Capability and Talent Lead - 12 month fixed term contract

AO; Bolton; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Pension contribution

Discounted gym membership

Enhanced family leave

Onsite perks including free breakfast and coffee

Job summary

AO is seeking a Capability & Workforce Planning Lead based in Bolton. This role is crucial for enhancing workforce capability through data-driven insights and strategic planning.

The successful candidate will analyze assessment data, support development activities, and contribute to automation and process improvements. We offer a vibrant culture, onsite work, and excellent employee benefits, including 25 days holiday and enhanced family leave.

Qualifications

• Experienced across People Partnering and organisational development.
• Strong analytical and communication skills to simplify complex data.
• Skilled at creating practical development solutions.

Responsibilities

• Analyse existing capability assessment data to identify skills gaps.
• Deliver actionable insights for People Partners and business leaders.
• Build capability development roadmaps at all levels.

Skills

Organisational development

Analytical skills

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Project delivery

Job description

Job Overview

About The Role

At AO, great people make great things happen. As Capability & Workforce Planning Lead, you will support the delivery of our capability and workforce planning programme.

Working with People Partners, Talent Manager and leaders across the business, you'll use our existing capability, talent and workforce insight to identify risks, spot opportunities and contribute to building practical plans that strengthen capability where it matters most. Helping shape a workforce that's ready for what's next - driving organisational effectiveness, enabling capability, and identifying opportunities for process optimisation, automation and AI adoption.

Our people are our superpower, and we’re unstoppable when we’re together! We want your ideas to flow, and what better way to make that happen than being based onsite, 5 days a week, where our culture fuels creativity, collaboration and growth. If a £1 bet in the pub between two friends can become the UKs most trusted electrical retailer, imagine what else can be achieved when we’re together.

Here’s What You Can Expect To Be Doing

• Analyse existing capability assessment data to identify skills gaps, capability risks and critical role vulnerabilities.
• Bring together capability, talent and performance data, producing actionable insights and reporting for People Partners, Talent Manager and Business Leaders.
• Deliver meaningful insight and recommendations that support business decisions.
• Support capability diagnostics to understand current and future workforce needs.
• Prioritise development activity based on business impact, risk and future capability requirements.
• Identify emerging capabilities to support workforce planning, organisational design and efficiency opportunities.
• Build capability development roadmaps at business, team and individual levels.
• Partner with Learning & Development to create practical, scalable development solutions.
• Embed opportunities for automation, AI and process improvement into capability and workforce plans.
• Support delivery of the wider capability programme, tracking progress, managing risks and driving actions through to completion.

A Few Things About You

• Experienced across People Partnering, organisational development, workforce planning and capability frameworks.
• Curious and insight driven, strong analytical & communication skills – able to simplify complex data to create compelling insight & meaningful actions.
• Skilled at creating practical development solutions and capability plans.
• Strong partnering, stakeholder management, and influencing skills.
• Solid understanding of talent, succession planning, and emerging ways of working.
• Comfortable working in ambiguity and evolving environments.
• Experienced in delivering projects, programmes or business change in a fast paced environment.

A Bit About Us

We’re big on appliances and electricals, REALLY big. Washing machines, fridge freezers and TVs? They’re our bread and butter. Mobiles, Airwraps and Ring doorbells? Yep, those too. If it plugs in, powers up or makes life easier, AO probably has it.

But we’re more than that… For over 25 years, trust has been at the heart of everything we do, helping us become the UK’s most trusted electrical retailer. Our customers rate us 4.9 on Trustpilot from nearly ONE MILLION reviews and more 5‑star ratings than any other UK electrical retailer, because they know they can rely on us and it’s the exact same for our AOers too.

We truly believe it’s more than just a job, we genuinely care about each other and our impact on making our customers lives easier, by helping them brilliantly. Everyone here knows how their role makes a difference. Our people are our superpower, so, when it comes to finding new AOers, we know it’s about more than just a CV, it’s about what makes you, YOU.

Our Benefits

Our benefits are designed to cover the moments that matter to AOers. From health and wellness to giving back – you’ll be rewarded inside and outside of work.

• Holidays; 25 days, plus bank holidays (increasing to 27 days after 2 years with us!)
• Pension; Contribute 5% of your annual salary and we’ll do the same, giving you a little extra support for the future.
• Be a VIP at the AO Arena; we have loads of opportunities to win free tickets and pre‑sale access!
• Health & wellbeing; discounted gym membership, an onsite spa and our Help @ Hand scheme giving you access to virtual GP’s, Mental Health support and much more.
• Discounts; exclusive discounts across our product range.
• Family leave; Enhanced Maternity, Paternity and Adoption leave.
• Making a difference; 2 fully paid days a year to donate your time to any charity of your choice.
• On site perks; start your day with free on site parking, grabbing a complimentary breakfast and a coffee at our in house coffee shop!

To see all our benefits and perks, visit our AO Benefits page.