Head of Learning and Development

Costa Coffee; St Albans; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Share Investment Plan (SIP)

Annual discretionary bonus

Smart pension (10% match)

Costa Financial Support Fund

50% discount in Costa stores

Private medical cover

Job summary

Costa Coffee in the United Kingdom is seeking a Head of Learning, Leadership & Capability to shape the company’s learning and leadership agenda, ensuring our leaders and teams have the skills and confidence to succeed today and in the future.

You will lead leadership development, early careers and apprenticeship programmes that build capability and support high-performing teams across the business, while partnering with senior leaders to identify future capability needs and design impactful

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading learning, leadership development or talent development within a complex organisation.
• Proven track record designing and delivering enterprise-wide learning strategies and capability programs.
• Experience leading early careers, apprenticeships or accredited learning initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Developing and delivering Costa's learning, leadership and capability strategy to equip our people for today and the future.
• Leading leadership development, technical learning, early careers and apprenticeship programmes to build capability across the business.
• Partnering with business leaders and People teams to identify future capability needs and create impactful learning pathways.
• Fostering a strong learning culture that supports growth, career development and continuous improvement.
• Using data, insight and external best practice to design innovative, measurable learning experiences that drive business outcomes.

Skills

Learning leadership

Talent development

Global & retail experience

Job description

At Costa Coffee, we are what we craft. We’re reimagining coffee experiences in over 50 countries and counting, as a key part of the Coca-Cola System. Whether you get your coffee in a store, from a machine, at home, or on the go – we’ve got you covered.

An exciting opportunity to shape Costa's learning and capability agenda, ensuring our leaders and teams have the skills and confidence to succeed today and in the future.

Our teams make a difference. Whether that’s working on new tech for the perfect pour, helping our teams grow, creating award-winning campaigns, crunching the numbers, or developing the latest exciting menu item; together, we stir up success.

We may be a global brand, but we haven’t forgotten our roots. That’s where the Costa Foundation and our fantastic community agenda come in. Whatever your role, you can help us change lives in coffee growing communities and help your local community too.

We also want to help you grow in your career through amazing experiences, our apprenticeship scheme, and development programmes. At Costa, you can go beyond the day-to-day.

And as a Head of Learning, Leadership & Capability, there’s never been a better time to join.

So, why Costa?

We didn’t become a global coffee brand by sitting back. When you work here, you join a community that values passion, progression and integrity, with some pretty brilliant perks to sweeten the deal:

• Own a piece of Costa’s success by becoming a share owner in Coca-Cola with our Share Investment Plan (SIP)
• An annual discretionary bonus scheme, based on business results and individual contribution.
• A smart pension that saves you money on tax and national insurance, and matches your contributions up to 10%
• The Costa Financial Support Fund, supporting team members who find themselves in unexpected financial pressure
• 50% discount in all Costa-owned stores, and 25% off in other participating stores
• Private medical cover thanks to our Private Healthcare scheme
• And that’s not all. Explore even more of our perks here: https://bit.ly/costaperks

We’re passionate about being a great place to work, where you can bring your unique self into our mix. We firmly support diversity, equity and inclusion, and continue to work with our teams to shape the future of our culture and values: Disciplined to Deliver, Passion for Progress, Win with Warmth, Courage to Challenge and Trusted Team Players.

What you’ll do

You'll help shape Costa's learning, leadership and capability agenda by:

• Developing and delivering Costa's learning, leadership and capability strategy, ensuring our people have the skills and confidence to succeed now and in the future.
• Leading leadership development, technical learning, early careers and apprenticeship programmes that build capability and support high-performing teams across the business.
• Partnering with business leaders and People teams to identify future capability needs and create impactful learning pathways that support our strategic priorities.
• Fostering a strong learning culture that encourages growth, career development and continuous improvement.
• Using data, insight and external best practice to design innovative, measurable learning experiences that deliver meaningful business outcomes.

Who you are

You'll bring the experience, insight and leadership needed to help our people grow and perform at their best, including:

• Significant experience leading learning, leadership development or talent development within a complex organisation, ideally operating across global and retail environments.
• A proven track record of designing and delivering enterprise-wide learning and capability strategies that drive measurable impact.
• Strong expertise in adult learning, learning design, facilitation and modern learning methodologies.
• Excellent commercial judgement, with the ability to translate business strategy into practical capability plans that support organisational performance.
• Experience leading early careers, apprenticeship or accredited learning programmes.

Where you’ll work:

Right now, our Support Centre teams work flexibly, blending home working with in-person time whenever it matters most – whether that’s a team moment, a creative session, or simply coming together to share ideas.

We’re excited to be moving into a new home for our brand in St Albans in January 2027 – an inspiring space from which our Support Centre teams will work three days a week to connect and collaborate in-person to bring our bold ambition to life.

For any reasonable adjustments and general queries, please get in touch with [e-mail]