Workforce Capability & Development Lead

Quilter plc; Southampton, Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday: 26 days

Pension scheme

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Income protection

Healthcare cash plan

Job summary

Quilter plc seeks a senior leader to own our workforce capability strategy across the organisation. You will partner with HR leadership and senior stakeholders to identify capability gaps and translate insight into practical interventions that strengthen performance.

You will lead a small capability team, oversee mandatory learning, levy governance and coordinate with Transformation, Technology and external partners to drive AI-enabled learning and capability adoption.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading organisation-wide capability, workforce development or talent initiatives.
• Ability to translate capability gaps into measurable, business-focused interventions.
• Strong commercial and strategic mindset with the ability to connect capability to performance.

Responsibilities

• Strategic workforce capability planning: build and reassess the capabilities needed to deliver Quilter's strategy.
• Strategic partnership and transformation: build relationships with senior leaders and align capability with culture and change.
• Capability programme design and delivery: design and deliver organisation-wide capability programmes, including AI adoption.
• AI capability and adoption: shape an enterprise-wide approach to AI capability development.
• Technology-enabled learning: implement digital and AI-enabled learning approaches across the learning ecosystem.
• Mandatory learning and compliance: oversee delivery of regulatory learning balancing compliance and efficiency.
• Skills and Growth Levy: own Quilter's levy approach and governance.
• Insight, measurement and continuous improvement: define success measures and demonstrate impact.
• Team leadership and delivery: set priorities and coordinate with internal teams and external partners.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

People leadership

Change management

AI awareness

Tools

Learning platforms

Analytics tools

Job description

About the Business

Quilter plc is a leading wealth management business, helping to enable brighter financial futures for every generation. Quilter oversees £157.4 billion in customer investments (as of August 2026). It has an adviser and customer offering spanning financial advice, investment platforms, multi-asset investment solutions, and discretionary fund management. The business is comprised of two segments: Affluent and High Net Worth. Affluent encompasses the financial planning business, Quilter Financial Planning, the Quilter Investment Platform and Quilter Investors, the multi-asset investment solutions business. High Net Worth includes the discretionary fund management business, Quilter Cheviot, together with Quilter Cheviot Financial Planning – offering a highly personalised service to private clients, charities, trustees, and professional partners. Quilter Cheviot has presence throughout the UK, Ireland and Channel Islands. At Quilter we never stand still. Our foundations are rooted in our extraordinary expertise, which is trusted by hundreds of thousands of customers, but we have great ambitions to stay one step ahead and make an even greater difference to the people and communities we serve, including our colleagues. Our business is transforming, continually modernising, and becoming even more customer centric. So, if you want to be bold in the pursuit of your ambitions, bring new ideas, and challenge and evolve what we do, it’s the perfect time to join us!

About the Role

Level: 5 Department: HR Location: Southampton, United Kingdom or London, United Kingdom (Hybrid – 2-3 days per week with regular travel to both locations) Contract Type: Permanent Regulated/Non-Regulated: Non-Regulated

This role will lead Quilter's approach to understanding and closing the workforce capability gaps that are most important to our strategy. You will work across the organisation to build a clear view of changing business priorities, future workforce needs and emerging capabilities, then translate that insight into practical, measurable interventions that strengthen organisational performance. Operating at a senior level, you will combine strategic workforce insight, business partnering and capability expertise. You will work closely with senior leaders, HR leadership and business partners, Transformation, Technology and other business stakeholders. In partnership with the Culture & Change Lead, you will help ensure that priority capabilities are not only identified, but adopted and embedded across the organisation. You will lead a small, focused capability team, with two direct reports supporting mandatory learning operations, levy administration and supplier or platform coordination. Delivery will also involve working through a matrix of HR colleagues, internal stakeholders, technology teams and external partners.

Key responsibilities

• Strategic workforce capability planning: Build and regularly reassess a view of the capabilities needed to deliver Quilter's strategy. Identify critical gaps and future skill requirements, develop capability roadmaps, and advise senior leaders on capability risks, opportunities and investment priorities.
• Strategic partnership and transformation: Build trusted relationships with senior leaders and connect workforce capability, leadership development, culture and organisational change. Partner with the Culture & Change Lead and transformation programmes to support sustainable adoption and business outcomes.
• Capability programme design and delivery: Design and deliver targeted organisation-wide capability programmes, including AI adoption, leadership and customer capability. Ensure solutions are practical, relevant to roles, scalable, cost-effective and focused on outcomes.
• AI capability and adoption: Shape an enterprise-wide approach to AI capability development. Define the skills and leadership capabilities required for different workforce groups, evaluate AI-enabled solutions and support responsible adoption, productivity and business performance.
• Technology-enabled learning: Introduce and embed digital and AI-enabled learning approaches that improve access to relevant, in-role and on-demand development. Work with HR and Technology colleagues to evolve the learning ecosystem.
• Mandatory learning and compliance: Oversee the delivery of mandatory and regulatory learning, balancing compliance, efficiency and user experience, while identifying opportunities to simplify and automate activity.
• Skills and Growth Levy: Own Quilter's levy approach and utilisation, with clear governance and oversight so funding supports priority capability areas.
• Insight, measurement and continuous improvement: Define measures of success, track adoption, application and business outcomes, and use workforce and capability data to demonstrate impact and inform recommendations for senior leadership and Board-level discussions.
• Team leadership and delivery: Set clear priorities for the capability team, create an inclusive and accountable working environment, and coordinate effectively across internal teams, technology providers and external partners.

