Learning and Development Manager - Northampton

Learning and Development Manager Jobs

All good companies base their HR strategy around retaining and attracting the best talent, and a big part of this goal is their commitment to learning and development throughout the business. The best employees demand it, but there are sound business reasons for keeping L&D up to date. To prevent grand L&D strategies from fizzling out once they leave the board room, however, it’s essential that learning and development managers are appointed to ensure the strategies are put into action, hence the need for good learning and development managers.

Depending on the size of the company, the learning and development manager either reports to a director of L&D or the board in general and may have a degree of autonomy when it comes to designing and implementing strategies. The L&D manager is judged on how well she or he delivers the KPIs laid down by the organization, which usually revolve around talent retention and performance of the department they oversee. Learning and development management is a great step in the ladder towards directorship, as it can shine a light on the manager’s ability to interpret strategies and put them into action.

The skills required

While previous experience of learning and development management is often preferred, many companies consider experienced HR professionals who have dealt with all aspects of L&D, such as appraisals, examinations, assessments and personal development programmes and have put these into action for a busy company.

You should have a rounded set of skills on the current best practice in the field of learning and development gained through continuous learning on the back of some appropriate qualifications. An ability to demonstrate that you can manage people in a methodical and consistent manner is also required – for example you need to keep on top of qualifications that may expire and ensure they are re-sat and renewed as appropriate. Experience of working in the same field is also advantageous.

Learning and Development Manager Jobs in Northampton

Situated in the East Midlands on the banks of the River Nene, Northampton is a market town with a history dating back to the 6th century. By the end of the 11th century, the community had grown significantly and the Domesday Book records it as having a population of around 1,500 inhabitants.

During the 19th century, the city experienced further expansion thanks to the construction of the Grand Union Canal, which connected London and Birmingham with each other, as well as cities like Leicester, Slough and Northampton. Railways also arrived at the city around this time, further simplifying trade with the rest of the country.

Northampton was best known for producing shoes and other leather goods during the 1800s and a few companies that were established during this period still provide specialist, high-end items today - including Edward Green Shoes, Trickers, Church's and Crockett & Jones.

Over the years, most of the other footwear factories have been converted to offices or residential buildings and, although the shoe industry has declined, a number of other sectors have taken its place, including distribution, finance and manufacturing. So those seeking Learning and Development Manager roles in the area will have an array of employers to consider.

Just some of the well-known companies that have offices, factories or headquarters in Northampton include Coca Cola, Schweppes, Carlsberg, Texas Instruments, Avon Products, Blacks Leisure Group and Panasonic.

Meanwhile, Nationwide Building Society, Barclay Card, the University of Northampton and St Andrew's Healthcare are all major employers.

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Find L&D Manager Jobs with Cast UK

Some of the UK’s most exciting companies that are growing and changing are trying to find good learning and development managers to ensure their employees are up to speed on all aspects of their business. If you have experience in this area, you could be just the person they are looking for. We have great relationships with companies up and down the country because we have the details of hundreds of excellent HR professionals, and our consultants are skilled at matching the two together.

Cast UK can help you get your foot in the door of these companies so you can demonstrate to them why you should be their next learning and development manager. Call us today on 0333 121 3345 to get started.

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