Job Description

Salary

Manager Grade 1

Contractual hours

37.5

Basis

Full time

Package

o A rewarding career
o A competitive salary
o Excellent training, development, and career progression
o 37 days annual leave (pro-rata)
o Staff travel pass for yourself, spouse/partner and dependents
o An industry leading pension

Date posted

04/07/2025

Job reference

REC000100829

This is a permanent position

Role Overview

The Training Centre, within our new Centre of Excellence, provides best practice onboarding and training programmes for staff working on our vessels, in our ports and within support services.



The aim is to ensure all new staff and existing staff have the skills, knowledge and ability to successfully deliver a great customer experience by demonstrating competence and compliance with our policies, processes and procedures.



The Centre of Excellence (CoE) Learning & Development (L&D) Lead is responsible for our Onboarding Programme and for training existing staff through assessing training needs, responding to training requests, developing learning materials, planning delivery programmes, coaching, coordinating and managing trainers, evaluating the effectiveness of training, and liaising with line managers.



The CoE L&D Lead will also work in partnership with specialist learning and development teams across the business including the Talent Development Team in Human Resources, Technical Training Teams within Customer Operations and Crewing within Fleet Management plus other key subject matter experts and stakeholders.



This role offers an exciting opportunity to lead the continued transformation of the onboarding and learning experience for our people--building on the strong foundations already in place. With a clear ambition to elevate how we support, develop, and empower our colleagues, the COE L&D Lead will drive continuous improvement through high quality training in our skills development and learning journey across the organisation.

Principal accountabilities

Design, develop and deliver onboarding and upskilling programmes including competency assessments for new front-line staff and existing staff through blended delivery as required (e.g. eLearning, online assessments, face to face workshops, learning reference guides, self-study resources, etc). Establish tailored onboarding, upskilling and accredited development pathways for key roles, with a core focus on induction, customer service, our ticketing system E-Booking, products and related processes. All training is to be regularly updated to reflect the latest operational procedures and system changes. Work with other L&D teams in the business to ensure a seamless learning experience with other relevant onboarding and upskilling training as part of the onboarding programme (e.g. Health & Safety training, Technical Skills training). Lead, manage and coordinate a small team of inhouse trainers and a coordinator from the business with subject matter expertise in front line customer experience through the process of designing, developing and delivering the onboarding programmes and bespoke upskilling training. Provide support and coaching to ensure training is delivered to a consistent high-quality standard across the organisation. Ensure that all training sessions are fully resourced and that trainers meet the standards required for effective learning. Assess training and development requests by working closely with Heads of Service in all areas of the business to identify skill gaps and areas for improvement. Deploy a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) for specific training areas, including induction, customer service and our ticketing system, ensuring compliance with process and creating a great customer experience. Design and manage comprehensive learning schedules that align with departmental and role-specific needs. Coordinate the scheduling of training sessions, ensuring that all required resources (materials, venues, equipment) are in place for successful delivery. Oversee the tracking and evaluation of trainees' progress, providing feedback and identifying opportunities for further skill development. Monitor the effectiveness and success of training programmes through assessments and evaluation. Liaise with stakeholders and training suppliers to plan and co-ordinate the delivery of technical skills-based training sessions aligned to business requirements. Oversee the procurement of training services, ensuring that all providers meet CalMac's quality standards. Implement and maintain quality assurance processes to ensure the effectiveness of training programmes and that they meet regulatory and business requirements. Accountable for ensuring that accurate records of all training activities are maintained. Prepare reports for line managers and stakeholder on training progress, outcomes, and budget management to inform decisions-making and overall performance assessment of the Training Centre. Other relevant duties as required in managing and operating the Training Centre with an approach towards continuous improvement and aligning to the requirements of the business as informed by best practice.

Qualifications, skills and experience

It is desirable for applicants to hold a CIPD qualification and membership (or equivalent). Experience training in an organisation/sector with a strong focus on customer service and compliance. Experience in designing, developing and delivering front line training programmes used for onboarding new staff. Experience in planning and delivering training with professional body accreditation and/or completing qualifications. Experience in coordinating, planning and managing a training calendar with various programme elements. Experience of managing a team. Experience in conducting a training needs analysis (TNA) and designing aligned learning interventions. Excellent organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to coordinate multiple training initiatives simultaneously. Knowledge of best practice training evaluation and experience in evaluating the effectiveness of training. Ability to support and develop the training team by identifying opportunities for improvement, providing constructive feedback and leveraging strengths in training team. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, capable of liaising with diverse stakeholders across the business. Ability to manage procurement and quality assurance of external training services including supplier relationship management. Proactive and solution-oriented with a strong focus on continuous improvement. Ability to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment. Passionate about developing others and creating a positive learning culture. * Able to travel on a regular basis across our network including to our campuses in Stornoway, Oban and Gourock as required.