Learning Experience Consultant

At Sponge, our goal is to deliver “Unforgettable Learning” to our customers. We’ve been leading the industry for decades with our best-in-class digital learning capability and, combined with the emergent growth of our consulting services, we are succeeding in being the partner to our customers who are trying to bridge the critical gap between L&D and the business.

Are you passionate about learning excellence as it adds value to real-world business challenges? Are you a natural storyteller – able to delight and persuade your stakeholders with exciting and effective learning concepts? Are you a strategic thinker looking to authentically solve our client’s most complex challenges? If so, then you could be the Learning Experience Consultant we are looking for!

This is a rare and exciting opportunity for any passionate learning professional looking to be part of a dynamic, entrepreneurial team that gets to the heart of what L&D is truly trying to do: solve strategic business challenges through the lens of learning! Initially as a FTC, with potential opportunity to go permanent!

A Learning Experience Consultant (LExC) at Sponge is a learning leader who is customer-obsessed, thrives in ambiguity, and confidently crafts learning solutions that help strategically move the needle on an organisation’s goals. With strong commercial acumen, senior stakeholder management, and a track record in strategic learning consultancy, they build and maintain meaningful partnerships with our customers who are some of the world’s most prestigious brands.

The role primarily holds a dual focus:

• On the sales side, an LExC drives our commercial momentum by supporting our strategic bids.
• On the execution side, LExCs are responsible for delivering our consultative engagements – the analysis, design, development, and execution of a learning strategy and experience blueprint in collaboration with senior stakeholders, SMEs and internal Sponge collaborators.

And the skills you’ll need to succeed include:

• Strategic Consultancy: Ability to understand and translate unique organisational needs into an activated learning strategy (applying L&D theories, methodologies and industry best practices), including recommending/developing innovative and effective solutions.
• Experience Design: Working collaboratively with our team of learning designers, visual/motion designers (and more) to craft a compelling and impactful learning experience utilising our best-in-class bespoke digital learning capability.
• Storytelling: Ability to convey complex and ambitious ideas within a compelling narrative – whether in a sales pitch or presenting findings to an executive group.
• Business Acumen: Ability to navigate the needs of a business – being a learning leader while “speaking” the language of the business. Capable of adapting your style in a manner relevant and useful to the wider business, including finding solutions that meet the practicalities of every organisation.
• Customer Excellence: Able to build effective relationships from peers to C-suite executives, demonstrate expertise to establish credibility and trust, and exude a strong executive presence through confidence and professionalism.

A preferred experience profile would be:

• Demonstrated consultative experience in designing and implementing impactful learning solutions.
• Experience in an agency environment – working with a variety of customers and industries in a fast-paced, dynamic setting.
• Deep knowledge of latest approaches to learning theory and practice.
• Strong knowledge of trends in HR and workplace learning.
• Significant experience working in a service delivery environment.

And some essential attributes we think you’ll need along the way:

• Comfort in navigating ambiguity
• Tremendous initiative
• Resilience under pressure
• Highly collaborative spirit
• Entrepreneurial attitude and desire to try new methods, tools, and processes
• Advocate for a strong feedback culture

Your day-to-day will look something like this:

• Design unforgettable learning solutions which solve for our client’s challenges.
• Design bespoke solutions which reflect the Unforgettable Learning brand and human-centred design principles, which solve for specific learner needs and our client’s challenges.
• Meaningfully apply a deep understanding of credible best practices in learning (e.g. neuroscience, cognitive psychology, pedagogy, behavioural science).
• Support clients in realising meaningful behavioural change with measurable results.

Support our sales efforts – both in bids and enablement:

• Be an active contributor in our sales process – from supporting discovery calls to writing proposals and leading client pitches.
• Articulate Sponge’s value in clear and concise ways (e.g. enablement material, case studies, thought leadership).

Lead and execute consultative engagements:

• Apply consultative skills to assess skill gaps and prioritise learning needs to solve business challenges through effective learning experiences.
• Be a simultaneous challenger and advisor to our clients - taking a leadership role in advising our strategic accounts on the best approach to their learning strategy.
• Design and facilitate creative and effective workshops using tailored activities to meaningfully partner with relevant stakeholders.

Be an advocate for Sponge – internally and externally:

• Forge partnerships across the business to help us deliver on our Unforgettable Learning promise, proactively identifying ways to improve quality and/or process.
• Support the development of others through knowledge sharing, coaching, and mentoring.
• Share thought leadership across our social channels and at industry events.

Benefits:

• A competitive salary - Our priority is to find the right person.
• Remote and Hybrid working options available.
• Income protection and life assurance.
• 25 days holiday (excluding bank holidays).
• Your birthday off.
• Flexible working hours.
• Pension scheme.
• Healthcare cash plan.

At Sponge, we are all different. And that’s what makes us great! We hire talented people with different and diverse backgrounds, stories, and perspectives not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes us stronger. We are actively working and committed to increasing diversity in our teams and management positions. It’s our ambition to create an inclusive environment where we can all be ourselves together.