Early Careers Specialist

Stepnell; Rugby; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

7% pension contribution

Annual leave increments with service

Employee referral scheme

Comprehensive health coverage

Flexible start finish times

Car allowance or company car

Job summary

Stepnell is seeking an Early Careers Specialist to lead and grow our apprenticeship and early careers programmes across multiple sites. You will shape the learner journey from attraction and recruitment through to qualification and progression into permanent roles.

You will partner with the People Team, Finance, and site leaders to drive programme improvements using data and feedback, ensuring high-quality delivery and alignment with the wider People Strategy.

Qualifications

• Experience managing apprenticeships and other early careers programmes across multiple sites or departments.
• Strong knowledge of apprenticeship funding, administration, budgets, claims, funding records, compliance requirements, and the apprenticeship service account.
• Demonstrated experience managing and holding colleges, universities, and external training providers accountable for delivery.
• Excellent organisation and communication skills with the confidence to collaborate with, influence, and challenge managers and external partners.
• A genuine passion for developing people and supporting early-career talent through to qualification and career progression.
• Previous experience within the construction industry, particularly knowledge of degree apprenticeships and CITB funding, is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Recruitment and workforce planning for apprentices and trainees.
• Act as the main point of contact for apprentices and trainees, supporting their ongoing development, attendance, performance, and wellbeing.
• Ensure apprentices receive the right work experience, mentoring, formal training, and off-the-job learning.
• Build and manage effective relationships with colleges, universities, and training providers, holding them accountable for high-quality delivery.
• Oversee apprenticeship funding, budgets, claims, grants, CITB funding, and the apprenticeship service account.
• Ensure apprentices and trainees are fully supported through their qualifications with a clear route into permanent roles.
• Utilise data, feedback, and insights to improve retention, qualification completion rates, and the apprentice experience.
• Build strong relationships across multiple sites and departments, with managers and providers accountable for progress.

Skills

Apprenticeship programmes

Funding & compliance

Provider management

Stakeholder management

People development

Construction industry knowledge

Job description

Are you passionate about early careers, talent development, and playing a key role in shaping how future talent builds knowledge, skills, and capabilities across our business?

Recently accredited with Investors in People - We Invest in Apprentices Gold— we have a proud history of investing in our early careers programmes, with a significant proportion of our workforce either currently or previously enrolled onto an early careers programme. The appointment of this role is key as we continue to invest further in our future talent pipeline.

We are seeking an Early Careers Specialist to lead the delivery and expansion of our apprenticeship and early careers programmes, driving a key pillar of our wider People Strategy. This is a proactive, impactful role where you will shape programmes, influence senior stakeholders, and lead the complete apprentice and trainee journey—from attraction and recruitment through to qualification and progression into permanent roles.

The Role

As our Early Careers Specialist, you will be responsible for the full apprentice and early careers lifecycle. You will act as the go-to person for apprentices and trainees, ensuring they receive the right work experience, mentoring, formal training, and off-the-job learning required to succeed.

Working closely with the People Team, Finance, operational leaders, managers, and mentors, you won't just manage programmes; you will serve as the key link between the business and external training partners, driving continuous programme improvements using data, feedback, and operational insights.

Key Responsibilities

• Recruitment & Workforce Planning: Identify future skills needs across the business and build an annual apprenticeship recruitment plan.
• Apprentice Management & Development: Act as the main point of contact for apprentices and trainees, supporting their ongoing development, attendance, performance, and wellbeing.
• Training & Curriculum Delivery: Ensure apprentices and trainees receive the right work experience, mentoring, formal training, and off-the-job learning.
• Provider & Partner Management: Build and manage effective relationships with colleges, universities, and training providers, holding them accountable for high-quality delivery.
• Funding, Budgets & Compliance: Oversee and manage apprenticeship funding, budgets, claims, grants, CITB funding, and the apprenticeship service account.
• Progression & Talent Mapping: Ensure apprentices and trainees are fully supported through their qualifications with a clear, structured route into longer-term permanent roles.
• Programme Improvement & Analytics: Utilise data, feedback, and insights to improve retention, qualification completion rates, and the overall apprentice experience.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Build strong relationships across multiple sites and departments, holding managers and external training providers accountable when standards or progress fall below expectations.

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for an experienced, highly organised, and confident Early Careers professional who understands the apprenticeship landscape and can hit the ground running. You will possess a genuine interest in developing people, strong stakeholder management skills, and the confidence to challenge standards to drive excellence.

Your Profile

• Experience: Proven experience managing apprenticeships and other early careers programmes across multiple sites or departments.
• Funding & Compliance Knowledge: Strong knowledge of apprenticeship funding, administration, budgets, claims, funding records, compliance requirements, and the apprenticeship service account.
• Provider Management: Demonstrated experience managing and holding colleges, universities, and external training providers accountable for delivery.
• Stakeholder Management: Excellent organisation and communication skills with the confidence to collaborate with, influence, and challenge managers and external partners.
• People Development Focus: A genuine passion for developing people and supporting early‑career talent through to qualification and career progression.
• Sector Knowledge (Advantageous): Previous experience within the construction industry, particularly knowledge of degree apprenticeships and CITB funding, is highly desirable.

Why Stepnell

At Stepnell, we’re passionate about empowering our people to thrive. We believe in building fulfilling and rewarding careers by investing in talent, nurturing growth, and inspiring innovation. With the prestigious Investors in People Gold accreditation, we’re proud to place our people at the heart of everything we do. Every team member is valued, and curiosity and collaboration are central to our team culture. We’re committed to enabling our people to make a real impact and drive meaningful change throughout our business.

To show our appreciation, we offer generous and competitive benefits including, an enhanced pension scheme with a Stepnell contribution of 7% to help secure your financial future, annual leave that increases with service and the flexibility to purchase more, a market leading employee referral scheme, and for eligible roles comprehensive health coverage, adjustable start and finish times and a car allowance or company car.

Join us in a collaborative and inclusive environment where your well‑being is our priority, and your contributions are truly valued.

About Stepnell

As a family‑owned business with over 155 years of history, Stepnell is built on stability, trust, and long‑term thinking. We make decisions with the future in mind for our people, our clients, and our communities.

Our capabilities span construction, property development, energy solutions, joinery, and concrete repair, allowing us to offer integrated services that meet a wide range of client needs. Operating through six regional offices in Rugby, Nottingham, Liverpool, Wantage, Bristol, Southampton, Exeter and across three core business units, we maintain a strong local presence while delivering consistently high standards. Today, repeat clients account for 75% of our turnover, a testament to our reliability and the quality of our relationships.