Skip to main content

This job has expired

Head of Talent Development

Employer
WHSmith
Location
Swindon, Wiltshire
Salary
Competitive
Closing date
19 Jul 2022

View more

Sector
HR & Recruitment, Retail
Contract Type
Permanent
Hours
Full Time
Flexibility
Homeworking available

Job Details

Job Description

 

Head of Talent Development

 

The Head of Talent Development is a Group role with presence required in both the London and Swindon offices.

 

This person will be fully responsible for the overall Talent Development agenda within WHSmith, including our Talent, High Street, Group functions and Funky Pigeon. The role purpose is to develop and deliver an engaging and commercial development offer and progression routes for both our Head Office and Store teams with the aim of nurturing and developing our internal talent to meet personal and business growth plans.

 

From employee relations and L&D, to payroll & reward and recruitment. You’ll find our people team right at the heart of WHSmith. These specialists, plus our dedicated generalist HR team support the entire Group in looking after our 14,000+ employees. Because life moves so fast in our business, our people team has to move quickly too. Our people have to be on the ball and ready to make big decisions, fast. At WHSmith, HR is all about finding innovative, commercial solutions and putting them into action.

 

Key Accountabilities:

  • Accountable for the development and delivery of inspiring, engaging and effective development strategies and solutions across the WHSmith Group to enable growth and expansion plans.
  • Align our development solutions and interventions to support in meeting business objectives, whilst living our values
  • Lead the review, evolution, and execution of our career pathways in support of delivering career ambitions and our growth plans
  • In partnership with the Head of Talent Acquisition and wider people team, support the design and evolution of our talent management strategy and associated identification, management, calibration and
  • planning tools
  • Review and evaluate induction and the on-boarding process across the Group, working closely with the wider team and stakeholders to ensure that all new starters have a consistent, joined up and great introduction to the business
  • Work with the business and wider T and D team to design and deliver training modules that are current, bite-size and fit for purpose
  • Review and evolve our ‘Astute’ learning platform, ensuring that it delivers engaging and relevant content to all our employees
  • To be the SME in development – advising on best practice and industry trends
  • Accountable for the development and delivery of workshops and/ or learning interventions for Head Office colleagues at varying levels
  • Conduct TNA on a regular basis to identify needs and develop a calendar of activity to support our teams
  • business, with a key focus on Learning at Work Week
  • Develop a management development/ programme for our ‘Top Talent’ in Head Office to ensure that we are able to recruit and retain our best performers
  • Research and make recommendations for our Early Careers Programmes, including the introduction of a Graduate Programme and various other apprenticeships/school leaver schemes
  • Oversee the evaluation and review of interventions to ensure that objectives are being met and there is a measurable return on investment
  • Maintain effective working relationship and proactively partner key stakeholders across operations and the Head Office teams to deliver bespoke learning/ team interventions as required
  • Support the development of high performing teams and effective WOW across the organisation through advising and facilitating on areas and events such as team builds, MBTI sessions etc.
  • Build and maintain effective relationships with external training partners and suppliers
  • Manage the training budget to ensure that we maximise spend, remain in budget and deliver a positive ROI
  • Share expertise and knowledge of external learning & development trends within the sector to inform our own development agenda
  • Support in the development and implementation of engagement and listening strategies in conjunction with the wider people team and support with follow up action planning
  • In partnership with key stakeholders, support in the evolution, development and management of our performance management cycle and initiative.
  • Work closely with our Head Of D&I and Wellbeing to ensure that our learning interventions also support the D and I strategy

 

Essential skills:

  • Experience in the creation and execution of a Talent Development Strategy in a retail environment – essential
  • Previous experience of implementing Early Careers and Graduate programmes – essential
  • Coaching Qualification – desirable
  • Excellent stakeholder management with a high touch, collaborative, and communicative approach and the confidence to challenge thinking
  • Experience across the entire talent development process
  • Ability to work independently and collaboratively with the rest of the People team, with a flexible approach to support on any areas which require focus
  • Excellent attention to detail, organisation, follow up and time management skills
  • Expert communication and facilitation skills, able to engage a wide range of audiences and inspire a culture of learning and constant improvement
  • Experience in identifying and delivering positive ROI via Talent & Development interventions, to reinforce business goals in a pragmatic and engaging way
  • Ability to balance strategic thinking with day-to-day operational management and effectively deliver key projects to large audiences
  • Ability to effectively analyse HR and finance data, identifying problems and creating Talent & Development solutions

 

What we can offer you:

Cash/Car allowance

Annual bonus based on company performance

Hybrid working model from home and in the office

25 days holiday, plus your Birthday off, plus Bank Holidays with an opportunity to buy extra days holiday

Finish at 4pm on a Friday

Competitive pension contribution

Staff discount card for stores and online

 

About Us:

WHSmith is a leading, global travel retailer with a smaller business located on UK high streets. Since 1792, we’ve grown and evolved into a globally recognised brand, and we’re proud to be that air of familiarity people love and trust on their journey, both in life and through life. Today, we have more than 1700 stores in over 30 countries across the globe, serving millions of customers every year, and you’ll find us at airports, railway stations, hospitals and on the high street.

 

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, colour, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, and basis of disability. When we collect your personal information as part of a job application or offer of employment, we do so in accordance with industry standards and best practices and in compliance with applicable privacy laws.

 

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and encourage them in particular from individuals from under-represented groups at WH Smith. This includes women and people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups.

Company

WHSmith started in 1792 with a small news vendor in Little Grosvenor Street, London, followed by the opening of our first bookstall in Euston Station in 1848. We quickly established ourselves as the favoured newsagent, stationers and bookseller opening stores across the UK. From this point on, there has been no looking back.

View our Top Employer profile.

Get job alerts

Create a job alert and receive personalised job recommendations straight to your inbox.

Create alert