Learning and Development Manager

Team Overview:

The Learning & Development (L&D) Department plays a vital role in equipping employees across all departments with the skills, knowledge, and support needed to perform at their best. Comprising the Learning & Development Manager (heading the Department), a Technical Trainer, and two Training Administrators, the team is responsible for designing, delivering, and coordinating a wide range of training programs - from compliance and technical upskilling to onboarding and professional development. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and capability building, the L&D team directly supports the growth of individuals and the business as a whole, helping to ensure that Alternative Heat continues to meet the evolving demands of its projects and clients.

Role Overview:

The Learning & Development Manager is a critical role responsible for ensuring that all employee training, qualifications, competency frameworks, and development pathways align with statutory, regulatory, client, and industry compliance requirements across Alternative Heat’s manufacturing, engineering, and site operations.

In addition to ensuring full organisational compliance, the role has accountability for the design and delivery of structured learning, skills development, and career progression frameworks that support the short- and long-term capability needs of specifically assigned business units. This includes partnering with senior leaders and managers to identify competency gaps, support succession planning, and enable targeted professional development aligned to business objectives.

The role ensures the organisation maintains full compliance with all relevant legislation, safety standards, ISO requirements, and industry certifications applicable to the Construction and MEP sectors. It oversees the development, implementation, and continuous monitoring of compliance-driven and development-focused training programmes, ensuring all personnel are competent, appropriately certified, development-ready, and audit-ready at all times, while meeting and exceeding agreed training and capability standards across all business sites and units.

This role requires strong leadership capability, technical and compliance training expertise, and the ability to manage training, development, and competency frameworks across multiple business functions, including offsite fabrication, site installation, commissioning, and support services, while actively supporting career development and talent growth within assigned business areas.

Responsibilities

Compliance Training & Regulatory Alignment

• Ensure organisational compliance with statutory, regulatory and industry training requirements across construction, MEP installation, fabrication and site activities.
• Manage mandatory compliance training, including Safe Pass, CSCS, Manual Handling, Working at Height, Abrasive Wheels, Confined Space and Electrical Safety.

Maintain a centralised training compliance matrix to ensure qualifications and certifications remain current.

• Monitor compliance with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, client requirements and internal competency frameworks.
• Ensure HSEQ training requirements are met across manufacturing and site teams.

Track certification expiry dates and coordinate refresher and renewal training.

• Maintain readiness for internal, client and external regulatory audits.

Technical & Operational Compliance Training

• Work with Engineering, Manufacturing, Site Operations and Commissioning teams to identify technical competency requirements.
• Develop and implement technical training programmes aligned with equipment, fabrication, installation and commissioning requirements.
• Support the creation and maintenance of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Work Instructions (WIs) and competency assessments.

Ensure new employees complete mandatory compliance and technical training before starting operational duties.

• Keep training content aligned with current legislation, industry standards and company procedures.

Training Compliance Management & Reporting

• Maintain accurate training records and certification databases.
• Produce regular compliance reports for senior management, highlighting compliance levels, risks and corrective actions.
• Identify training gaps and implement corrective actions to reduce organisational risk.
• Monitor training KPIs, including compliance rates, certification coverage and audit performance.
• Identify, assess and manage compliance risks through appropriate training and monitoring.

Developmental Learning & Career Progression

• Work with business unit leaders to identify skills gaps, role requirements and future training needs.
• Develop structured learning pathways and competency frameworks to support career progression and succession planning.
• Create role-based development plans covering technical upskilling, leadership development and professional qualifications.
• Work with managers to establish clear employee development plans, progression milestones and learning opportunities.
• Align development programmes with business objectives, talent strategies and employee retention.

Team Management & Leadership

• Manage and support Learning & Development personnel within a dedicated L&D Pod.

Provide direction, coaching and performance management to L&D team members.

• Encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing across the wider L&D function.
• Work with the Head of Learning & Development and other L&D Managers to align strategies and share best practice.
• Maintain consistent training standards and quality across all business units and locations.

Stakeholder Engagement & External Compliance

• Collaborate with Health & Safety, HR/Talent, Engineering, Manufacturing and Project teams to meet compliance requirements.
• Liaise with external training providers to ensure quality, accreditation and compliance standards.
• Audit external training providers to ensure training meets regulatory and technical requirements.
• Ensure training programmes meet client, contractor and regulatory body standards.
• Support engagement with relevant industry bodies and training organisations.

Company-Wide Compliance Responsibilities

• Ensure employees are competent and appropriately trained to perform their roles safely and effectively.
• Support employee onboarding to ensure all mandatory training and compliance requirements are completed.
• Establish and maintain role-specific competency frameworks.

Promote a culture of safety, compliance and continuous improvement across the organisation.

• Support the recovery of training costs through relevant industry funding schemes where applicable.

Skills

• Extensive experience in a Learning & Development role (ideally 8+ years).

• Good experience managing a Training/Learning team (ideally 3+ years).

• Experience working within construction, MEP, engineering, or manufacturing environments.

• Strong understanding of construction and/or manufacturing-related compliance and certification requirements.

• Experience managing compliance training matrices and certification tracking systems.

• Experience developing structured career progression frameworks, succession plans, and targeted development programmes to support long-term capability building.

• Experience implementing Learning Management Systems (LMS).

• Experience supporting regulatory, ISO, and client audits.

• Excellent organisational and stakeholder management skills.

• Strong team management capability.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

• Full fluency in written and spoken English.