Early Careers Specialist

Kepak Group; Kirkham; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food company in the UK is seeking an Early Careers Specialist to drive its placement, apprenticeship, and graduate programmes. This role involves collaborating with educational institutions, managing recruitment strategies, and ensuring effective learning pathways for early talent. The ideal candidate has experience in designing Early Careers programmes, excellent stakeholder engagement skills, and a passion for nurturing talent in the food industry. Benefits include a pension plan, educational support, employee discounts, and mental health assistance.

Benefits

Company Pension

Further Education support

Employee Discount Platform

Cycle to Work Scheme

Long Service Awards

GroceryAid Employee Assistance Program

Qualifications

• Proven experience in designing and managing Early Careers programmes.
• In-depth knowledge of graduate, apprenticeship, and placement schemes.
• Excellent relationship-building capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement an Early Careers strategy aligned with business needs.
• Lead graduate, apprenticeship, and placement programmes ensuring quality.
• Build partnerships with educational institutions and training providers.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Program design

Evaluation of Early Careers programmes

Learning content development

Tools

Learning Management Systems (LMS)

HR Platforms

Job description

Kepak is one of Europe's leading food companies with manufacturing sites across Ireland and the UK. Kepak's vision is to be a successful, sustainable, future ready Food Business with differentiation at its core, that is a great place to work. This vision is underpinned by our values of Responsibility, Ambition, Passion For Food & Teamwork.

Early Careers Specialist

Are you passionate about giving opportunities to and nurturing the next generation of talent in the food industry? At Kepak, we are on a mission to innovate, sustain and grow our business and our Early Careers programmes are vital to that ambition. We are now recruiting an Early Careers Specialist to help us take it to the next step.

As Early Careers Specialist, you will be the driving force behind our placement, apprentice and graduate programmes, attracting top talent from diverse backgrounds, and equipping them with the hands‑on skills, knowledge and behaviours that they need to thrive during, and after, our programmes, as they progress their careers with us.

This role will see you collaborating with senior leaders, education institutions and industry partners to build programmes that are best in class, fill critical skills gaps and foster a culture of innovation, inclusion and long‑term retention.

This is your opportunity to make a real impact, in a great business, in an essential sector – the food industry – whilst advancing your own career in a supportive and forward‑thinking environment.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Impact: Support the development and drive the implementation of a business‑aligned Early Careers strategy that supports workforce planning and talent pipelines
• Programme Delivery: Lead the end‑to‑end delivery of graduate, apprenticeship, and placement programmes, ensuring consistency, quality, and impact
• Learning & Development: Design and deliver structured training plans and learner journeys tailored to each Early Careers pathway
• Recruitment & Selection: Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to design and execute recruitment campaigns, assessment centres, and interviews
• External Engagement: Build and maintain strategic partnerships with schools, colleges, universities, training providers, and skills bodies
• Pastoral & Manager Support: Provide pastoral care to early talent cohorts and guidance to their managers and mentors to ensure a supportive learning environment
• Advocacy & Influence: Act as an internal ambassador for Early Careers, influencing stakeholders and promoting the value of early talent across the business
• Budget Management: Own and manage the Early Careers budget, ensuring effective use of resources and value for money
• Data & Insights: Maintain programme databases and produce regular reports and insights to monitor retention, progression, and overall programme effectiveness

Travel: Regular travel within the UK and Ireland

Requirements

• Proven experience in designing, managing, and evaluating Early Careers programmes
• In‑depth knowledge of best practices in graduate, apprenticeship, and placement schemes
• Skilled in developing learning content across multiple formats to support the goals of EC programmes
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship‑building capabilities
• Understanding of safeguarding responsibilities and pastoral support
• Experience with Learning Management Systems (LMS) & HR Platforms

Benefits

• Company Pension
• Further Education support
• Employee Discount Platform – All Kepak employees are entitled to access the WrkIt platform, which offers significant discounts and cashback with hundreds of brands
• Cycle to Work Scheme – You can buy a bike and safety equipment through a salary‑sacrifice scheme which reduces your taxable income – meaning you pay less tax!
• Long Service Awards – We recognise, acknowledge and award the dedication and valuable contribution of long‑serving employees
• GroceryAid Employee Assistance Program – help with a wide range of topics including mental health and wellbeing support, family and relationship advice, debt management, back‑to‑work support, and counselling for all Kepak colleagues and their families.