Council & Governance Learning & Development Specialist
£45,000-£48,000 plus excellent benefits (Work level 6A)
Manchester city centre – hybrid working with 2 days a week in the office and some evening and weekend work

At Co-op we do things differently. We’re owned by our 5.8m members and exist to create value for them. Our members and their voice are at the heart of the decisions we make. Member-owners shape and influence Co-op directly and by6 voting for other member-owners to represent their interests on our Board and Council.

Our Council and Democracy team work for member-owners by making sure their voice is heard, enabling them to choose and connect with their elected representatives locally and nationally and supporting Council to represent their interests in the decisions our Co-op makes.

In this role you’ll lead and deliver a comprehensive program of personal and professional training and development to empower Council to best represent and engage our member-owners. Our Council is made up of 100 co-operators from all walks of life, and so we’ll look to you to apply a range of learning and development techniques to enable Council members to deliver their responsibilities effectively from induction through to formal, informal, peer and self-led learning and leadership programs. You’ll also play a key role in helping us attract future Council members and empowering external partners and colleagues across the business to understand and engage in our governance and democracy. This is a fantastic chance to build a rewarding career and make a positive impact on everything Co-op stands for.

What you’ll do

•    Design, create and deliver engaging and comprehensive end to end induction, training, development and leadership programs for Council members informed by your assessment of training needs
•    Design, create and deliver learning and development programmes that outline and embed the skills, knowledge and behaviours required for co-operative leaders on our National Members Council 
•    Commission and manage outcomes delivered by external training providers to complement and strengthen our in-house programs
•    Work with Co-op’s Talent Acquisition & Development Team to support the integration of co-operative leadership and information to leaders and colleagues
•    Engage with teams across Co-op to develop and deliver learning and development about Council and our democracy
•    Attend meetings and other events to support the efficient running of the National Members’ Council, Sub-committee meetings and working groups

This role would suit people who have

•    Significant experience of designing, delivering, and evaluating training and development interventions to deliver strategic outcomes
•    Experience of delivering people centric training and development  through a variety of methods including e-learning, self-led and group situations
•    Experience of working closely with elected representatives
•    The ability to adapt communication to suit a variety of audiences with different learning styles, knowledge and experience
•    A talent for building positive relationships with a wide variety of people up to senior level

Why Co-op?

Here you’ll do work that matters. We’re a commercial organisation with a purpose beyond profit, you’ll have an opportunity to help us build a stronger Co-op and stronger communities. You’ll also get a package that includes:

•    competitive salary
•    coaching, training, and support to help you develop
•    pension with up to 10% employer contributions
•    annual incentive scheme 
•    28 days holiday plus bank holidays (rising to 32 in line with service)
•    discounts on Co-op products and services

Building an inclusive work environment

We’re actively building diverse teams and we welcome applications from everyone. We want to build inclusive work environments, where our colleagues have equal opportunities to reach their full potential. We celebrate our differences, and recognise the importance of our teams reflecting the communities they serve.

If you have a disability, we can make reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process according to your needs.

We're also part of the Disability Confident scheme, meaning we'll always offer an interview to disabled candidates who apply through the scheme if they meet the minimum criteria for a job.

We'll ask whether you’d like to be considered under the Disability Confident scheme when you apply. 
If we invite you to take part in the recruitment process for any of our jobs, we’ll ask you if you need any reasonable adjustments to enable you to participate.

You can find out more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process.

You can find out more about the Disability Confident scheme and all our commitments to diversity and inclusion at
jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion-wellbeing

As part of your application, you'll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes between 45-60 minutes. If you're a current Co-op colleague, this does not need to be completed.