Head of Talent and Development (FTC Maternity Cover) – Look Ahead Care and Support, Islington

We’re looking for an experienced and passionate of Head of Talent and Development to join our People Team located at Head Office in Islington on a Fixed Term contract for estimated 13 months to cover maternity leave.

£55,000.00 - £60,000.00 (depending on experience) per annum, working 35 hours per week.   

Start date is 1st December 2026     

Want to feel valued? You’ll feel at home here.

·       Annual leave increasing up to 30 days with length of service

·       A generous pension – we will contribute up to 8% and life assurance cover up to 3x Pensionable Salary (T&Cs apply)

·       Exclusive discounts and cashback via Reward Gateway® and opportunity to buy a Blue Light Card

·       Fully paid induction programme and further training

·       ILM courses and Apprenticeship Programmes

·       Cycle to work scheme

·       Employee Assistance Programme for 24-7 confidential support

·       Online wellbeing resources

·       Quarterly Staff Awards to reward & recognise our amazing staff’s commitment and contribution

·       Free DBS 

This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of Look Ahead.

Strategic Leadership – Recruitment, Learning & Inclusion

·       Lead the development and delivery of our approach to recruitment, learning & development and diversity & inclusion aligned to the People Strategy and that support’s Look Ahead’s current and future priorities.

·       Provide strategic advice to the Director of People and senior leadership team on recruitment trends, workforce capability and development, and diversity and inclusion priorities.

·       Develop innovative approaches to attracting, developing and retaining talent in a challenging labour market.

·       Ensure recruitment pipelines are sustainable and responsive to workforce demand, particularly for hard-to-recruit roles

·       Ensure a consistent, high-quality experience for candidates, managers and employees across the recruitment and development lifecycle.

·       Oversee the relationship with Look Ahead’s neutral vendor and ensure that issues impacting cost effective Bank and Agency usage is managed effectively.

·       Promote inclusive practices across recruitment, development and leadership.

·       Build effective working relationships with managers and leaders across the organisation

Recruitment & Talent Acquisition

·       Lead Look Ahead’s recruitment approach to ensure effective attraction, selection, and onboarding of high-quality candidates.

·       Ensure recruitment processes are efficient, inclusive, and aligned to organisational values and safer recruitment principles.

·       Develop employer branding and attraction strategies to position Look Ahead as an employer of choice in the Social care sector.

·       Lead improvements in candidate experience, recruitment delivery and time-to-hire performance

·       Monitor recruitment metrics, including time-to-hire, quality of hire, and diversity of applicants.

·       Ensure recruitment practices support safeguarding and compliance requirements

Learning, Development & Workforce Capability

·       Lead the design and delivery of Look Ahead’s approach to learning and development that builds workforce capability and supports career progression.

·       Oversee management and leadership development programmes that strengthen management and leadership capability across Look Ahead.

·       Ensure managers are equipped with the skills and tools to recruit, onboard and develop staff effectively.

·       Ensure staff have access to high-quality learning opportunities that support both professional development and organisational performance.

·       Promote a culture of continuous learning and professional growth.

·       Support workforce succession planning and talent development initiatives.

·       Ensure compliance with statutory and mandatory training requirements.

Inclusion and Diversity

·       Provide leadership for inclusion and diversity across Look Ahead.

·       Lead the development and implementation of the Inclusion and Diversity Policy and annual actions that promote fairness, inclusion, and equal opportunity.

·       Embed inclusive practices across recruitment, training, leadership development, and people policies.

·       Monitor diversity data and identify opportunities to improve representation and inclusion across the workforce.

·       Support the development of inclusive leadership capability across management teams.

·       Work collaboratively with staff networks, representatives and leaders to promote an inclusive culture.

Systems, Data & Continuous Improvement

·       Oversee the continuous improvement of recruitment, HR and learning systems, ensuring effective use of data, AI, technology and digital tools

·       Improve processes across recruitment, onboarding and learning to improve efficiency and user experience

·       Ensure data is used effectively to inform decision-making, identify trends and drive performance improvements

·       Work closely with People and IT teams to deliver system enhancements and transformation initiatives

·       Accountable for ensuring recruitment and learning & development teams deliver against agreed KPIs, SLAs and organisational performance targets.

Culture, Engagement & Employee Experience

·       Work collaboratively with the Head of Employee Relations & Culture to support initiatives that enhance employee engagement, organisational culture and Inclusion and Diversity.

·       Ensure recruitment, onboarding, learning, and inclusion practices contribute positively to the employee experience.

·       Support engagement initiatives through leadership development, learning programmes, and inclusive practices.

·       Promote a culture where diverse perspectives are recognised and valued

Leadership & Team Management

·       Lead and develop recruitment and learning development teams to deliver high-quality, customer-focused services.

·       Set clear objectives and professional development plans for team members.

·       Foster collaboration across the People team to ensure integrated service delivery.

·       Collaborate with operational leaders to identify workforce needs and deliver practical, effective solutions.

·       Encourage innovation and continuous improvement across recruitment and development practices.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

·       Ensure recruitment and training practices comply with legal, safeguarding responsibilities and regulatory requirements.

·       Maintain strong governance processes across recruitment and learning activities.

·       Ensure robust safer recruitment practices are consistently applied across all services

·       Ensure mandatory, regulatory and compliance training requirements are met across the workforce.

·       Develop and embed Recruitment, Onboarding, Inclusion and Learning and Development related Policies

·       Identify risks related to recruitment, development and inclusion and implement actions to mitigate any risks.

·       Ensure effective alignment between recruitment, onboarding and rest of the People Team to support a seamless employee lifecycle

·       Manage budgets effectively ensuring value for money

·       Strong stakeholder management and excellent relationship-building skills.

·       Ability to influence senior leaders and drive organisational change.

·       Excellent communication and facilitation skills.

·       Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret workforce and diversity data.

·       Strategic thinking combined with operational delivery capability.

·       Flexible in approach.

·       Solution focused and innovative in approach

·       Effective People Manager

What you’ll bring:

Essential

- Experience leading recruitment and/or learning and development functions.

- Experience developing and implementing workforce development and/or talent improvements

- Proven experience leading diversity and inclusion initiatives.

- Experience successfully managing and developing teams.

- Knowledge of apprenticeships, professional pathways, and sector-specific qualifications.

- Experience managing organisational learning or development programmes.

- Strong knowledge of recruitment and talent management best practice.

- Knowledge of Safer Recruitment practices

- Knowledge of diversity, equity, and inclusion principles and legislation.

Desirable

-Experience within social care, housing or similarly regulated sectors.

- Chartered CIPD membership (MCIPD or FCIPD).

- Experience leading leadership development or organisational development initiatives.

About us:

Look Ahead is a leading, not-for-profit care and support provider in London and the South East. Our vision is to build better lives through social care and housing in local communities. As an organisation we deliver over 100 services, providing support to thousands of customers each year. Our mission is to co-design and deliver services that offer innovative social care solutions and support people to thrive. We work across mental health, homelessness and complex needs, young people and care leavers and learning disabilities so there are plenty of opportunities to grow and progress your career with us.

·       We focus on Excellence and innovation.

·       We are Caring and Compassionate.

·       We are Inclusive and Trusted.

·       We work in Partnership and are One-Team.

Look Ahead is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk, and expects all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment.

If your application for this role is unsuccessful, but we feel that you would be suitable for another role, we may contact you to discuss alternative opportunities. If this occurs you would not need to submit another application for the alternative role.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion at work and are accredited with Silver in the Inclusive Employers Standard 2021. We are a proud member of the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant and encourage applications from a diverse range of applicants of all backgrounds.