Learning and Development Lead

Uisce Éireann Irish Water; Cork; On-site; EUR 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Uisce Éireann in Ireland is seeking a Learning and Development Lead to design, implement and continuously improve learning initiatives across Cork or Dublin. Reporting to the Learning and Development Manager, you will align programmes with our People & Safety Strategy and partner with senior leaders and HR to build workforce capability.

You will lead needs analyses, manage external providers, maintain data integrity, ensure CPD accreditation where relevant, and champion a culture of

Qualifications

• Relevant third-level qualification and/or professional accreditation (e.g. CIPD), or equivalent relevant experience.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in Learning & Development, Organisational Development or related field.
• Experience designing, implementing and evaluating L&D programmes within a complex organisation.
• Experience managing multiple learning initiatives and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Ability to develop and maintain strategic partnerships across all organisational levels.
• Experience working with LMS, reporting tools and learning analytics.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to identify problems and propose improvements.
• Experience managing external learning providers and programme budgets.
• Proven track record communicating complex information effectively.

Responsibilities

• Support the development, implementation and evolution of Uisce Éireann's Learning and Development Strategy.
• Provide expert guidance on learning, capability development and workforce readiness to leaders and HR Partners.
• Partner with stakeholders to identify capability needs and develop L&D solutions.
• Lead learning needs analysis to inform annual Learning Plans and capability priorities.
• Design, implement and evaluate high-quality learning programmes using evidence-based methods.
• Oversee L&D data, training records, reporting and budget tracking for compliance.
• Ensure governance of mandatory training compliance and demonstrate impact.
• Manage relationships with external training providers and CPD accreditation requirements.
• Deliver learning programmes via internal and external channels with a high-quality participant experience.
• Monitor programme effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.
• Champion a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing.
• Track trends in learning and development and recommend opportunities to enhance capability.
• Collaborate with HSQE and IT to embed mandatory learning in induction and onboarding.
• Contribute to cross-functional projects and lead workstreams where appropriate.

Skills

Learning & Development

Organisational Development

LMS experience

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Budget management

Learning analytics

Provider management

Education

CIPD accreditation or equivalent

Tools

LMS platforms

Reporting tools

Analytics tools

Job description

This role is available in either Cork or Dublin.

We are Uisce Éireann. Every day, we are responsible for the delivery of secure, safe, and sustainable water services for the people of Ireland. As Ireland’s national regulated water utility, our vision is a sustainable Ireland where water is respected and protected, for the planet and all the lives it supports.

Our purpose at Uisce Éireann is to rise to the challenge of delivering transformative water services that enable communities to thrive. That means we are proud to take on the responsibility of protecting our water supply and passing on a safe and secure water system to a rapidly growing population and empowering Ireland’s social and economic growth.

So, we’re passionate about helping our people to do the best work of their lives, to enable them to make a positive difference to communities all over Ireland. Our aim is to attract and develop talented and skilled people with diverse backgrounds and an evolving range of expertise and insight. We believe that such a strong workforce will help us achieve our goals and allow us to continue investing in, and advancing, Ireland’s water services.

The Role:

The Organisation Development function is responsible for managing and supporting the assessment of organisational needs and the design, implementation and evaluation of programs that facilitate the professional development and continuous learning of team members, including executives and emerging leaders. The Learning and Development area is responsible for managing the learning and development capability for Uisce Eireann, including training programme development and delivery, initiative development, training requirement assessment and training needs analysis management.

Reporting to the Learning and Development Manager, the Learning and Development Lead will support the design, implementation and continuous improvement of learning and development initiatives across Uisce Éireann, ensuring programmes are aligned to organisational priorities and capability requirements and are in line with Uisce Éireann’s People & Safety Strategy.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support the development, implementation and continuous evolution of Uisce Éireann's Learning and Development Strategy, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities, workforce capability requirements and the People & Safety Strategy
• Act as a trusted advisor to business leaders, HR Business Partners and key stakeholders, providing expert guidance on learning, capability development and workforce readiness
• Partner with key stakeholders to identify capability needs and develop effective learning and development solutions.
• Lead learning needs analysis activities across the organisation, including mandatory, technical and professional capability requirements, to inform the annual Learning Plans and capability priorities.
• Design, implement and evaluate high-quality learning solutions and development programmes using evidence-based learning methodologies and best practice principles to build capability and improve organisational performance
• Oversee and manage the integrity of L&D data, training records, reporting and budget tracking, ensuring accurate records and compliance with audit requirements.
• Ensure robust governance of mandatory training compliance, providing insights to inform decision-making and demonstrate impact
• Manage relationships with external learning providers and professional bodies to ensure quality, value for money and compliance with Continuous Professional Development (CPD) accreditation requirements.
• Oversee the delivery of learning programmes through a blend of internal and external channels, ensuring a high-quality participant experience.
• Monitor programme effectiveness through evaluation, reporting and insight, making recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Champion a culture of continuous learning, knowledge sharing and skills development across Uisce Éireann.
• Monitor emerging trends, technologies and innovations in learning and development and recommend opportunities to enhance organisational capability and learner experience
• Work closely with internal stakeholders, including HSQE and IT, to identify and manage mandatory, regulatory and job-specific learning requirements, ensuring they are effectively embedded within induction and onboarding programmes
• Contribute to cross-functional projects and organisational initiatives, leading specific workstreams where appropriate.

General Duties and Responsibilities

• Foster strong collaboration with stakeholders across Uisce Éireann, including Human Resources, Health & Safety, Talent Acquisition, Finance and other Directorates
• Responsible for promoting and delivering health and safety commitments across UÉ and its supply chain, reinforcing positive behaviours and delivering health and safety objectives and requirements to the highest industry standards
• Provide leadership, coaching and development to team members, creating a culture of collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Support the delivery of the Uisce Éireann Transformation Programme, driving results required within the Directorate and supporting organisation-wide objectives
• Conducts duties and responsibilities in accordance with Uisce Éireann’s Information Security policies, standards, processes and controls to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of UÉ business information and delivery of critical services, in accordance with the NIS Directive and any other relevant cybersecurity regulation
• Undertake other reasonable duties consistent with the requirements of the role.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Relevant third-level qualification and/or professional accreditation (e.g. CIPD), or equivalent relevant experience
• A minimum of 5 years' experience in Learning & Development, Organisational Development or a related discipline
• Experience designing, implementing and evaluating learning and development programmes within a complex organisation.
• Experience managing multiple learning initiatives and stakeholders simultaneously
• Ability to develop and maintain effective strategic partnerships with multiple stakeholders and influence across all organisational levels.
• Experience working with learning management systems (LMS), reporting tools and learning analytics.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to identify and analyse problems and potential improvements, and propose and implement solutions
• Experience managing external learning providers and programme budgets.
• Proven track record with dealing with complex issues, proactively and in a timely fashion along with the ability to communicate complex information to others
• Highly motivated individual, working to the highest professional standards and with proven ability to deliver results
• Demonstrate adaptability and the ability to change focus and direction in line with business strategy and requirements
• Proactively identifying new areas of improvement and using newly gained knowledge and skill on the job