Professional Development Lead

This role has a starting salary of £53,713 per annum, based on a 36-hour working week.

This is a fixed term contract/ secondment opportunity until 31st March 2027. If you are seeking a secondment opportunity, please get permission from your line manager before applying.

Are you an experienced professional development or training individual, registered as a Social Worker, Occupational Therapist or Allied Health Professional? Do you have a strong legal literacy and policy understanding, as well as sound knowledge of key adult social care topics, including safeguarding, mental capacity, and Care Act responsibilities?

We are offering an exciting, opportunity to step into a pivotal Training Academy role, leading professional development, learning and practice improvement across the Adults, Wellbeing and Health Partnerships directorate at Surrey County Council. You will report to Professional Development Manager and will be expected to have the ability to travel across all SCC offices, using a hybrid model of working.

Our Offer to You

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About the Team

The SCC Adult Training Academy supports and grows a strong, skilled, and confident workforce. We lead on the training, career development and practice improvement activities to staff in our directorate - be that registered professionals or staff from our in-house CQC-regulated services.

We focus on supporting our workforce, improving how teams work, and making sure we're ready for future challenges. We use data and feedback to guide what we do, including learning from audits, staff feedback and resident insights.

The Adult Training Academy is a space for learning, reflection, and support-helping staff build their skills, share good practice, and feel confident in their roles.

About the Role

No two days are the same in this role. A typical day might include working with colleagues across the AWHP directorate to identify learning priorities, plan training and reflective practice sessions, and develop learning materials that strengthen legal literacy and confident practice around safeguarding, mental capacity, Care Act duties, risk and related topics. You will act as a key connector across teams, building strong relationships to support joined up, inclusive practice and championing equity, diversity and inclusion.

Alongside hands on delivery of training, workshops and learning events, you will drive forward practice improvement by supporting reflective practice, coaching and professional development across the workforce. You may be developing eLearning content, coproducing staff guidance, supporting commissioned training activity or contributing to the rollout of a risk assessment and risk management framework. Throughout the role, you will balance strategic oversight with practical delivery, leaving a sustainable legacy that strengthens practice beyond the fixed term period.

Shortlisting Criteria
In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

• Substantial experience within the Health and/or Social Care sectors, with a proven ability to engage, collaborate and inspire
• Significant experience in designing, organising and delivering training and learning events
• High legal literacy, with strong knowledge of safeguarding, mental capacity, and Care Act duties
• Experience and skills in supervision, coaching and performance management, supporting individual and team development
• A strong understanding of adult social care workforce development and systemwide change programmes, including leading and influencing practice improvement across organisations, embedding sustainable change, and supporting consistent, high-quality practice across the system.
• A strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, with the confidence to champion inclusive practice across a complex organisation

To apply, we request that you submit a CV and you will be asked the following 3 questions:

• A serious practice theme has emerged relating to mental capacity and risk decision making, and senior leaders want urgent training delivered. At the same time, managers are concerned about staff capacity to attend training. What would be your plan?
• You have been asked to improve consistency of practice across several teams where approaches to safeguarding and Care Act duties vary. Previous training has been delivered, but this has not led to sustained change in practice. How would you approach this, what steps would you take, and who would you work with?
• Please describe a time when you designed/ reshaped a training or learning offer. What was the practice issue or workforce challenge you were trying to address? How did you design the training, including decisions you made about format, audience and content? What challenges or constraints did you encounter, and how did you respond to them? How did you know whether the training had made a difference?

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 26/03/2026 with interviews planned to follow.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents!

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we're committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.