Skills Development Officer

Hoople; Hereford; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority organization is seeking a highly motivated Skills Development Officer in Hereford. You will lead initiatives to bridge skills gaps in various sectors including cyber and advanced manufacturing. The role requires proactive communication and engagement with employers to facilitate local training programs. This provides an exciting opportunity to enhance workforce capabilities and support economic growth in the region, along with a competitive salary and additional benefits.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Local Government Pension Scheme

Annual Leave of 31 days plus bank holidays

Flexible working options

Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• Experience in engaging with employers and training providers.
• Ability to facilitate local skills and training programs.
• Strong understanding of skills needs in local industry.

Responsibilities

• Lead engagement with key sectors like cyber and advanced manufacturing.
• Support development and implementation of skills strategies.
• Collaborate with employers to address skills gaps.

Skills

Proactive communication

Stakeholder engagement

Project management

Education

Relevant degree or equivalent experience

Job description

About the Role

About The Role
Job Title: Skills Development Officer
Contract: Permanent
Location: Hereford
Hours: 37
Salary band: HC9 £40,778 - £45,092 per annum
Closing date: 4 February 2026
Interview: W/C 9 February, 2026 TBC

Introduction

We are seeking a highly motivated and proactive Skills Development Officer to ensure that local education, training and skills provision matches local business needs, and that they have access to a skilled workforce, both now and in the future.

The Role

This is a key role within the Economy and Regeneration Service and is instrumental in ensuring we have people, with the necessary skills, to meet current needs and future economic demands. The role will bridge skills gaps and drive positive change through collaboration with employers, skills providers and key stakeholders.

What will you be doing?

In this role, you will lead on and facilitate engagement with key priority sectors e.g. cyber, advanced manufacturing, construction, agri-tech, high growth and green growth. This will include supporting sector-focused forums; liaising with business leaders and promoting workforce planning initiatives and exploiting sectoral opportunities in relation to skills development.
You will support the facilitation and commissioning of local skills and training programmes, which meet the identified skills gaps and needs of employers, enabling them to recruit and develop a skilled workforce and grow the economy of Herefordshire.
You will also support the development and implementation of Herefordshire Employment and Skills Strategy, which will guide skills provision within Herefordshire and ensure strategic alignment of funded skills programmes.
You will also work closely with the Inward Investment Manager, to ensure that skills support is a clear and influential part of Herefordshire’s Inward Investment offer, including working with new investors to provide a bespoke landing package of workforce support.

About You

Are you passionate about supporting the learning and development of people and helping them succeed in their careers?
Do you enjoy working with employers and training and skills providers to deliver key employment initiatives that lead to better paid jobs?
If role sounds of interest and is aligned to your skills and experience, we’d love to hear from you.

We Offer

A competitive salary, holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:

• Salary range of HC9 £40,778 - £45,092 per annum
• Enrolment in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Career progression: clear pathways to progress
• Annual Leave: 31 days’ annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum during the request period
• Flexible working: including the potential for job-sharing, part-time hours and agile working.
• Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
• Payment of professional membership fees (based on role requirements)
• Pick your perks – our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.

Why Choose Us?

Herefordshire is big hearted, welcoming and friendly. We have strong and independent communities and idyllic countryside, situated in the South West Midlands and bordering Wales. The county sits between Worcestershire and the Malvern Hills to the east, and Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons) in Wales to the west.
Historically Herefordshire has been the gateway to the Marches. We embrace partnership working. We are a member of the Marches Forward Partnership, which is a cross border collaboration between Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Powys and Shropshire who are collectively working to secure funding to invest in the region.
The council priorities over the next four years are set out in the Council Plan, with four main areas;
People: We will enable residents to realise their potential, to be healthy and to be part of great communities who support each other. We want all children to have the best start in life.
Place: We will protect and enhance our environment and ensure that Herefordshire is a great place to live. We will support the right housing in the right place, we will support access to green spaces and we will do everything we can to recover the health of our rivers.
Growth: We will create the conditions to deliver sustainable growth across the county; attracting inward investment, building business confidence, creating jobs, enabling housing development along with providing the right infrastructure.
Transformation: We will be an efficient council that embraces best practice, delivers innovation through technology and demonstrates value for money.

Don’t meet all parts of the job description?

Herefordshire Council is committed to strengthening a diverse and inclusive work environment which reflects the communities of Herefordshire. If you are looking at the next stage of your career and have a broad base of fieldwork experience, we can provide supportive and welcoming opportunities to help you develop your professional, management & supervisory skills.

Reasonable Adjustments

Our recruitment process runs in partnership with Hoople Resourcing. If you require any reasonable adjustments or alternative methods for the online application process, please contact the resourcing team by email: [e-mail].

Creating an inclusive workplace

We encourage our employees to feel empowered and to use their voices to help embrace diversity, promote inclusivity and shape our organisation. We have eight employee network groups, collectives of colleagues who often share identities, life experiences or cultures and offer support and community. They also play an important role in strengthening the voices of employees at Herefordshire Council. Embedded in the Council's values is a commitment to listen to people's views and needs.
For more information on our Employee Network Groups please view our dedicated recruitment website: www.spiritofherefordshire.com.

Commitments, Covenants and Statutory Obligations

The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:

• Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme.
• Those who indicate in their application that they are an Armed Forces Veteran or Reservist. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant.
• Those who indicate in their application that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.

We take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check.

How to apply

To apply for a position, please upload an up-to-date CV and complete the application form demonstrating your experience, skills and abilities for the role.
For more information or to arrange an informal discussion about the role, please contact either Nadine Kinsey, via email at [e-mail] or Alexia Health, via email at [e-mail]
Be sure to include reference to the job description and person specification or role profile! If you are successfully shortlisted, Hoople Resourcing will contact you via email to arrange your interview and/or assessment. They will confirm the date, time and location of your interview, so please keep an eye on your email inbox - check your spam/ junk folder too. Good luck, we’re looking forward to meeting you!