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Job summary

Main area
OD
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Full time
  • Part time
  • Flexible working
  • Home or remote working
37.5 hours per week
Employer
Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Invista
Town
Gloucester
Salary
£55,690 - £62,682 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
25/08/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust logo

Learning and Development Strategic Lead

NHS AfC: Band 8a

We love what we do and we think you will, too!

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county. 

We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding careWe put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you’.

We’re passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and we are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality teams in all areas of the Trust.

Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience.  We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.

It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC.  We discourage over reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us .

 

Job overview

Are you passionate about people and maximising their potential in work?

We have two great opportunities to join the leadership team of a high performing mental health, learning disabilities and community NHS trust. We’re looking for two values-driven, innovative and highly skilled professionals to join our team within the HR Directorate as the Strategic Lead: Learning & Development and the Strategic Lead: Organisational Development.

We deliver a wide range of services in the homes and 55+ community sites across Gloucestershire. With “Good” CQC rating, sound finances and 6,000 staff, we are based in a truly beautiful part of the country which includes a diverse mix of rural and urban – from the Cotswolds, Severn Vale, Stroud Valleys and the Forest of Dean, to Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Cirencester and Gloucester city.

Our strategic goals are to deliver High Quality Care, Better Health, Sustainability and a Great Place to Work. Our People Strategy gives six commitments to achieve our Great Place to Work ambitions including: -

  • Model recruitment & retention
  • Health and well-being
  • Great culture, values & behaviours
  • Strong voice
  • Equality, diversity & inclusion
  • Full potential

Main duties of the job

Strategic Lead: Learning & Development

Band 8A - £55,690,215 to £62,682 per annum (dependent on experience)

Hours: 37½ hours per week (Full Time)

Base: Invista Training Hub, Gloucester with some travel to other locations and home-working (Hybrid working)

As a skilled and experienced Learning & Development practitioner you will have the ability to deliver innovative best practice aligned to our dynamic and often fast changing needs. You will rapidly build great relationships, credibility and a local knowledge. Passionate about values and civility, you will exemplify authentic, kind and compassionate leadership.

Working for our organisation

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people’s homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us.  In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views.  It was great to hear that:

  • 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
  • 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
  • 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust’s priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement.  However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This role provides strategic leadership and operational management of the Trust’s Learning & Development function, developing and driving innovation through high quality Learning & Development practice, expert knowledge and guidance. You will lead and oversee the operational delivery of the Learning & Development Offer across the Trust, including overseeing our Organisational learning needs analysis, working to align our L&D needs to our strategic programmes such as the Leadership & Culture Programme, supporting the continual review of the Mandatory & Essential to Role training and leading on Evaluation and Impact of organisation’s training programmes with Team Leads.

Bringing energy, insight and a focus for learning and development, you will have responsibility for developing and driving a high-performance service culture whilst also instigating and supporting a range of learning and development initiatives. You will be highly driven, goal and action orientated, have a talent for inspiring and motivating teams, with a track-record of delivery. You will have experience of line managing teams and be a role model for inclusive thinking and practice within your field.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Masters or equivalent professional qualification or equivalent experience in Education
  • Successfully completed an approved teaching/leadership qualification at post graduate E.g. Post Graduate Certificate/Diploma in higher Education, Practice Educator/Practice Teacher Qualification and/or Post Graduate Leadership programme
  • CIPD Qualified

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Previous management experience at a senior level
  • Experience of staff management/ staff supervision
  • Experience of project management tools and techniques
  • Experience of developing and implementing new systems, and projects within an organisation.
  • Managed and supported learners at a senior level.
  • Experience of working within a complex environment and managing relationships with key stakeholders.
  • Interpreted and acted upon audited information at a senior level.
  • Substantial experience of providing education & learning at all levels.
Desirable criteria
  • Budgetary income/management experience.
  • Experience of change management tools and techniques to support change within health and social care

Professional, Managerial and Specialist

Essential criteria
  • Experience of working on ESR/OLM or similar Learning Management System, including data analysis and reporting
Desirable criteria
  • Previous experience of working within the NHS

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Veteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveDisability confident leaderImproving working livesCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.NHS Pastoral CareStep into healthNational Preceptorship for Nursing Quality Mark

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Sue Tomlins
Job title
Learning & Development Team Secretary
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
07929 385509
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