Early Careers Lead

Lincolnshire Co-op; Lincoln; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days annual leave

Pension scheme

Colleague discount

Wellbeing support

Learning & development

Community initiatives

Job summary

Lincolnshire Co-op is seeking an ambitious Early Careers Lead to shape our apprenticeship, graduate and internship programmes. You’ll partner with education providers and internal teams to create engaging, inclusive pathways that help people start rewarding careers.

You'll champion strong partnerships, monitor progress with data-driven insights, and support mentors to develop tomorrow's talent while aligning with our community-focused values and long-term workforce needs.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting apprenticeships, graduate programmes or learning and development initiatives.
• Ability to build positive relationships with a range of stakeholders.
• Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Confident communication and adaptability to different audiences.
• Experience coaching, supporting and encouraging others to succeed.
• Interest in early careers, employability and developing future talent.
• Comfort using data and insights to monitor progress and identify opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate apprenticeship, graduate, internship and work placement programmes across the Society.
• Support learners throughout their programme, ensuring they have a positive and engaging experience.
• Build strong relationships with training providers, colleges, universities and community organisations.
• Monitor programme progress and provide insight, reporting and recommendations for improvement.
• Promote early careers opportunities both internally and externally through events and outreach activities.
• Support managers and mentors with guidance, coaching and resources to develop early talent.
• Ensure apprenticeship programmes remain compliant with funding and regulatory requirements.
• Champion inclusive opportunities and encourage participation from a diverse range of candidates.
• Work collaboratively with Talent Acquisition and wider People teams to support workforce planning and future skills development.

Skills

Early careers

Stakeholder management

Organised

Communication skills

Coaching

Data-driven

Diversity & inclusion

Job description

About the role

Discover Talent. Create Opportunity. Shape Futures.

What if your next role helped people take their first steps into a rewarding career?

At Lincolnshire Co-op, we believe great careers start with great opportunities. From apprenticeships and placements to graduate programmes and internships, we're committed to helping people develop skills, build confidence and realise their potential.

That's where you come in.

Ready to inspire the next generation of talent?

As our Early Careers Lead, you'll take ownership of our early careers programmes, ensuring apprentices, graduates and interns receive an engaging, supportive and rewarding experience throughout their journey with us. You'll work closely with colleagues, managers, training providers and education partners to create opportunities that help individuals thrive while supporting the future workforce needs of the Society.

You'll play an important role in developing and promoting career pathways, strengthening relationships with external partners and identifying ways to continuously improve our early careers offering.

If you're passionate about developing people, building partnerships and creating opportunities for future talent, we'd love to hear from you.

What you'll be doing

• Lead and coordinate apprenticeship, graduate, internship and work placement programmes across the Society.
• Support learners throughout their programme, ensuring they have a positive and engaging experience.
• Build strong relationships with training providers, colleges, universities and community organisations.
• Monitor programme progress and provide insight, reporting and recommendations for improvement.
• Promote early careers opportunities both internally and externally through events and outreach activities.
• Support managers and mentors with guidance, coaching and resources to develop early talent.
• Ensure apprenticeship programmes remain compliant with funding and regulatory requirements.
• Champion inclusive opportunities and encourage participation from a diverse range of candidates.
• Work collaboratively with Talent Acquisition and wider People teams to support workforce planning and future skills development.

Want to know more? You can download and review the job description which is available on this page.

INDHP

About You

You may already be working in an early careers, apprenticeships, learning and development or talent role, or perhaps you're looking for the opportunity to take the next step in your career.

Most importantly, you'll be passionate about helping people develop and creating career opportunities that make a lasting difference.

You'll probably recognise yourself in this if:

• You have experience supporting apprenticeships, graduate programmes or learning and development initiatives.
• You can build positive relationships with a range of stakeholders, both internally and externally.
• You're highly organised and able to manage multiple priorities effectively.
• You communicate confidently and can adapt your approach to different audiences.
• You enjoy coaching, supporting and encouraging others to succeed.
• You have an interest in early careers, employability and developing future talent.
• You're comfortable using data and insight to monitor progress and identify opportunities for improvement.
• You are committed to creating inclusive and accessible opportunities for everyone.

Why this role matters

Our future success depends on attracting, developing and retaining talented people.

As Early Careers Lead, you'll help create meaningful opportunities for individuals beginning their careers while supporting the Society's long-term skills and capability needs. You'll make a real difference by connecting people with opportunities, helping them develop confidence, gain valuable experience and build successful careers. Based on the role purpose and responsibilities in

You'll help shape:

• How we attract and develop emerging talent.
• How apprentices, graduates and interns experience Lincolnshire Co-op.
• How managers and mentors support early career colleagues.
• How we strengthen partnerships with education and training providers.
• How future skills and talent pipelines support the Society's success.

Ultimately, you'll help us deliver our purpose of bringing together ideas, energy and resources to make life better in our communities.

What you'll get in return

Alongside the opportunity to make a positive impact on people's careers, you'll receive:

• 30 days annual leave, rising with service (including bank holidays).
• Generous pension scheme.
• Colleague discount across our family of businesses.
• Wellbeing support and employee assistance services.
• Learning and development opportunities to support your own career growth.
• Opportunities to contribute to local community initiatives.

We're also proud to be an Investors in People Platinum employer, demonstrating our commitment to developing colleagues and creating an environment where people can thrive.

Help shape someone's future

Careers don't happen by chance. They're built through opportunity, support and encouragement.

In this role, you'll help people take their first steps, develop their potential and discover what they're capable of achieving. If that sounds like something you'd be proud to be part of, we'd love to hear from you.

About Us

From a single store in 1861 we have grown to be one of the most successful co-operatives in the UK. We’re proud to be able to offer a wide range of services from across our family of businesses. From Food Stores and Pharmacies to Post Offices and Support Services, we’re a growing society made up of over 220 outlets and nearly 3,000 colleagues.
We're owned by our members, the people of Lincolnshire and surrounding counties, and have been for more than 160 years! Communities are at the heart of everything we do and motivates us to deliver more than great customer service. We support them by sharing dividend with our members, investing in new and improved services, raising money for charity through our Community Champion scheme, supporting local schools and so much more!
We work together as a Society and are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is barrier free and as inclusive as possible for everyone. If you need any adjustments, would like us to do anything differently during the interview or would like to get in touch with us about anything else, please contact our Recruitment team on [phone], or alternatively you can email [e-mail].
We may choose to close our vacancies in the event that we receive a high volume of suitable applications, so we encourage all candidates to apply as soon as possible.