Head of Learning & Development
London (1–2 days per week in office) | Full-time (4 days considered)
£80,000- £90,000 base + benefits
Hawkwood is partnering with a private equity-backed, high-growth SaaS group operating at meaningful scale across the UK and internationally.
The group serves over 14,000 customers and employs 600 people globally. Revenues have grown significantly in recent years, with further acceleration planned following a recent reinvestment. The business is now entering its next phase: continued organic growth, M&A activity, AI-enabled product expansion, and a likely exit event within a 3–5 year horizon with Learning & Development a strategic priority.
This is a newly created Head of Learning & Development role, reporting to the Group Talent Director, with a clear mandate: review, refresh and relaunch a group-wide L&D strategy that supports performance, productivity and progression at scale.
There is strong executive sponsorship and a meaningful annual L&D budget & the foundations are in place. What’s now required is a senior, commercially astute operator who can bring clarity, cohesion and pace.
You will operate group-wide initially, establishing a holistic L&D philosophy across all operating companies, before driving divisional implementation. You will lead a small, international team with the autonomy to shape structure and delivery models, balancing strategic design with pragmatic execution.
This is a hands-on leadership role in a fast-scaling, performance-focused tech environment. It requires credibility with engineers, commercial teams and senior stakeholders alike.
What you'll do:
- Review, refresh and relaunch the group-wide Learning & Development strategy, ensuring alignment to commercial priorities and growth plans
- Design and deliver a clear, visible L&D roadmap spanning leadership, management capability, technical upskilling and compliance
- Own and evolve the group leadership development journey for both existing and future leaders
- Lead a structured manager upskilling programme across a fast-growth, PE-backed environment
- Spearhead AI upskilling initiatives, tailoring learning pathways by function (e.g. engineering, support, commercial) to drive productivity gains
- Design distinct learning journeys for software engineers alongside commercial and operational teams
- Oversee and optimise a £400–500k annual L&D budget, balancing internal capability building with external partnerships
- Partner closely with senior stakeholders to translate business strategy into actionable learning interventions
- Support integration of newly acquired businesses into the group learning ecosystem
- Lead and develop a small international L&D team, setting expectations around ownership, delivery standards and impact measurement
You will bring:
- Proven experience designing and leading L&D strategy within a scaling tech or SaaS organisation of 500+ employees, ideally in a private equity-backed environment
- A strong track record of building structured development pathways for software engineers alongside commercial and operational teams
- Experience creating clear progression frameworks that link skills, competencies and learning to career advancement
- Confidence shaping a group-wide L&D philosophy across multiple business units and geographies
- Commercial acumen, understanding how L&D drives productivity, retention and delivery against ambitious growth and EBITDA targets
- Experience partnering with subject matter experts to design AI and digital upskilling journeys tailored by role type
- Credibility with senior stakeholders, able to communicate succinctly and influence time-poor leadership teams
- Experience leading small, internationally distributed teams and operating effectively in hybrid and remote environments
- A pragmatic, hands-on approach, comfortable building structure in a fast-paced scale-up where not everything is fully formed
- Experience delivering blended learning models, combining internal design with targeted external providers
- Willingness to travel occasionally across UK and international offices
We recognise how competitive the current market is for senior People professionals, and Hawkwood is committed to providing a confidential, fair and positive candidate experience throughout.
If you’re interested in exploring this opportunity, please apply via this LinkedIn advert rather than by email or direct message. This ensures every application is reviewed fairly and consistently.
