The opportunity We’ve got an exciting permanent opportunity for the right people to join our Workforce Development team (WD) in the position of Learning Development Specialist. It’s a chance to be appointed to a role where you can make a difference to our people’s experience, our current and future workforce, our organisation and ultimately the communities we serve. The Learning and Development Specialist will be responsible for conducting comprehensive Learning Needs Analyses (LNA) to assess the skills, knowledge, and competencies of employees within the Council. This role involves collaborating with various departments to identify training needs, developing tailored training programs, and evaluating the effectiveness of learning initiatives. Working collaboratively with colleagues across the Council, you’ll use your creative and innovative skill set to plan and conduct a systematic Learning Needs Analyses through various trusted methods, and observations to identify skill gaps and training requirements. You will be passionate about developing a workforce, have experience of analysing data and identifying trends, skills gaps, and learning needs based on the information collected. The role You’ll play a key role in our WD team by working collaboratively across the Council, and with Newcastle University (NU) to establish reciprocal learning opportunities to design and implement shared learning activities. You will actively contribute to an effective learning culture by supporting leaders and employees to adopt and pilot learning approaches, evaluate their effectiveness and promote continuous improvement. By building strong and effective relationships, you will form alliances with internal and other external stakeholders and organisations to identify opportunities to leverage great partnership working, such as the promotion of short-term placements between the Council and NU. By using insight, you will provide recommendations to support in the development and implementation of effective training solutions that align with identified needs and organisational objectives. You will work alongside department heads and managers to understand specific learning needs and organisational goals and support in identifying ‘champions’ who can support in undertaking a skills analysis, utilising a collaborative approach to develop a multi-layered learning pathway. The person We’re looking for someone who has an excellent understanding of engaging people. We want someone who is excited about staying updated on industry trends and best practices in learning and development to enhance learning strategies and inform research. We want you to be passionate about learning, and have familiarity with adult learning principles, instructional design models, and various learning styles. We require someone who has had extensive experience in data collation and knowledge of different methods for gathering information, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, and observational assessments. You will have demonstrable knowledge and experience of analysing data and identify trends, gaps, and training needs based on the information collected. You must have an in depth understanding of competency frameworks and previous experience of utilising competency models relevant to the industry or organisation, which helps in identifying the skills and knowledge required for various roles. Project management and change management experience is essential, with an understanding of the importance of measuring the effectiveness of training programs and learning outcomes through various evaluation techniques. You must have a degree in HR, Education, Organisational/Learning Development, or a related field. Also required is a professional certification in Learning and Development/HR such as Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP), Association for Talent Development (ATD) certifications or Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP). This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious, organised and creative person to navigate a busy and demanding job. The salary The starting salary for this role is £42,403 rising to £45,441. What’s in it for you? Well, there’s so much on offer, here’s just a few of the highlights... We’ll help you save for your future with an outstanding employer contribution to your pension of approximately 18.9% per year You’ll have access to great health and wellbeing support. You will receive a generous mileage allowance when using your vehicle for work purposes You’ll get an attractive annual leave package of 28 days annual leave for new employees, rising to 32 days after 5 years continuous service, plus bank holidays. A chance to buy up to 10 additional holidays per year. The opportunity to work flexibly in order to deliver service demands and support your work life balance, we call it Smart Working. A robust Workforce Development offer with lots of opportunities for learning to progress your career and to enhance your knowledge. Full access to our fantastic employee benefits scheme where you get instant benefits to a range of fantastic savings to support every aspect of your life - from supermarkets, high street shopping, amazing days out, and much more! A generous Flexi-Time scheme with the opportunity to take up to 2 flexi days per 4 week flexi period, depending on the needs of the service. How to apply and closing date for applications We encourage you to take a look at the full job profile. It’s important that you read it in full and check that you meet the essential criteria, because when we start choosing people to come and meet us, we’ll be checking they meet the essential criteria. If you would like to discuss this role further, please email Nikita Snowdon, Senior Workforce Development Adviser [email protected].
