Senior Workforce Development Practitioner

Nottinghamshire County Council; West Bridgford; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

A Place to Belong

Professional Growth

Work-Life Balance

Generous Leave

Job summary

Nottinghamshire County Council is seeking a Senior Workforce Development Practitioner to shape the future of the organisation during a period of significant change. You will work with senior leaders to identify challenges, develop capability and ensure the workforce has the skills and resilience needed for future demands.

This role offers an opportunity to establish a new Workforce and Organisation Development function, influencing how development is delivered across the Council and contributing

Qualifications

• Experience of workforce development, learning and development, workforce capability, apprenticeships or related disciplines.
• Ability to translate workforce challenges into practical solutions.
• Use evidence, insight and workforce data to inform decisions and target activity.
• Experience working in complex, changing environments.
• Proven ability to lead workforce development activities to time, cost and quality standards.

Responsibilities

• Identify workforce priorities and capability gaps with senior leaders.
• Lead commissioning, procurement and contract management of learning provisions.
• Design and improve workforce development interventions aligned to priorities.
• Use data and evaluation to identify trends and inform decisions.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning and professional development.
• Collaborate with Organisation Development, HR and Transformation to align with wider programmes.

Skills

Credibility with leaders

Workforce challenges

Evidence-based decisions

Dealing with ambiguity

Lead development activities

Capability building

Education

Experience in workforce development/L&D

Job description

Nottinghamshire County Council is looking for an experienced Workforce Development professional who wants to help shape the future of the organisation during a period of significant change and opportunity.

As a Senior Workforce Development Practitioner, you will work with leaders, managers and teams across the Council to help identify workforce challenges, develop future capability and ensure our workforce has the skills, knowledge and resilience needed to meet current and future demands.

This role offers the opportunity to help establish and grow a newly formed Workforce and Organisation Development (WOD) function, influencing how workforce development is delivered across one of the largest councils in the country and contributing to work that has a lasting impact on our workforce, services and communities.

What You'll Bring

We're looking for people who can:

• Build credibility and trusted relationships with senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Understand workforce challenges and translate them into practical and effective solutions.
• Use evidence, insight and workforce data to inform decisions and target activity where it will have greatest impact.
• Work confidently and effectively in complex, changing and ambiguous environments.
• Lead workforce development activity to time, cost and quality standards.
• Support leaders and services to build workforce capability and prepare for future challenges.

You’ll bring experience of workforce development, learning and development, workforce capability, apprenticeships or related disciplines, alongside a genuine commitment to helping individuals, teams and organisations perform at their best.

Role Background

This is a rare opportunity to join Nottinghamshire County Council at a pivotal point in our organisational journey. The next few years will bring significant change as we implement an ambitious programme of transformation and service improvement.

In response, we are establishing a new Workforce and Organisation Development (WOD) function that will help the organisation strengthen workforce capability, develop future skills, support organisational resilience and prepare for the opportunities and challenges ahead.

What You’ll Be Doing

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys understanding workforce challenges, working in partnership with stakeholders and developing practical solutions that create sustainable improvements in workforce capability and performance.

As a Senior Workforce Development Practitioner, you will:

• Work in partnership with leaders and managers to identify workforce priorities, capability gaps and future skills requirements, providing specialist advice and support on workforce development solutions.
• Lead the commissioning, procurement and contract management of learning, development and apprenticeship provision, ensuring quality, value for money and measurable impact.
• Design, develop and continuously improve workforce development interventions that support organisational priorities, future workforce needs and service improvement.
• Use workforce data, learning evaluation and organisational insight to identify trends, target resources and support evidence-based decision making.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning and professional development, helping build workforce resilience, future capability and organisational readiness.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across Organisation Development, HR and Transformation, ensuring workforce development activity is aligned to wider organisational priorities and change programmes.

Why Join Us?

This is more than a workforce development role. It is an opportunity to help shape a newly formed Workforce and Organisation Development function and influence how workforce capability is developed across the Council.

You’ll have the opportunity to:

• Help establish the reputation and impact of a new WOD function.
• Work on organisation-wide priorities and high-profile programmes.
• Influence workforce capability, learning and future skills development at scale.
• Work alongside colleagues across Organisation Development, HR and Transformation.
• Contribute to how the organisation responds to LGR and future workforce challenges.

At Nottinghamshire County Council, we offer:

• A Place to Belong: A friendly, inclusive workplace where everyone is valued.
• Professional Growth: Opportunities for continuous learning and career development.
• Work-Life Balance: Flexible working arrangements to support your personal and professional life.
• Generous Leave: A competitive leave package to ensure you have time to recharge.

Nottinghamshire County Council strives to ensure that it goes beyond the requirements of the Equalities Act and prides itself on beingaccredited as a Disability Confident Leader Organisation.

Under theDisability Confident scheme (formerly known as the Guaranteed Interview Scheme)we would like to ensure applicants with disabilities are offered an interview if they meet the minimum criteria for a job.Please let us know if this is something you would like to be considered for.

A job share scheme is available for all full‑time posts: both permanent and temporary, unless otherwise stated.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and we expect all staff to share this commitment and undergo appropriate checks.

Nottinghamshire County Council strongly encourages applications from all candidates from different walks of life, irrespective of gender, marital status, disability, race, religion, belief, pregnancy and maternity status, age or sexual orientation.