Learning and Development Specialist

Are you a pro-active, creative and engaging person? Do you have experience working in a Learning and Development environment? Are you someone who enjoys working collaboratively with different business areas? If so, we would love to hear from you.

In this position there is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to the development and continual enhancement of services offered to all Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) staff. This is a varied role, where no two days are the same. The MCA implements the government’s maritime safety policy in the United Kingdom and works to prevent the loss of life and occurrence of pollution on the coast and at sea. Our vision is to be a world-leading organisation, accelerating the transition to sustainable shipping with non-negotiable safety standards. We put our people, our customers and our planet at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to giving all our colleagues purpose, professionalism and pride in what we do. We work in supportive, diverse and inclusive teams. We want everyone to feel valued and supported to achieve their potential at MCA.

The Learning and Development team are responsible for designing and delivering talent, learning and development interventions, equipping MCA employees with the knowledge, skills, behaviours and expertise to ensure the organisation achieves its ambitious aims. Reporting to the Learning and Development Manager, the Learning and Development Specialist will be responsible for a variety of workstreams associated with management development, learning and development, and driving cultural change in the Agency. The role involves designing learning materials and delivering training, creating learning and development programmes as well as methods for training needs analysis, tools for supporting talent, and supporting the varied professions across the MCA in achieving their learning pathways. This role is a focal point for coaching and mentoring in the MCA.

Your responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Designing and delivering bespoke development programmes across the organisation to meet evolving business needs
• Evaluating the success of learning programmes and initiatives to ensure effectiveness
• Conducting quantitative and qualitative research to develop a deep understanding of our customers, ensuring that decision-making and strategies are informed by robust evidence and actionable insights
• Collaborating with leaders and managers across the organisation to design strategies that identify and maximise the potential of development at every grade

Person specification:

• Ability to work autonomously, with the confidence to make independent decisions
• Ability to understand and interpret organisational strategy and longer-term goals into programs of work
• Ability to diagnose capability gaps and identify learning interventions
• Good stakeholder management skills, accustomed to tailoring your approach to different individuals and an ability to deliver a customer centric service
• Highly developed skills in the management of time, setting priorities and planning, to achieve outcomes
• Passion for developing skills, a positive ‘can do’ attitude, and you will want to make a difference in your role and be willing and able to take the initiative
• Excellent communication skills are pivotal to this role, along with the ability to tailor your methods to suit your audience

This role will be based in the Southampton HQ. MCA supports flexible working and operates a hybrid working model between home and office for this role, giving you greater flexibility over where and when you work. The expectation is that you will spend a minimum 60% of your working time based at your principal workplace or out on official business. Details of the arrangement will be discussed further with your line manager. The post requires occasional travel within the UK for training delivery and to liaise with both internal & external partners and stakeholders.

Behaviours: We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Developing Self and Others
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together
• Seeing the Big Picture

Alongside your salary of £34,233, Maritime and Coastguard Agency contributes £9,917 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.

How to Apply: As part of your application, you will be required to complete a CV and a 1000 word Personal Statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. When considering your experience, please tailor your CV and personal statement to provide evidence of the following:

• Demonstrable experience in a learning and development role in a complex organisation
• Experience of mentoring or coaching and developing individuals and teams
• Experience of designing, developing, delivering and facilitating training to professional adults in a workshop setting
• Customer and stakeholder management, building relationships and working with customers and colleagues at different levels to support the delivery of business objectives

It is essential when submitting your personal statement that you provide as much detail as possible, and utilise the full word count given, against the essential criteria outlined above as this will be used in conjunction with your CV to assess candidate suitability to move to the next round in the recruitment process.