Head of Leadership, Learning and Talent
As the UK’s largest supported living provider, with 10,000 team members across a complex, multi-site environment, we operate in one of the most competitive and people-dependent sectors in the economy.
Building on significant progress we are looking ahead and want to mature and evolve our service, technology and governance with an exceptional People Leader - Heading up Learning and Development, driving a real and tangible learning culture across the business, with efficiency, effectiveness and impact.
The Opportunity
This is not a typical Learning and Development role. This is a mandate to transform how we learn as a business, how we actively organise ourselves to ensure our people are ready to meet the regulatory and people demands that exist in a large social care business. This person understands how to ensure Learning contributes helping every team member and manager succeeds in their role, that can demonstrate measurable impact, and how to ensure that learning contributes to career development and enhances the experience.
Ideally, you’ve done this before, and know how to organise and mobilise a remote team to provide the business with engaging, efficient and effective learning every single day. You know what levers to pull to influence the business to ensure a learning culture translates into what and how we operate in each of our services. With accountability for Leadership, Apprenticeships, Specialist & Generalist Care, Career Development, Talent and Succession.
As Lifeways enters its next phase of growth, the People function need to be equal to of bigger than our business ambition with the right capability – engaged and restless to drive the right learning where it is needed, and to transform beyond the foundations in place. This role will play a critical part in ensuring our People proposition and culture meets our regulatory demands today, and fit is for the future.
Reporting to the Chief People Officer, you will lead a team of 40 (with 6 direct reports) and own a critical part of a high-quality operational business
Lifeways operates in a complex and evolving sector, where the ability to build leadership capability at scale is critical to long-term success. Over the past two years, we have made significant progress in strengthening our approach to Leadership, Learning and Talent. We are now entering the next phase — with a clear ambition to create a more structured, scalable and impactful capability model.
This role offers the opportunity to shape and embed a learning culture that will:
Strengthen leadership capability across our frontline operations
Build robust internal talent pipelines and increase internal progression
Support workforce plans aligned to growth and digital enablement
Sitting at the heart of the People function, this role will play a key part in ensuring Lifeways has the leadership strength and capability required to sustain high-quality care at scale.
The Role
Reporting to the Chief People Officer, you will lead the creation of a cohesive, structured Leadership, Learning and Talent function, moving from fragmented activity to a high-impact, outcome-driven capability model.
Core Accountabilities
Leadership Capability & Manager Effectiveness
Define and embed a clear leadership framework, building capability across a large, dispersed frontline workforce and improving manager effectiveness, confidence and consistency.
Manager Induction
Design and deliver a scalable, high-quality Manager Induction programme, ensuring leaders are equipped to perform effectively from day one.
Learning Culture & Capability Development
Shift from training delivery to a more embedded learning culture, where development is practical, accessible and integrated into day-to-day operations.
Structured Learning Model
Create a clear, governed and scalable approach to learning, moving from reactive activity to prioritised, outcome-led programmes with measurable impact.
Apprenticeships & Workforce Development
Lead a high-impact apprenticeship strategy, maximising levy utilisation and building clear career pathways to support progression and internal mobility.
Talent, Succession & Leadership Pipelines
Develop a structured approach to succession planning, critical role mapping and leadership pipelines, increasing internal promotion rates and reducing reliance on external hiring.
Workforce Planning & Future Readiness
Align learning and talent strategies to workforce planning priorities, ensuring capability keeps pace with organisational growth and digital enablement.
Commercial Impact & Outcomes
Deliver measurable outcomes, including increased internal progression, stronger succession coverage, improved leadership capability and reduced agency reliance — shifting focus from activity to business impact.
What We’re Looking For
Proven leader in Leadership, Learning & Talent within large, complex organisations
Experience in frontline, multi-site environments (care, retail, healthcare, logistics etc)
Strong track record of building structured L&D and talent frameworks at scale
Deep expertise in:
Experience linking learning strategy to workforce planning and business growth
Commercial mindset with a relentless focus on outcomes and ROI
Ability to influence and drive change at scale
Why Lifeways?
Scale & Impact: 10,000 team members delivering essential care services within Supported Living, Residential and Mental Health across the UK.
Purpose-Led Organisation: Making a meaningful difference every day
Recognised Excellence: Proud recipients of the Princess Royal Training Award 2025 for excellence in L & D
Transformation & Growth: Strong foundations already in place, with clear ambition for the future
Career-Defining Opportunity: Build the capability engine that underpins organisational success