Regulatory obligations

Although this is not expected to be a directly customer-facing role, the capability, mandatory learning and regulatory training activity overseen by the role will support colleagues to maintain the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to deliver appropriate customer and business outcomes.

About You

You will be comfortable moving between strategic thinking and practical delivery, working with a wide range of stakeholders to turn complex workforce needs into focused action. We are interested in the skills, experience and potential you can bring, including experience gained through different career paths or sectors.

Essential experience

Significant experience leading organisation-wide capability, workforce development or talent initiatives in a complex organisation. Experience identifying capability gaps and translating them into measurable, business-focused interventions. A strong commercial and strategic mindset, with the ability to connect workforce capability to organisational performance and future needs. A track record of building credibility and influencing senior stakeholders across multiple business areas. Experience leading large-scale capability, adoption or behavioural change programmes in ambiguous and fast-changing environments. A strong understanding of digital, data-led and technology-enabled approaches to workforce development. Ability to use evidence and insight to prioritise activity, measure impact and communicate clear recommendations. Ability to combine strategic thinking with hands‑on execution, making progress at pace while maintaining appropriate governance. An inclusive leadership approach that sets clear expectations, supports development and brings together different perspectives. Curiosity about developments in AI, skills and workforce transformation, with a commitment to responsible and practical application.

Highly desirable experience

Experience developing AI capability or leading workforce adoption of AI-enabled ways of working. Experience implementing AI-enabled learning technology or workforce platforms. Experience working in financial services or another highly regulated environment. Experience partnering with executive-level leaders and contributing to enterprise-wide decisions.

Inclusion & Diversity

We value diversity and strive to promote inclusivity in all aspects of our culture. We believe in equal opportunities for all, ensuring that no applicant encounters less favourable treatment based on anything but their skills, qualifications, experience, and potential. We celebrate the unique contributions of a diverse workforce and create a respectful, nurturing environment where every colleague can thrive.

Values

• Do the right thing: We act with integrity and are proudly committed to going above and beyond in service of our clients and the support we provide our communities.
• Always curious: We continuously seek new ideas and knowledge so we’re one step ahead of our clients’ needs.
• We look for inspiration everywhere and encourage experimentation, recognising that this is how we create brilliant solutions for brighter futures.
• Embrace challenge: We aim high to transform our potential into meaningful outcomes. With ambition as our driving force and a steadfast commitment to growth, we succeed for the good of every generation.
• Stronger together: Combining our diverse talents, we accomplish more collectively than we ever could do alone. We speak openly, actively listen, and support each other, and constructively challenge and embrace new ideas.
• We seek empowerment and demonstrate ownership and trust, with the confidence to make impactful decisions.

Core Benefits

• Holiday: 182 hours (26 days)
• Quilter Incentive Scheme: All employees are eligible to participate in incentive scheme, to incentivise business performance and their contribution.
• Pension Scheme: A non-contributory company pension scheme that can be boosted through personal contributions.
• Private Medical Insurance: Single cover as standard with options to increase cover to include your partner or children.
• Life Assurance: 4x your salary.
• Income Protection: 75% of salary, less state benefits, payable after 26 weeks of absence.
• Healthcare Cash Plan: Jersey employees only

In addition to our core benefits, we offer a range of flexible benefits to UK employees that you can choose from and pay for conveniently via a salary deduction.

We do this by guiding our customers and their families through the complexity of planning for their financial future, responding to their rapidly evolving needs and giving them peace of mind. And, with all that’s happening in the world today, our role in society has never been more meaningful. Our impressive talents and capabilities set us apart, but our unwavering commitment to our customers is what defines us. We truly believe that we have all the ingredients to be the very best in our industry, and we want great people with the care and creativity that we need, to help us get there. We are passionate about building an inclusive culture where everyone’s contribution is valued, and our people can thrive. No matter what your role is or where you sit, your voice will matter.

Some roles lend themselves to flexible options more than others, so our talent acquisition team are on hand to discuss your needs.

We are committed to treating all our job applicants fairly and with respect. Our people come from all kinds of backgrounds and have a wide range of expertise, so we welcome your application regardless of your beliefs, culture, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation and or disability.