Apprenticeships & Early Careers Lead

Stepnell; Rugby; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Enhanced pension

Annual leave increases with service

Employee referral scheme

Health coverage

Car allowance / company car

Job summary

Stepnell is seeking an Early Careers Specialist to lead the full apprentice and early careers lifecycle across multiple sites. You will coordinate with the People Team, finance and operational leaders to ensure high-quality delivery, mentoring, and structured progression into permanent roles.

You will manage relationships with colleges and training providers, oversee funding and compliance, and drive improvements through data and feedback to enhance apprentice experience and outcomes.

Qualifications

• Experience managing apprenticeships and early careers programmes across multiple sites.
• Strong knowledge of apprenticeship funding, administration, budgets, claims, and compliance.
• Proven ability to build relationships with colleges, universities and training providers.
• Excellent organisation and communication skills to collaborate with managers and external partners.
• Genuine passion for developing people and supporting talent through to qualification.

Responsibilities

• Recruitment and workforce planning for annual apprenticeship recruitment.
• Apprentice management and development including attendance, performance and wellbeing.
• Training and curriculum delivery ensuring right work experience, mentoring, formal training, and off-the-job learning.
• Provider and partner management with colleges, universities, and training providers.
• Funding, budgets and compliance including CITB funding and the apprenticeship service account.
• Progression and talent mapping to a longer-term permanent role.
• Programme improvement and analytics using data, feedback, and insights to improve retention and qualification completion rates.
• Stakeholder collaboration across multiple sites and departments with accountability when standards or progress fall.

Job description

Stepnell is seeking an Early Careers Specialist to lead the full apprentice and early careers lifecycle across multiple sites. You will coordinate with the People Team, finance and operational leaders to ensure high-quality delivery, mentoring, and structured progression into permanent roles.

You will manage relationships with colleges and training providers, oversee funding and compliance, and drive improvements through data and feedback to enhance apprentice experience and outcomes.