Talent Development Lead

Diverse disciplines. Varied challenges. One unique opportunity.

Talent Development Lead

Salary: £58,000 - £60,000 per annum plus benefits

Reports to: Head of Talent & Leadership

Directorate: Chief Operating Office

Working hours: 35 hours per week

Location: Stratford, London w/ high-flex (1 - 2 days per week in the office).

Closing date: 7 December 23:59.

Please let us know if there is anything about the recruitment process that you would like to discuss, in particular if there are any changes or adjustments that would make it easier for you to apply. Please contact or as soon as possible.

Please note: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.

Cancer Research UK are looking for an experienced, people-centric Talent Development Lead to join our new Talent & Leadership(T&L) Team. As an organisation, we continuously adapt and diversify our approach across all areas, united by the shared goal of beating cancer. We operate with a growth mindset, providing our people with the tools they need to ensure we meet the evolving needs of our mission. To support this, our T&L team's goal is to identify critical talent capabilities, putting in place the right frameworks and processes to develop them, enabling talent mobility to support our organisational needs, and ultimately - our mission to beat cancer.

In this role you'll be key in designing and improving the organisation's learning ecosystem so that colleagues build the skills they need, when they need them, through practical learning and development pathways. You'll turn workforce priorities into capability frameworks and personalised, high-impact development that supports performance, growth, and organisational success.

What will I be doing?

• Design capability frameworks and turn them into practical learning journeys and pathways, using a mix of formats like projects, mentoring, micro-learning, and manager-led activities to support real-world application.
• Manage and improve the learning platform experience, keeping the catalogue organised, targeting content to the right audiences, and integrating learning into everyday tools and workflows.
• Maximise the use of the learning ecosystem (platforms and tools) and data to personalise learning, tailoring content by role and level, and designing feedback loops to help people apply what they learn.
• Own adoption of learning across the year through setting the strategy, calendar, approach to effective campaigns, in partnership with the rest of HR and Internal Comms, as well as coordinating manager enablement, Communities of Practice, and any other relevant adoption approaches.
• Reduce the time between need identification and solution delivery by adopting agile ways of working, testing and improving learning offers through pilots and experiments, using feedback and data to refine formats, channels, and timing, and retiring what doesn't work.
• Apply GenAI responsibly to enhance learning content, using it for drafting, scenario creation, translation, and accessibility while ensuring quality and ethical standards.
• Create reusable learning assets, including toolkits, guides, and communications packs, and prepare briefs for the OD Delivery Hub to scale delivery effectively, ensuring all assets are accessible by default
• Measure learning impact with clear indicators, working with People Operations and Data & Insight to report on usage, capability growth, and learning transfer.
• Manage external learning providers and faculty, ensuring quality, tracking outcomes, and making decisions about scaling or stopping based on value for money.

What are you looking for?

• Proven experience in designing effective learning experiences using adult learning principles, including practical, in-the-flow-of-work activities that drive application.
• Strong expertise in mapping capabilities and evaluating learning impact, creating simple indicators and assessments that link directly to performance outcomes and proficiency for different levels in the organisation.
• Experience in driving the use of learning technologies to improve user experience and learning adoption.
• Drives adoption through campaigns and communities, enabling managers, reducing barriers, and encouraging peer learning and engagement, ensuring resources and experiences are accessible by default.
• Manages external learning providers and faculty, ensuring quality delivery, tracking outcomes, and making decisions based on value for money.
• Supports change adoption by embedding new learning practices, using clear plans, communications, and stakeholder engagement to ensure uptake.

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.

Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination

Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism

Human: Act to have a positive impact on people

Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively

We're looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.

If you're interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we'd still love to hear from you.

What will I gain?

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.

You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.

How do I apply?

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won't be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you fairly and objectively.

For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us.

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