Senior Learning and Development Manager

Addleshaw Goddard LLP; Leeds; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Addleshaw Goddard LLP in Leeds is seeking a Senior Learning & Development Manager to lead the delivery of strategic learning, talent and capability initiatives across the firm. This highly visible role blends strategic thinking with hands-on delivery, translating priorities into actionable programmes that deliver meaningful outcomes for people, clients and the business.

You will lead key areas of the learning portfolio, partner with senior stakeholders, and develop a high-performing L&D function

Qualifications

• Significant experience in Learning & Development within professional services.
• Proven ability to design, deliver and evaluate strategic learning initiatives.
• Strong stakeholder management and business partnering skills.
• Experience managing and developing individuals or teams.
• Facilitation, coaching and consulting skills.
• Ability to translate capability needs into practical solutions.
• Excellent project and programme management.
• Strong communication, decision-making and problem-solving.
• Understanding of learning technology and MS Office.
• Balance strategic thinking with hands-on delivery.

Responsibilities

• Driving Client Relationship Capabilities - lead L&D on client relationship and growth capabilities aligned to strategic priorities.
• Programme Management - oversee career development programmes with measurable impact.
• Leading Others - manage and develop the L&D team with mentoring and coaching.
• Executing Strategic Priorities - deliver elements of the L&D roadmap with practical plans.
• Learning, Talent and People Initiatives - lead projects to enhance performance and engagement.
• Building Trusted Stakeholder Relationships - develop relationships with partners and senior leaders.
• Driving Quality and Continuous Improvement - maintain high standards and measure impact.
• Senior Leadership Development - support development for leaders and partners.

Skills

L&D strategy

Stakeholder mgmt

Programme management

Coaching & mentoring

Strategic thinking

People leadership

Digital learning

Data-driven evaluation

Education

CIPD qualification

Tools

Microsoft Office

Learning platforms

Job description

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

As Senior Learning & Development (L&D) Manager, you will play a pivotal role in bringing our learning and development strategy to life. Working closely with the Head of L&D and the wider L&D team, you will lead the delivery of high-impact learning, talent and capability initiatives that support the firm's strategic priorities and future ambitions.

This is a highly visible role that combines strategic thinking with hands-on delivery. You will be responsible for putting priorities into action, ensuring learning programmes are executed to an exceptional standard and deliver meaningful outcomes for our people, clients and business.

You will lead key areas of our learning portfolio, act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, and help cultivate the conditions for a high-performing L&D function. Through your leadership, coaching and expertise, you will help enhance capability across both the business and the L&D team itself, continually challenging what good looks like and supporting us to deliver even greater impact.

THE TEAM

Our HR Team is spread across our London, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Ireland, Warsaw, Amsterdam and Dubai offices. The team is made up of over 100 people professionals across various teams including L&D, Resourcing, Early Careers, HR Operations, HR Business Partnering and the CSR and Diversity team.

Our L&D team is an award-winning, highly respected function with a strong reputation across the firm. We play a critical role in helping the business achieve its strategic objectives through the development of our people.

Our vision for learning and development is to build the capability, connectivity and culture that enable our people to deliver a high-quality experience across everything we do, strengthen our brand, sustain our culture and embrace innovation. We do this by focusing on the capabilities that matter most to delivering our long-term strategic ambitions.

Theteam consists of ten dedicated learning professionals located across the UK, We have a depth of expertise in design, facilitation, coaching and consulting which allows us to create highly tailored learning solutions. We actively invest in our own development and work with carefully selected external suppliers as an extension of our team. The result is a function that combines deep learning expertise with a genuine understanding of the business we serve.

What to expect in this role

This is an exciting opportunity to influence capability development across the firm, working with stakeholders at all levels, including senior leaders and partners. Key areas of responsibility will include:

• Driving Client Relationship Capabilities - Collaborating with subject matter experts you will be the L&D lead on developing client relationship, business development and growth capabilities, ensuring learning solutions are commercially relevant, impactful and closely aligned to the firm's strategic priorities.
• Programme Management - You will lead career development programmes across both legal and business services populations, ensuring they are aligned to business needs, deliver a consistent and an engaging learner experience and demonstrate measurable impact and behaviour change.
• Leading Others - You will play an important role in managing and developing capability within the L&D team. With line management responsibility for members of the team you will also provide mentoring, coaching and day-to-day guidance to help colleagues build their confidence, expertise and impact, creating an environment of continuous learning and high performance.
• Executing Strategic Priorities - Working closely with the Head of Learning & Development, you will take ownership for delivering key elements of the L&D roadmap. You will help translate strategic objectives into practical plans and ensure initiatives are successfully implemented through the team and wider stakeholder.
• Learning, Talent and People Initiatives - You will lead and support a range of learning, talent and broader people projects, partnering with colleagues across HR and the business to deliver initiatives that enhance performance, engagement and capability.
• Building Trusted Stakeholder Relationships - You will develop strong relationships with partners, senior leaders and subject matter experts across the firm. You will help identify capability needs, challenge thinking where appropriate and recommend learning solutions that drive meaningful business outcomes.
• Driving Quality and Continuous Improvement - You will champion excellence across everything we do. This means maintaining high standards, measuring impact, identifying opportunities to improve, and continually raising expectations of what great learning looks like.
• Senior Leadership Development - You will work closely with the Head of Learning & Development to support learning initiatives for leaders and partners, helping ensure our leadership populations receive the development they need to be successful today and in the future.

Areas of knowledge andexpertise

Essential:

• Significant experience in Learning & Development, Talent Development or a related field, ideally within professional services.
• Proven experience designing, delivering and evaluating strategic learning initiatives that drive behavioural change and business performance.
• Strong stakeholder management and business partnering skills, with the credibility to influence senior stakeholders and deliver excellent client service.
• Demonstrable experience managing and developing individuals or teams.
• Strong facilitation, coaching and consulting skills, with the ability to adapt style to different audiences.
• Ability to identify capability needs and translate them into practical, impactful learning solutions.
• Excellent project and programme management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities from concept through to delivery and evaluation.
• Strong communication, decision-making and problem-solving skills, with excellent attention to detail.
• A continuous improvement mindset, using learning data and insights to evaluate impact, improve learner experience and inform decisions.
• Good understanding of learning technology and emerging L&D trends, with proficiency in Microsoft Office and collaboration tools.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on delivery, remaining flexible and solutions-focused.

Desirable:

• Experience delivering learning interventions that develop client relationship and business development skills within a legal or professional services environment.
• Preferably have experience of operating at Manager or Senior Manager level in a L&D function within an international law firm.
• Coaching qualification or formal coaching experience.
• Experience using digital learning technologies, learning platforms and modern learning approaches to enhance learner engagement and impact.
• Experience leading talent, performance or broader people initiatives.
• Experience working with external learning providers, consultants and specialist development partners.
• CIPD qualification or equivalent professional accreditation.

Our FIRM

Our story of international growth is built on a performance mindset, innovation and true collaboration. We believe results follow relationships, so we work closely with each other, and develop deep client connections to deliver.

Our award-winning culture balances high standards and hard work with genuine care – looking out for each other, supporting professional development, in a down to earth and inclusive environment. We do the right things in the right ways, combining commercial excellence and innovative thinking with teamwork. Together, we deliver excellence, achieve stand out solutions, and enable career-defining opportunities.