfully utilised people-focused strategies to showcase the value and fulfilment of working in schools, communicating impact and retaining talent. Ideal for trust leaders interested in trust-wide recruitment and retention strategies, including HR Leads, CEOs and COOs.

1 Workshops series one

Culture is everyone’s business: How HR, comms and leadership join forces to attract and keep great people

This session explores how Comms, HR and leadership can work in partnership to strengthen recruitment across your trust, where employer brand, storytelling, and internal culture all play a role. With recruitment challenges continuing across the sector, a more joined-up approach between internal teams can position your trust as employer of choice. Even if your trust doesn’t have a dedicated MarComms team, we’ll explore how aligning messaging, amplifying authentic staff voices, and leveraging word of mouth can help attract and retain the next generation of teachers in a competitive market.