People Development Manager

About us 

We are a leading consultancy with a purpose to make an enduring impact on health and healthcare. We work with leaders and frontline teams to improve health, transform healthcare, drive adoption of innovation and create value through investment. 

Our consultancy serves the entire healthcare sector, from payors and providers of care, to life science companies, health tech and sector suppliers and health investors. We provide end-to-end services, from strategy through implementation, accelerated by data, digital and AI. 

We shape opinion through evidence-based thought leadership on key issues affecting health. With unmatched ability to access and use health data, our consultants are a driving force for delivering positive and meaningful change. 

Our strategic intent 

We are focused on building the leading consulting company dedicated to health. We serve the entire healthcare sector, including healthcare systems (providers, payors and regulators), life sciences (pharmaceuticals, biotech, devices and diagnostics), health technology, health investors, and the wider supplier landscape. 

We provide end-to-end services, from strategy through implementation, supporting organisations to improve population health and healthcare outcomes. Our work spans strategy and transformation, finance and performance improvement, and delivery accelerated by data, digital and AI. We help clients understand their ambitions, identify opportunities to create value, apply innovation in practice, and deliver sustainable, measurable change. 

Our consulting is accelerated by data. With an unmatched ability to access and use health data, we are recognised for our expertise in its safe and responsible application, improving health and healthcare delivery, supporting adoption of innovation, generating evidence, and informing decision-making. Our engineering and data science capabilities underpin our consulting and are also deployed directly with clients, often as part of multidisciplinary teams. 

We are building a community of expert consultants who want to operate at the leading edge of the profession and who share a passion for health. Through structured career development from Analyst to Partner, underpinned by apprenticeship, mentorship and formal training, we are cultivating the leaders of the future and supporting individuals to develop distinctive expertise that creates value for our clients. 

Our Mission 

Our mission is to be invaluable to our clients, supporting them to innovate and make lasting improvements and to build an exceptional company that attracts, develops, and retains a trusted and uniquely talented team. 

About the role 

This is a rare opportunity to shape the people development function of a fast-growing health consultancy with serious ambitions. Reporting to the Chief People Officer, you will champion our People Strategy and own our performance and development frameworks, with enormous scope to make a difference. 

We have developed our People Strategy to support delivery of CF's company strategy, ensuring we are an employer of choice within the sector and an 'irresistible organisation' for our employees. We are committed to delivering 10 days of training per year to all staff through our in-house development programme, supported by external inputs. Our programme draws on the extensive skills and experience of our leadership team and has been accredited as a route to become Chartered Management Consultants. Your role? Spearhead and innovate this offering as we scale. 

Our growth ambitions are significant. We have diversified over the past seven years, and the future will likely see us establish additional UK bases and expand internationally. These developments have major implications for how we work and the skills we need – and you will be central to navigating this evolution. 

Responsibilities 

You will be the driving force behind how our people grow, perform, and thrive: 

Own Performance & Development 

• Lead our performance management and skills framework, ensuring it is innovative, understood, and embedded across the organisation, with all talent artefacts and adjacent processes aligned to support it 

• Run our Assessment and Development Committee, managing feedback processes and facilitating career progression discussions 

• Act as a trusted advisor on giving and receiving feedback, readiness to progress, and career planning 

• Champion our Development Sponsor framework, equipping sponsors with resources, training and support 

• Coach managers in effective 1-to-1 conversations using a coaching leadership style 

• Manage frameworks for probationary, monthly, mid-year and end-of-year review discussions 

• Lead our 360 feedback process and help create development plans 

• Drive our OKR programme, delivering training on how OKRs empower teams and individuals 

• Collaborate with Resourcing and Practice leadership to stay abreast of development needs 

• Engage in succession planning to identify top talent with Partner potential 

Transform Learning & Development 

• Position the organisation as an employer of choice through compelling learning offerings that other consulting firms cannot beat 

• Identify skills development needs and serve as a design consultant for leadership development programmes 

• Refresh our annual L&D offering (with learning journeys for each career path) in line with skills gaps and business priorities 

• Work with CF leaders, staff and external providers to build out the learning programme, ensuring it meets current needs and priorities 

• Develop learning aims, approaches, formats and materials to deliver high-quality learning 

• Create a portfolio of online training that addresses core needs flexibly 

• Leverage e-learning platforms, gamification, and microlearning to enhance learning experiences 

• Evolve our health and wellbeing learning offer based on employee feedback 

• Refine our onboarding programme so new hires feel successful from day one 

• Introduce an LMS to support e-learning content and on-demand learning 

• Own annual accreditation processes with ChMC, CIMA & RSS 

• Manage our learning calendar, including attendance and feedback management 

• Evaluate and report on learning programme effectiveness 

• Support the CPO in designing the leadership development programme 

• Champion the external development programme, including our Chartered Management Consultant Award pathway and relationship with MCA/CMI 

• Be accountable for and enhance impact of the learning budget 

Build Career Frameworks 

• Own development of career pathways, maintaining role overviews, expectations, and growth ladders 

• Enhance and maintain our skills matrix as a tool for development planning, resourcing, people planning and succession planning 

• Develop and manage an experienced hires programme as a critical talent source 

• Manage our secondment programme to create exciting opportunities for industry experience 

• Create innovative development opportunities through shadowing and volunteering 

Requirements

We’re not necessarily looking for someone with CIPD qualifications or specific degrees. We want a collaborative, innovative and friendly people professional who loves rolling up their sleeves and jumping into the thick of the action. Someone who is tech savvy, results oriented and delivers work to the highest standards. 

• 5+ years in a people role with hands-on L&D and performance management experience 

• Understanding of and experience using different L&D methodologies and a basic knowledge of Learning Science 

• Familiarity with different learning technologies and methods 

• Experience with LMS administration 

• Proven ability to work with stakeholders outside of HR and influence senior stakeholders 

• Self-starter mentality, action-oriented and able to thrive in an entrepreneurial, fast-paced environment 

• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills to influence across all levels 

• A data-driven approach: you make decisions and recommendations based on data to achieve people and business outcomes 

• Experience managing projects and understanding of project management principles 

Desirable: 

• Professional services background highly desirable 

• Health background (health systems, life sciences and/or health investing) an added bonus 

Flexible working  

Our default is to work in person with our clients, but we also support remote working. Team members can work from home one day per week as standard, and we offer an additional 44 remote working days per year. This allows you to work from home up to two days per week-subject to client needs- or use your allowance in blocks, depending on what works best for you. Office hours are flexible within our core hours of 10am–4pm.

Benefits

• We offer a competitive and flexible reward package designed to support you at work and beyond it. You will benefit from a generous holiday allowance that grows with your career (minimum of 25 days), a strong employer pension contribution, and the freedom to tailor benefits to suit your lifestyle, from wellbeing and fitness to financial protection. 

• We are committed to supporting life’s important moments, with enhanced family leave, income and life protection, and access to practical benefits that make everyday life easier, such as interest-free loans and travel support. 

• Your wellbeing matters to us. You will have access to a comprehensive wellbeing and employee assistance programme, preventative health benefits, and initiatives that support an active, balanced way of working. 

• Above all, we invest in our people; offering flexibility, security, and benefits that grow with you, so you can do your best work while building a sustainable and rewarding career.