Early Careers Specialist

Are you passionate about early careers, talent development, and playing a key role in shaping how future talent builds knowledge, skills, and capabilities across our business?

Recently accredited with Investors in People - We Invest in Apprentices Gold— we have a proud history of investing in our early careers programmes, with a significant proportion of our workforce either currently or previously enrolled onto an early careers programme. The appointment of this role is key as we continue to invest further in our future talent pipeline.

We are seeking an Early Careers Specialist to lead the delivery and expansion of our apprenticeship and early careers programmes, driving a key pillar of our wider People Strategy. This is a proactive, impactful role where you will shape programmes, influence senior stakeholders, and lead the complete apprentice and trainee journey—from attraction and recruitment through to qualification and progression into permanent roles.

The Role

As our Early Careers Specialist, you will be responsible for the full apprentice and early careers lifecycle. You will act as the go-to person for apprentices and trainees, ensuring they receive the right work experience, mentoring, formal training, and off-the-job learning required to succeed.

Working closely with the People Team, Finance, operational leaders, managers, and mentors, you won't just manage programmes; you will serve as the key link between the business and external training partners, driving continuous programme improvements using data, feedback, and operational insights.

Key Responsibilities

• Recruitment & Workforce Planning: Identify future skills needs across the business and build an annual apprenticeship recruitment plan.

• Apprentice Management & Development: Act as the main point of contact for apprentices and trainees, supporting their ongoing development, attendance, performance, and wellbeing.

• Training & Curriculum Delivery: Ensure apprentices and trainees receive the right work experience, mentoring, formal training, and off-the-job learning.

• Provider & Partner Management: Build and manage effective relationships with colleges, universities, and training providers, holding them accountable for high-quality delivery.

• Funding, Budgets & Compliance: Oversee and manage apprenticeship funding, budgets, claims, grants, CITB funding, and the apprenticeship service account.

• Progression & Talent Mapping: Ensure apprentices and trainees are fully supported through their qualifications with a clear, structured route into longer-term permanent roles.

• Programme Improvement & Analytics: Utilise data, feedback, and insights to improve retention, qualification completion rates, and the overall apprentice experience.

• Stakeholder Collaboration: Build strong relationships across multiple sites and departments, holding managers and external training providers accountable when standards or progress fall below expectations.

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for an experienced, highly organised, and confident Early Careers professional who understands the apprenticeship landscape and can hit the ground running. You will possess a genuine interest in developing people, strong stakeholder management skills, and the confidence to challenge standards to drive excellence.

Your Profile

• Experience: Proven experience managing apprenticeships and other early careers programmes across multiple sites or departments.

• Funding & Compliance Knowledge: Strong knowledge of apprenticeship funding, administration, budgets, claims, funding records, compliance requirements, and the apprenticeship service account.

• Provider Management: Demonstrated experience managing and holding colleges, universities, and external training providers accountable for delivery.

• Stakeholder Management: Excellent organisation and communication skills with the confidence to collaborate with, influence, and challenge managers and external partners.

• People Development Focus: A genuine passion for developing people and supporting early-career talent through to qualification and career progression.

• Sector Knowledge (Advantageous): Previous experience within the construction industry, particularly knowledge of degree apprenticeships and CITB funding, is highly desirable