Learning and Development Specialist (Talent)

Job summary

Established in 2020, Government Skills (formerly the Government Skills and Curriculum Unit) enhances the quality and consistency of civil service learning and development by delivering better training, knowledge and networks. It serves as the foundation for The Campus, unifying physical and digital environments where more than 450,000 civil servants develop their capabilities across government.

The organisation’s mission is to accelerate capability building for all civil servants and extend impact into the wider public sector, ultimately driving improved public service delivery nationwide.

Under a new Government, Government Skills is transitioning to an updated operating model designed to elevate output quality while reducing learning costs. This expansion marks a dynamic phase of growth, featuring new roles created to drive future strategic goals.

The Beyond Boundaries programme sits within the Fast Stream and Emerging Talent team as part of Government Skills.

Job description

You will oversee end-to-end delivery of the 12-month Beyond Boundaries talent and learning programme, encompassing 11 virtual modules. Your primary duties will include leading and co-facilitating workshops, evaluating session effectiveness and driving continuous programme improvements. Acting as the primary point of contact for approximately 50 learners, you will provide ongoing guidance, formal one-to-one coaching and group coaching via action learning sets.

Administrative responsibilities include issuing pre-work and joining instructions, logging FAQs, gathering workshop feedback and managing tracking and reporting attendance, attrition and evaluations. Following the core 12-month programme, you will deliver an additional 6 months of post-programme mentoring support.

Collaboration across teams is essential to align with overarching programme goals, prevent duplicate efforts and feed key insights into Fast Stream learning evaluation metrics. As needed, you will also scope and assist with other Fast Stream and Emerging Talent learning initiatives and assessments, sharing best practice across the business unit to reinforce a centre of expertise model.

Following completion of the programme, you will deliver an additional six months of post-programme mentoring support to participants.

This role involves collaborating closely with colleagues across teams to ensure alignment with wider programme goals, prevent duplication, and contribute relevant data and insights to the overarching Fast Stream learning evaluation. Furthermore, you will assist with scoping and supporting additional Fast Stream and Emerging Talent learning assessments and initiatives as required, sharing best practice across the business unit in line with our centre of expertise model.

Person specification

Experience & Knowledge

Essential

• Experience of facilitating learning events individually and in pairs;
• A theoretical and practical understanding of different adult learning styles and how this can shape the design and delivery of learning interventions;
• An understanding of evaluation methods and measuring learning impact, including continuous improvement and the challenges associated with this;
• Experience of formal coaching and talent development and learning principles.
• Excellent knowledge of the wider civil service and civil service career pathways, success profiles and development opportunities.

Desirable:

• Evidence of proactively using a variety of learning methodologies and styles;
• Ability to promote a culture of continuous learning where innovative and quality learning is available and accessible for all;
• Experience in using formal coaching tools to enhance facilitation.
• Experience in structured talent development

Skills

• Experience in delivery and facilitation of training workshops
• An eye for detail and excellent organisation skills.
• Ability to manage projects effectively and proactively, delivering outcomes in a timely manner;
• Open to feedback and willingness to learn, demonstrating learning agility and a growth mindset.
• Ability to build strong relationships and work well with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience of working with complex data, and use this to make informed decisions.

Qualifications:

• A formal coaching qualification and/or extensive formal coaching experience and preferably Level 5 CIPD L&D qualification or willing to work towards.

Additional information:

Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Developing Self and Others
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £45,292, Cabinet Office contributes £13,121 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

As part of the application form you will be asked to submit:

• A CV

And a

• A 500 word Personal Statement/Statement of suitability setting out how you meet the criteria in the person specification

Selection process

During the Interview process you will be asked question on behaviours and Strengths.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – TBC

Expected intervi