Organisational Development and Learning and Development Lead

Salary Circa £63,000 per annum

Contract type Permanent

Location Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6AD (Agile; approximately 2 days a week from our office)

Published

18 hours ago

Closing

in 10 days

This is a Permanent, , Full Time vacancy that will close in 10 days at 23:59 BST.

The Vacancy

The People Team at ARUK is undergoing a transformation that will position it brilliantly to enable the successful delivery of the organisation’s strategy. The purpose of the People Team in delivering the organisations goals is to empower our colleagues to thrive by shaping exceptional experiences and culture that unlocks their potential — so ARUK can realise its vision of a world free from the fear, harm and heartbreak of dementia. This role will work closely with the Director of People to develop the people and culture strategy and contribute to the strategic development and effectiveness of the organisation.

This role will act as a strategic partner in building organisational capability as we grow our income, strengthening leadership excellence, and embedding a high-performance, high-accountability culture. You will design and deliver scalable learning, leadership, and change initiatives that accelerate business outcomes, support organisational growth and transformation, and develop a strong internal talent pipeline.

MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Using data and insight, create and implement an OD (Organisational Development) and Learning approach aligned to the people strategy and organisational needs to create an inclusive culturally aligned workplace to enable the organisations growth and impact while measuring the effectiveness of OD and learning programs, providing insights and recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Develop, pilot and scale initiatives that build cultural competence in change, promote team development and psychological safety and inclusion to align performance to organisational impact that supports a growing and adapting organisation.
• Partner with senior leaders and the People Team to assess current capability, define future needs, and deliver targeted, scalable interventions, including but not limited to talent and performance frameworks and structures to ensure pathways for skills and capability development and a pipeline of talent for the future.
• Working closely with People Partners, to strengthen internal succession pipelines by enabling readiness of future leaders and reducing critical gaps.
• Act as a trusted advisor and coach to leaders at ARUK on team effectiveness and talent development and coach and empower the OD and Learning team to design Agile, impactful and targeted L&D initiatives to build manager and leader capability.
• Conduct a deep discovery and comprehensive review of all existing L&D, management and leadership, and onboarding programmes, assessing effectiveness, adoption, and organisational impact, and streamline and develop a cohesive inclusive and organisationally aligned offer.
• Ensure effective and efficient delivery of the mandatory and core learning offer
• Ensure effective investment and measurable ROI for the learning and development budget.

• Provide organisational effectiveness expertise to co-create business and people strategies in partnership with leaders and People Partners embedding ARUK values and ways of working into effectiveness and capability-building strategies.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

• Deep experience of designing and implementing OD/L&D/Enablement strategies that align with organisational goals and deliver impact.
• Experience in developing inclusive OD programmes and initiatives that build an impactful and resilient organisation.
• Experience building strong business cases and measuring the effectiveness and impact of programmes and initiatives on organisational and people performance and outcomes.
• Experience of using design thinking to design, test, scale and deliver impactful capability building initiatives.
• Demonstrated success in leading and implementing complex, human-centred organisational change initiatives.
• Knowledge and experience of using Appreciative Inquiry as an approach to deliver change and development.
• Exceptional consulting and stakeholder management skills to build trusting relationships and partner with and influence leaders to drive change and measurable results.
• Trained and qualified Coach, having received a Postgraduate Diploma or higher in coaching.
• Appropriate qualification or demonstrable experience in Organisational Development, Organisational Psychology, or a related field.
• Ability to deeply understand business objectives and translate organisational goals into talent capability strategies.
• A highly effective coach and trusted advisor with exceptional emotional intelligence and the ability to influence all levels within an organisation.
• Excellent data analysis and insight skills, able to analyse workforce and cultural data to inform OD programme design and prove the measurable ROI of change and learning initiatives.

The closing date for applications is the 19th April 2026, with interviews being arrange once shortlisting has been completed. Please indicate in your covering letter if you are unable to attend an interview on a certain date. We would encourage you to submit your application at the earliest opportunity, as on occasion we may have to bring forward the interview date and/or the closing date based on the needs of the business. Although a possibility, this will only happen in exceptional circumstances. Please indicate in your covering letter if you are unable to attend an interview on a certain date.

The Company has experienced unprecedented growth over the past few years. We have a vast number of employees, and provide support to clients from all over the country. Recently, the company has won multiple workplace environment awards and has an outstanding record of employee satisfaction.

The Benefits

Benefit 1

Benefit 2

Benefit 3

Benefit 4

The Values

• Innovation

We are creative and fearless in our work.

• Accountability

We take ownership of our work and lead from the front.

• Teamwork

We collaborate widely and build supportive environments.

The Charity

Alzheimer's Research UK is the UK's leading dementia research charity. Our mission is to accelerate progress towards a cure. Today 1 in 2 people will be impacted by dementia, either through caring for a loved one, developing it themselves or tragically both. But there is hope.

There has never been a more important and exciting time in dementia research. With promising new drugs in clinical trials that slow the progression of the diseases that cause it, and revolutionary new ways to diagnose them on the horizon, we are now at a tipping point. Working with the smartest minds globally and across the UK, with industry and academia, Alzheimer’s Research UK is uniquely placed to invest in the very best research identifying barriers to a cure and knocking them down so that there are more and better treatments for everyone with dementia. For the first time in history, we can see a future where people with dementia can get a swift and accurate diagnosis, and effective treatments that could slow or even stop their disease. We stand for everyone affected by dementia. We stand for a cure.

We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential.  We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.  Any offer of employment is however subject to you having the right to work in the UK.

The Benefits

It is important to offer a range of benefits which are designed to meet both the organisational and individual needs, are market competitive and designed to attract and retain employees.

For more details on working for Alzheimer's Research UK click here.

Holiday entitlement

Healthcare

Sick pay

Pension

Cycle to work scheme

Family friendly policies

Learning & development

Documents