Early Careers Lead in Bristol

Are you someone who can build strong partnerships, influence stakeholders and stay focused on improving outcomes for young people? In this role, you will lead the development and delivery of a coherent early careers strategy, creating clear pathways across apprenticeships, graduate schemes, internships and work experience. You'll work closely with schools, colleges, universities and training providers, ensuring the organisation plays a visible and influential role in the regional skills landscape.

You'll oversee a portfolio of programmes, design structured development pathways, ensure inclusive attraction and support mechanisms, and use data and insight to evaluate impact and drive continuous improvement. You'll also collaborate with senior leaders and hiring managers to understand future capability needs and build sustainable talent pipelines.

You’ll be a confident, credible professional with strong knowledge of early careers pathways and how they contribute to long-term workforce development. We’re particularly interested in people who can build trusted relationships, communicate with impact, manage multiple programmes effectively and design inclusive, structured development experiences. Experience working with education partners or within the regional skills landscape is highly valued.

We believe in fostering a culture of continuous learning and development, empowering you to thrive in your career. We prioritise your growth and success by providing a diverse range of learning and development opportunities. Our goal is to keep you motivated, equipped with essential skills, and confident in delivering excellent services.

Are you passionate about shaping the future of early talent and creating opportunities that genuinely change lives? The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) is looking for an inspiring Early Careers Lead to design and deliver a bold, forward-thinking early careers strategy that supports the region’s growth and builds a diverse pipeline of future skills. You’ll shape how young people across the West of England access apprenticeships, graduate pathways, internships and meaningful work experience - all while helping to build a greener, more digital and more inclusive regional economy.

You’re joining us at a pivotal moment of investment and transformation. Working within our People & Culture team, you’ll ensure early careers activity aligns with workforce planning priorities and long-term organisational capability needs. We’re looking for someone strategic, collaborative and passionate about unlocking potential.

You’ll be joining a collaborative, ambitious team committed to creating opportunities for people and businesses to thrive. This is an opportunity to make a real difference - shaping the future of the West of England while supporting the next generation to succeed.

Alongside the opportunity to make a real difference to the people who visit, live and work in the West of England, we offer an excellent benefits package including:

• 26 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 31 days after 5 years continuous service. There is also the option to increase your annual leave with our annual leave purchase scheme.
• 2 days of paid leave each year to volunteer.
• Local Government Pension Scheme (one of the most generous pension schemes in the UK).
• Flexible, family friendly and hybrid working options to ensure you achieve the best work/life balance and career goals. We follow a hybrid working model with typically 2 or 3 days in the office each week.
• Reduced bus fare travel across the West of England.

The salary for this role is £47,181 - £51,356. This is the full-time equivalent salary, and will be pro-rated for part-time. We advertise salary ranges for job roles, with new appointments for external candidates typically starting at the lowest salary point. In exceptional cases, where higher skill levels or experience are applicable, the salary point may be adjusted to secure the best candidate. This approach allows for potential year-on-year salary increases, offering progression and appropriate rewards to employees.