Head of Talent Development in Manchester

CreateFuture is fast becoming the UK’s most recognisable digital consultancy, with years of experience building digital products and services for major organisations whilst putting our people first. We have offices in the centre of Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, and London as well as remote employees located throughout the country. We are a team of creators - whether that’s code, project plans, go-to-market strategies, culture initiatives, marketing campaigns, large language models or people policies. Together, with our clients, we create the future. This has seen us collaborate and partner across a multitude of industries and sectors, with the likes of PayPal, adidas, Natwest, FanDuel and Money Saving Expert, to name just a few. Our reputation as a partner determined to deliver high-quality, robust and thoughtful products has enabled us to scale to over 500 people in the last couple of years, and it is our amazing people – along with the safe, supportive and friendly culture we have built – that makes CreateFuture a great place to work. We have been recognised by Best Workplaces UK multiple years in a row – across a number of categories – and our employee exit rate is astonishingly low.

About the role and team: As Head of Talent Development, you will be responsible for designing and executing the system through which CreateFuture builds capability at scale – spanning skills, leadership and role readiness. This is a key role shaping the future of talent development and leading our L&D team within the People capability. Working in close partnership with the Chief People Officer, leaders, and the wider People team, you will translate People strategy and business priorities into a clear, focused capability roadmap and operating model. You will lead how Talent Development is delivered across the business, establishing standards, governance and rhythms that enable learning to scale naturally, without unnecessary bureaucracy. This is a senior role with significant influence, focused on executional strategy, system design and measurable impact, rather than content creation or ad-hoc training delivery.

What you’ll be doing:

• Translating People strategy and business goals into an end-to-end capability execution plan for the business.
• Partnering with senior leaders to spot the most important gaps and turning those into a focused, practical roadmap.
• Building a clear framework for roles, progression, and development paths that leaders can use consistently.
• Shaping a clear collection of learning programmes – such as onboarding, role mastery, and leadership – with clear owners and results.
• Working with the People team to ensure development data helps guide career conversations and talent moves.
• Setting out how leadership expectations are enabled and reinforced through development, coaching, feedback and management habits.
• Using a results-based approach to measure success, looking at actual changes in behaviour and business results rather than just attendance.
• Collaborating with Internal Comms so that our message on leadership and growth is clear and something everyone can get behind.
• Leading the L&D team, helping them grow so the business becomes more self‑sufficient over time.
• Champion the adoption of AI within talent development, ensuring innovative, scalable, and future‑ready learning solutions.

We’d love to talk to you if you:

• Have experience working in a Consultancy and in a Head of role within Talent Development or Learning.
• Think about the whole system – from strategy execution and operating model through to adoption and measurement.
• Are business-minded and comfortable showing how investment in people leads to better company results.
• Can work well with senior leaders, building agreement and structure without needing to rely on job titles.
• Have experience shaping learning platforms and strategies, rather than just managing them.
• Experience working with AI, or a strong interest in AI and its application to talent development.

What we’ll offer you: At CreateFuture, we challenge ourselves to go beyond the obvious and we care deeply about our craft and customers. With us, you’ll have ambitious projects to sink your teeth into and plenty of opportunities to learn and grow. You’ll be part of our safe, supportive and friendly culture – that looks after you – and join our team of genuinely great people.

Our benefits include: Total 35 days holiday (we have flexible...