Group Head of Learning and Development in Appleton Thorn

Culina Group is a leading UK 3rd party food & drinks logistics provider offering dedicated and shared user warehousing and distribution solutions. At Culina, we have a winning culture, we believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive… A place where you're valued, challenged, and inspired.

We have a brand new opportunity to join the team as Group Head of Learning and Development. We are looking for a candidate to be preferably based in the Midlands or North West. This role will be vital in establishing the learning strategy for organisational training and accelerated management and leadership development pathways to ensure the skills, knowledge, and development opportunities needed to perform effectively, grow professionally, and support the organisation's strategic goals and promote our culture to generate high performance outcomes for our customers.

Key responsibilities of the Group Head of Learning & Development:

• Strategic Leadership: Develop and lead the Group-wide Learning & Development strategy aligned to business priorities and future skills needs. Collaborate with senior leaders across various sectors to identify capability gaps. Champion a learning culture that supports cultural alignment, continuous improvement, safety, and operational excellence.
• Talent Development Strategy: Develop and implement strategies to develop new talent into key pipeline and critical-skills roles. Align external talent attraction, apprenticeships, early careers, and internal talent development into an integrated Group-wide learning strategy.
• Learning Program Design & Delivery: Oversee the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of learning programs including onboarding, compliance, leadership development, technical and operational skills. Ensure learning solutions are scalable and accessible across multi-site, shift-based, and deskless workforce environments.
• Operational Capability & Compliance: Work closely with Health & Safety, Compliance and CI teams to embed mandatory training requirements across all business units. Monitor training completion, training currency, and audit readiness.
• Enabling Organisational Adaptability & Growth: Ensure the organisation is equipped with the skills, capabilities, and leadership required to respond effectively to change. Promote a culture of continuous professional development, high performance, and employee engagement.
• Diversity and Inclusion: Promote a diverse and inclusive workplace through targeted initiatives.
• Leadership & Career Development: Co-design and deliver leadership development pathways. Support internal mobility and career progression through structured development plans, coaching, and capability frameworks.
• Team & Budget Management: Lead, develop, and performance-manage a team of L&D professionals. Manage the L&D budget and optimise use of the company's Apprenticeship Levy.
• Collaboration Across Departments: Work closely with HR, Operations, H&S, CI, Compliance, Finance and other key stakeholders to ensure L&D activities are aligned with organisational goals.

Qualifications:

• Experienced L&D qualified professional, well versed in applying modern learning ecosystems and embedding program evaluation models.
• Knowledge and experience of standards selection, provider governance, EPA readiness, Ofsted/ESFA compliance, funding rules.
• Understanding of shift-based workforces and deskless enablement constraints.
• Exceptional communication skills to build relationships and facilitate discussions.
• Proficiency in analysing workforce data to identify trends and assess talent gaps.
• Knowledge of HR Tools and Practices.
• Aware of diversity to ensure inclusive learning and development strategies.

Additional Information:

As part of our drive to make Culina Group a great place to work, we are proud to be an inclusive and diverse organisation committed to employee development. Our dedicated learning and development programmes are open to every employee to give you the opportunity to shape your own future within logistics.

Our People are the driving force behind our success, which is why we offer a wide range of benefits which include:

• Annual Leave – Competitive holiday entitlement of 25 days plus 8 Bank Holidays
• Company Bonus – Rewarded through our bonus scheme
• Private Medical Cover – Access to clinically appropriate care via Bupa
• Car Allowance
• Pension scheme – Great contribution of 5% employee and 8% employer
• Life Assurance - x4 your annual salary
• Wellness – Access to a confidential telephone counselling service
• Eye Care Vouchers – Savings on eye tests and prescription glasses
• Reward & Recognition – Employee of the month and year awards
• Everyday discounts – Access to over 50 retailer discounts

If you meet the requirements for the above role and are looking for your next career opportunity please apply now and become a part of our #WinningTeam.