Head of Apprenticeships & Training

Head of Apprenticeships & Training

KnowledgeBrief

Salary: Competitive senior leadership salary, dependent on experience
Location: Home-based, with travel to London at least once a month. Travel for work purposes is reimbursed in full.
Contract: Full-time
Start date: By agreement, allowing for your notice period
Closing date: Monday 5th October 2026

About KnowledgeBrief

KnowledgeBrief partners with organisations across the UK to develop confident, capable leaders through emotionally intelligent, evidence-based learning. We are on a mission to eliminate the accidental manager, helping people apply their learning to improve performance and build inclusive, values-driven workplaces.

Apprenticeships are central to our offer, alongside wider leadership and management training. Our programmes are delivered remotely through our own digital learning platform, developed in-house to connect learning with practical application.

Following significant growth, we are investing in our people, programmes and delivery capabilities to support our next stage of development. We are looking for a senior leader who can help shape that future, bringing deep apprenticeship expertise, strategic judgement and the ability to build a strong, commercially sustainable delivery function.

Learn more about our values and vision at www.knowledgebrief.com.

The opportunity

Reporting directly to the CEO, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across our apprenticeship and training provision, with accountability for delivery performance, curriculum, quality, compliance and learner and employer outcomes.

You will bring a strong understanding of how these areas work together, using that expertise to shape priorities, evaluate opportunities and guide decisions about our future provision. You will balance educational quality and learner experience with the people, resources and financial performance needed to support sustainable growth.

Leading managers across operations, quality, curriculum, compliance and client experience, you will build capability, establish clear accountability and create the conditions for teams to succeed. You will offer support and constructive challenge, empowering leaders to take ownership while maintaining a clear view of performance and risk.

Working closely with the CEO and colleagues across Sales, People and Digital, you will help shape organisational strategy and turn ambition into a coherent, achievable approach to delivery.

What you will lead

• Strategy and sustainable growth: Shape the direction of our apprenticeship and training provision, making informed recommendations about priorities, investment and development in response to employer demand, sector change and organisational goals.
• A commercially sound delivery function: Align workforce capability, delivery capacity and resources with current commitments and future growth. Use financial and performance insight to strengthen efficiency and sustainability while protecting quality and learner outcomes.
• Curriculum and programme development: Guide the development of relevant, rigorous and engaging programmes, ensuring new and existing provision is supported by the expertise, resources and delivery approaches needed to succeed.
• Quality, compliance and safeguarding: Provide confident oversight of funding requirements, audit and inspection readiness, safeguarding and Prevent, embedding strong practice into everyday delivery.
• Leadership and team development: Develop a capable, collaborative management team with clear priorities and accountability. Strengthen the skills, structures and ways of working that will support the function as it grows.
• Performance and improvement: Use data, learner and employer feedback, and professional judgement to understand performance, identify emerging risks and lead meaningful improvements in retention, achievement, timely completion and programme impact.
• Employer and learner experience: Ensure a joined-up journey from onboarding to completion and beyond. Work with Client Partnerships and the Sales division to align employer expectations, programme commitments and delivery capability.
• Change and organisational contribution: Lead thoughtfully through growth, funding and policy changes, considering options, dependencies and longer-term consequences. Bring clear recommendations and constructive challenge while protecting continuity, organisational values and reputation.

What you will bring

While we champion diverse experiences and perspectives, for this role we are looking for someone who combines deep sector knowledge with the perspective and judgement to lead a whole delivery function.

You will bring:

• Substantial, recent senior leadership experience within an independent apprenticeship training provider.
• A strong understanding of apprenticeship and training compliance, curriculum development, delivery and quality assurance, with the credibility to support and challenge specialist leaders.
• Evidence of shaping strategy and translating it into priorities that balance learner outcomes, educational quality and commercial sustainability.
• Experience leading through managers, developing leadership capability and bringing several interconnected functions together around shared goals.
• Sound commercial and financial judgement, including experience of budgets, resource planning and the financial implications of delivery decisions.
• A track record of improving provision and performance while developing the capacity and capability needed for sustainable growth.
• The ability to evaluate opportunities and risks, make considered decisions with incomplete information, and explain the reasoning behind your recommendations.
• A collaborative, people-focused leadership style that combines warmth, constructive challenge and high expectations.

You will care about the difference learning makes and be motivated by the opportunity to develop both our provision and the people who deliver it.

What’s on offer

• A competitive senior leadership salary.
• Strategic influence across KnowledgeBrief, reporting directly to the CEO.
• The opportunity to undertake a fully funded Chartered leadership or management qualification.
• 5.6 weeks’ annual leave, plus bank holidays.
• Paid company closure over the winter holidays.
• Two weeks’ full sick pay per year.
• Home-based working, with regular London meet-ups for collaboration, development and connection.
• A values-driven culture shaped by the Joy of Learning, authenticity, psychological safety and a commitment to high-quality learning.

How to apply

Please send your CV with a brief introduction outlining your experience of leading apprenticeship provision, developing teams and supporting sustainable growth. We would particularly welcome a sense of what interests you about this opportunity and the contribution you could bring to KnowledgeBrief.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Nathan

People Partner

KnowledgeBrief

KnowledgeBrief is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. Please let us know if you need any adjustments to support you through the recruitment process.