Senior Development Partner (Organisation Development)

Stir; Stirling; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Stirling invites applications for a Senior Development Partner (Organisation Development) to lead broad leadership and talent development across the institution. You will work with senior leaders to shape and implement strategies, develop evidence-based interventions, and drive improvements in employee experience and organisational effectiveness.

You will design and deliver institute-wide development programmes, embed consistent OD approaches, and evaluate impact to ensure

Qualifications

• Senior-level capability to lead complex organisational development initiatives
• Strong expertise in leadership development
• Strong stakeholder engagement and data-driven decision making
• Experience designing and evaluating people development interventions
• Ability to work strategically with senior leaders and operational teams

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and delivery of a coherent, institution-wide leadership development approach
• Design and deliver leadership development programmes, workshops, and interventions for leaders at different career stages
• Lead initiatives to enhance employee experience and contribute to organisational performance and culture
• Contribute to development and delivery of the People Strategy and key projects
• Provide expert organisational development advice to senior leaders and teams
• Identify organisational skills gaps through data and stakeholder engagement and design interventions
• Develop bespoke career development pathways and skills frameworks
• Collaborate with senior leaders to identify critical roles and development paths for succession
• Develop and use data and evaluation frameworks to provide strategic insights on OD activity
• Promote new ways of working and continuous improvement within HR&OD

Job description

The Post

This role sits within the Employee Experience & Development team in the Human Resources & Organisation Development (HR&OD) function and reports to the Head of Employee Experience & Development.

HR&OD leads the delivery of the University’s People Strategy, supporting organisational performance, leadership capability, culture, and workforce sustainability. The Senior Development Partner (Organisation Development) is a pivotal role within this structure, combining strategic leadership with hands‑on design and delivery.

The Senior Development Partner (Organisation Development) is responsible for leading the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of key institutional approaches to leadership development, organisational development, skills and capability building, and talent management.

Working as a trusted partner to senior leaders, the role shapes and delivers high‑impact development interventions aligned to the University’s strategic priorities, values, and future workforce needs. The postholder will lead thinking and practice in leadership development and learning evaluation, design and embed a consistent institutional approach to talent management and succession planning, and ensure development activity is evidence‑based, inclusive, and impactful.

This is a senior, influential role requiring strong professional credibility, the ability to operate confidently at strategic and operational levels, and a proven capability to lead complex OD and development initiatives in a large, values‑driven organisation.

Description of Duties

• Lead the design and delivery of a coherent, institution‑wide leadership development approach, ensuring alignment with the University’s strategic ambitions, values, and future capability needs
• Design and deliver high‑quality leadership development programmes, workshops, and interventions for leaders at different career stages
• Lead and deliver initiatives centred around enhancing our overall employee experience with the aim of positively contributing to overall organisational performance and effectiveness and fostering a culture in keeping with the University’s broader strategic goals and values
• Contribute to the development and delivery of the People Strategy and deliver projects identified as key enablers of University strategy. Work collaboratively with relevant colleagues on strategic projects and people focused initiatives
• Provide expert organisational development advice and interventions to senior leaders and teams, supporting culture change, organisational effectiveness, and new ways of working
• Identify organisational and workforce skills gaps through data, insight, and stakeholder engagement, and design targeted OD and learning interventions to address these
• Design and deliver a range of high‑impact learning solutions, including workshops, programmes, coaching, mentoring, and blended learning approaches
• Lead the development of bespoke career development pathways and skills frameworks that support progression, inclusion, and workforce sustainability
• Work collaboratively with senior leaders to identify critical roles, high‑potential talent, and development pathways to support succession and internal mobility
• Develop and use data, metrics, and evaluation frameworks to provide strategic insight on leadership development, employee experience, and OD activity
• Develop and use data, metrics, and evaluation frameworks to provide strategic insight on leadership development, employee experience, and OD activity
• Work collaboratively across HR&OD to identify common challenges and priorities, supporting the development of cross cutting people initiatives where appropriate
• Actively promote new ways of working and continuous improvement within HR&OD to provide a high quality, professional, consistent, and cohesive HR service