Learning and Development Manager in Newcastle upon Tyne

This range is provided by Virgin Money. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Base pay range: £37,600 - £47,000 per annum

Location: UK Hybrid – Leeds or Gosforth – Regular travel required to both hubs

Contract type: Permanent

Our Collections and Recoveries team is investing in strategic improvements across the Collections operation from policy and processes through to risks and controls, quality assurance, training, communication, and management information. These enhancements will ensure the operation is fit for purpose in the context of a continually evolving and complex regulatory landscape where customer circumstances require often tailored and sensitive solutions. Positive customer outcomes will continue to be at the heart of everything the function does with broader functional improvements driving a more engaging colleague experience across the front‑line Collections operation.

We’re looking for individuals to join us to help deliver this exciting strategic initiative, working with colleagues across Virgin Money and Nationwide, to deliver improvements in the operation of the Collections and Recoveries function.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading the end‑to‑end development and implementation of training programs, both in‑person and digital.
• Managing multiple training projects simultaneously, using project management methodologies to ensure timely and effective delivery.
• Collaborating with subject matter experts (SMEs), HR, and business leaders to assess learning needs and align training with strategic objectives.
• Monitoring and evaluating training effectiveness using data‑driven insights and feedback.
• Overseeing the LMS (Learning Management System) and ensuring content is current, engaging, and accessible.
• Managing training budgets, resources, and vendor relationships.
• Championing a culture of continuous learning and development across the organisation.
• Applying a customer centric mindset and demonstrating a focus on always delivering excellent customer service.
• Building, developing and leading a high‑performing training team with a diverse range of skills, knowledge and experience.
• Empowering colleagues to deliver a customer experience that is right first time, every time.
• Executing training strategy into tactical action.
• Determining the training requirements across the Collections and Recoveries function.
• Providing effective delivery of solutions and building plans to measure the success of training delivery and other interventions.
• Leading and promoting a Continuous Improvement culture to increase operational effectiveness.
• Ensuring teams always work to the relevant risk and regulatory guidelines.

We need you to have:

• Proven experience in a Training Manager or L&D leadership role, with excellent leadership behaviours, great people management skills and a passion for learning, innovation and driving performance through people development.
• A proven track record of designing, developing, and delivering engaging and interactive training using a range of learning methods, ideally in a regulated environment.
• Strong project management skills and a track record of helping to deliver significant change with experience of process re‑design and improvement.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment.
• Experience with digital learning tools and platforms (e.g., LMS, e‑learning authoring tools).
• Fantastic communications skills, with the ability to engage and influence stakeholders across all levels of the organisation.
• A passion for empowering colleagues to deliver exceptional customer experience.
• Experience in delivering improvements in capability – both for individuals and teams, including utilising feedback, management information (MI), and root cause analysis (RCA) to assess the effectiveness of training delivery and identifying opportunities for improvement based on data insights and learner outcomes.

It’s a bonus if you have but not essential:

• Familiarity with change management principles.
• Coaching or facilitation qualifications.
• Practical knowledge of the regulatory environment within Financial Services.
• Formal Project Management qualifications such as PRINCE2, PMP or Agile.

Red Hot Rewards:

• Generous holidays – 38.5 days annual leave (including bank holidays and prorated if part‑time) plus the option to buy more.
• Up to five extra paid well‑being days per year.
• 20 weeks paid, gender‑neutral family leave (52 weeks in total) for expectant parents and those looking to adopt.
• Free private medical cover, income protection and life assurance.
• Flexible benefits include Cycle to Work, wellness and health assessments, and critical illness.

And there’s no waiting around, you’ll enjoy these benefits from day one.

If we’re lucky to receive a lot of interest, we may close the advert early. Please ensure to submit your applications as soon as possible.

Virgin Money is so much more than just a bank. As part of the Nationwide group, together we’re the UK’s first full‑service mutual bank serving millions of retail and business customers and all driven by our purpose; Banking but fairer, more rewarding and for the good of society. With us, you’ll be part of an organisation uniquely positioned to make a difference to the lives of customers, communities and broader society and embark on a collaborative, customer obsessed, and fun‑filled career journey.

Embrace the weekdays, enjoy fantastic perks, and make a meaningful positive difference.

Time to discover what it means to be part of the first mutual full‑service banking provider.

Be yourself at Virgin Money:

At Virgin Money, we celebrate everyone. We have fun, think big, and relentlessly include each other, all in pursuit of our purpose: Banking – but fairer, more rewarding, and for the good of society. We’re committed to creating an inclusive culture where colleagues feel safe and inspired to contribute, speak up and be heard. As a Disability Confident Leader, we’re committed to removing any obstacles to inclusion. If you need any reasonable adjustments or support making your application, contact our Talent Acquisition team at careers@virginmoney.com.

Please note: If we receive a high volume of eligible applications, we may need to prioritise candidates whose skills and experience most closely align with the role, while still ensuring fair and equitable consideration for all applicants.

Now the legal bit: Although some of our roles allow you to be based anywhere in the UK, we’ll need you to confirm you have the right to work in the UK. If you’re successful in securing a role with us, there are some checks you need to complete before starting. These include credit and criminal record checks and three years’ worth of satisfactory references. If the role is part of the Senior Manager Regime and Certification Regime, it requires enhanced pre‑employment checks – we’ll ask for six years of regulatory references, and once in the role, you’ll be subject to periodic employment checks.

Seniority level: Mid‑Senior level

Employment type: Full‑time

Job function: Training and Human Resources

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