Talent Development Partner

Starling; Cardiff; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Starling is seeking a Talent Development Partner to drive organisational capability in a scaling tech/fintech environment. You will collaborate with People Partners and senior leaders to map capability needs, design and deliver development interventions, and measure ROI using LMS data and analytics.

You will lead end-to-end programs, influence across teams, and champion data-driven improvements to ensure learning initiatives align with Starling's strategic goals and long-term growth.

Qualifications

• Proven experience translating business strategy into talent development initiatives.
• Ability to canvas diverse perspectives and foster an inclusive culture.
• Track record of influencing diverse stakeholder groups across levels.
• Expertise in using talent analytics and LMS data to evaluate gaps and ROI.
• Strong project management with accountability and transparent decisions.
• Experience designing, delivering, and evaluating large-scale talent development initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Partner with People Partners and senior leaders to map current and future capability needs.
• Own end-to-end design and delivery of talent development interventions.
• Develop and utilise talent analytics, LMS data, and dashboards to measure impact.
• Drive workstreams and cross-team influence to deliver large-scale talent initiatives.

Skills

Strategy mapping

Stakeholder engagement

Influence

Analytics & LMS

Project management

Program design

Cross-functional partnering

Facilitation

End-to-end ownership

Data-driven improvement

Tools

LMS

Analytics platforms

Job description

Hello, we're Starling.

Banking was broken -- so we decided to fix it. The vision? Fast technology, fair service and honest values. All at the tap of a phone, all the time. We built Britain's first digital bank. One hard-won banking licence later, we set about giving people a new way to spend, save and manage their money (and take better care of the planet, too). We're changing banking for good. Back then, we were obsessed with unravelling the knotty world of finance and solving people's problems rather than selling them stuff. We still are.

Since then, we've grown. A lot. Over four million accounts (and four account types!). A team of thousands. Headquartered in London with offices in Cardiff, Dublin, Manchester and Southampton. Seven years voted Which? Recommended Provider and Britain's Best Banking Brand. Still zero branches. Our culture is open, inclusive and focused on solving real customer problems, with an emphasis on doing the right thing, even when it's not always the easy thing. From our approach to working together and sustainability to how we build our products, our decisions need to make the world - and Starling - a better place to be. Everyone at Starling is essential to our mission, which is really quite simple: to solve our customer's problems - and build the best bank in the world!

And now we're providing Starling to other banks, via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) proposition through our subsidiary Engine, using the proprietary technology platform that it uses to power our own bank.

The Talent Development Partner is responsible for driving organisational talent capability. Partnering directly with Principal and Senior People Partners, other people team colleagues and leaders across Starling, this role supports the identification of skills gaps, and designs talent development solutions to address them with minimal guidance.

They ensure that all development efforts directly support Starling's short and long term strategy.

What you'll be doing

• Strategic Talent Partnering: Partner with People Partners, People team leaders, and senior leadership to map out current and future capability needs, and identify critical skills gaps across the business. Ensure talent development initiatives and outcomes are directly aligned with Starling's overarching business goals and long-term functional strategies. Challenge the initial request where appropriate, diagnose the underlying capability/performance issue and determine whether development is actually the right intervention.
• Programme Design & Delivery: Own the end-to-end design and delivery of talent development interventions. Decide when to build, buy or curate taking strategic relevance, speed and skills into consideration. Tackle capability problems, often conceptual in nature, by creating innovative learning solutions.
• Data-Driven Evaluation & Analytics: Develop and utilise talent analytics, the Learning Management System (LMS), and data dashboards to rigorously measure the effectiveness and ROI of development interventions.
• Workstream Management & Cross-Team Influence: Drive the delivery of workstreams and essential parts of large-scale talent activities where influence extends across teams. Proactively share knowledge, contribute to best practices, and act as a recognised expert in the talent development field.

Skills and experience:

• Proven experience translating business strategy and long-term goals into actionable talent development initiatives and capability-building programmes.
• Demonstrated ability to canvas diverse perspectives, foster an inclusive/enabling culture for sharing ideas, and elevate team outcomes.
• Track record of simplifying complex strategic messages and effectively influencing diverse stakeholder groups across all levels.
• Expertise in leveraging talent analytics and LMS data to evaluate skills gaps, measure learning ROI, and guide strategic development decisions.
• Strong project management background with clear accountability, transparent decision-making, and a continuous learning approach.
• Proven track record as a senior talent development professional designing, delivering, and evaluating large-scale talent development initiatives on a wide range of topics.
• Significant experience using influencing and co-creating skills to partner across the organisation, regardless of reporting lines.
• Expert in-person and virtual facilitation skills with the ability to 'read a room' and challenge when necessary
• Experience in owning end-to-end projects and delivering at pace with minimal guidance.
• Experience using data and analytics to drive continuous improvement in talent development offerings.
• Experience operating within a scaling organisation in the Tech or FinTec sector.

Desirable:

• Experience in using AI in talent development programmes or a passion for using AI and technology.
• Experience in supporting large-scale change programmes.
• Experience in strategically leveraging the Apprenticeship Levy to maximise investment in organisational capability and