Early Careers Specialist - Rugby

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

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 159 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, bespoke joinery and concrete repair, allowing us to offer services that meet a wide range of client needs. Operating through eight regional offices in Rugby, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Wantage, Bristol, Southampton, and 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.