Lead Skills Development Partner

Marks & Spencer

  • United Kingdom
  • Permanent
  • Full-time
  • 6 days ago
Job Category: Human ResourcesJob Description:SummaryAt M&S, we're on a bold journey of transformation. As Lead Skills Development Partner for our Fashion, Home & Beauty (FH&B) business, you'll play a pivotal role in connecting business strategy with talent development to build the skills and capabilities we need to thrive-today and tomorrow.You'll be accountable for identifying critical skill gaps, designing impactful learning solutions, and driving a culture of growth and internal mobility. Working closely with the Talent Centre of Expertise, you'll help shape M&S-wide talent strategies while tailoring solutions to meet the unique needs of FH&B.To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected.What you'll doYour key accountabilities will include
  • Skills Analysis & Capability Planning: Conduct deep skills analysis to map current and future capability needs across FH&B, enabling targeted development and transformation.
  • Strategic Talent & Learning Needs: Partner with People teams and business leaders to identify talent and learning needs aligned to FH&B's strategy and the People Plan, ensuring a future-ready workforce.
  • Design & Delivery of Development Solutions: Create and implement tailored learning programmes-including induction, Early Careers, apprenticeships, and upskilling-to address functional and technical skill gaps.
  • Enterprise Contribution & Succession Planning: Use FH&B insights to inform M&S-wide talent priorities, contribute to enterprise learning initiatives, and facilitate succession planning and talent forums to accelerate career progression.
  • Inclusive Learning Culture & Team Leadership: Champion inclusive, impactful learning solutions, foster a strong internal learning culture, and manage direct reports to deliver high-quality development.
Who you areYour skills and experience will include
  • Skills & Learning Needs Analysis: Proven ability to assess current and future capability requirements, identifying skill gaps and aligning learning needs with strategic business goals.
  • Learning Solution Design & Delivery: Experience designing functional and technical development programmes, including Early Careers and apprenticeships, and managing go-to-market and delivery planning.
  • Talent Planning & Performance Consulting: Skilled in facilitating talent forums, succession planning, and consulting on performance to drive internal mobility and career progression.
  • Stakeholder Engagement & Programme Impact: Strong communication and influence skills at senior levels, with the ability to evaluate programme effectiveness and translate talent data into actionable insights.
  • Leadership & Sector Experience: People management experience, ideally gained in large retail or consumer goods organisations with a focus on strategic skill development and internal talent growth.
What's in it for youBeing a part of M&S is exactly that - playing your part to bring the magic of M&S to our customers every day. We're an inclusive, dynamic, exciting, and ever evolving business built on doing the right thing and bringing exceptional quality, value, service to every customer, whenever, wherever and however they want to shop with us.Here are some of the benefits we offer that make working for M&S just that little bit more special…
  • After completing your probationary period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
  • Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days!
  • Discretionary bonus schemes awarded based on how you achieve your personal objectives and our performance as a business.
  • A generous Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and Life Assurance.
  • A dedicated welcome to our teams with a tailored induction and a wide range of training programmes to develop your skills.
  • Amazing perks and discounts via our M&S Choices portal to maximise your financial and personal wellbeing.
  • Industry-leading parental, adoption and neonatal policies, providing support and flexibility for your family.
  • Access to a fantastic range of wellbeing support for all colleagues including access to our 24/7 Virtual GP and PAM Assist to support you and your family.
  • A charity volunteer day to support a charity or cause you're passionate about through a dedicated day away from work.
Everyone's welcomeWe are ambitious about the future of retail. We're disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We're transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.#LI-Hybrid #LI-CP2

Marks & Spencer