Head of L&D

ABP Food Group; Park Central; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

ABP Food Group in the UK is seeking a senior Learning and Development leader to shape strategy, design and deliver programmes that build critical capabilities across the business.

You will lead governance, budget, and ROI, drive a culture of continuous development, manage an L&D team, and collaborate with HR and site leaders to align learning with operational goals; extensive UK travel is required.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8–10 years in Learning and Development with proven leadership.
• Experience shaping UK-wide L&D programmes and driving ROI.
• Strong collaboration with HR, operations and site GMs.
• Professional L&D certifications and psychometric tool experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategy, design and delivery of L&D across the UK.
• Oversee governance, compliance, records and reporting.
• Manage the L&D budget and report ROI and impact.
• Develop and lead the L&D team including leadership development.
• Partner with external providers and internal stakeholders to align pathways.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Project management

Stakeholder management

Digital learning

LMS expertise

Learning analytics

Budgeting & ROI

Education

Professional certifications in L&D

Tools

LMS platforms

AI-enabled learning

Learning analytics tools

Digital content creation

Virtual learning tools

Job description

Lead the strategy, design, and implementation of learning and development programmes to enhance employee skills, drive organisational growth, and align talent development with strategic and operational business objectives.

This position is pivotal in shaping the organisation's learning culture, ensuring employees are equipped with the skills, knowledge and behaviours to meet current and future business challenges while fostering continuous professional growth., Strategic Leadership: Develop and implement the overall UK L&D strategy within the Group framework, ensuring alignment with organisational goals and business priorities, addressing labour availability and key skill challenges

• Programme Design & Delivery: Oversee the creation, delivery, and evaluation of training programmes, workshops, leadership development initiatives, and culture transformation projects
• Talent Development: Identify skill gaps, coach senior leaders, and support career development and succession planning
• Learning Governance and Compliance: Accountability for mandatory, regulatory and role-critical learning, quality standards, records and reporting
• Budget & ROI Management: Manage the L&D budget, track programme effectiveness, and report on return on investment for training initiatives
• Team Leadership: Build and lead the L&D team, including sub-functions such as leadership development, diversity & inclusion, and e-learning management
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Work closely with functional leads, HR, site GMs and SMT to ensure L&D initiatives support performance and organisational objectives
• Innovation & Trends: Stay updated on emerging L&D trends, technologies, and best practices to enhance learning solutions
• Digital Learning & Technology - confident use of LMS platforms, AI enabled learning, learning analytics, digital content creation, virtual learning, and collaboration tools
• Change Management - lead learning interventions during automation, digital transformation, restructuring, new technology implementation, and process change
• Commercial Acumen - build business cases, track L&D budgets, assess ROI and link learning investment to productivity and operational outcomes
• External provider relationships & integration - ensure external learning and programmes are connected to ABP's framework, pathways and internal development strategy

• Strong leadership and project management capabilities
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to influence stakeholders at all levels
• Strategic thinking with the ability to translate business needs into effective learning solutions
• Experience in designing and implementing UK-wide L&D programs
• Proficiency in managing e-learning platforms and digital learning tools
• Commercial and analytical capability - require experience using workforce and learning data to prioritise investment and demonstrate business impact

Personal specification

• Minimum of 8-10 years of experience in Learning and Development, with proven success in leading L&D initiatives
• L&D team leadership experience
• Professional certifications in L&D, leadership development, or organisational development
• Practitioner for psychometric and personality tools
• Regular travel throughout the UK will be required
• Cross-divisional stakeholder relationship management, supporting the Group-wide people agenda and initiatives
• Occasionally represents the organisation at industry events and contributes to the evolution of talent strategies
• Full, clean driving licence