Application Deadline: 23 October 2026

Department: Operations

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Compensation: £50,000 - £60,000 / year

Description

Join our Operational Readiness Team as a Leadership & Development Specialist!

We are Cintra. Known for our award-winning software that delivers payroll solutions to over 1000 clients. If you're passionate about payroll and are eager to join a dynamic team of seasoned professionals, this is the opportunity for you.

As the proud recipient of the Payroll Service Provider of the Year 2025 award at the CIPP Annual Excellence Awards, we offer exciting opportunities for professional development, competitive bonus structures, and a collaborative work environment.

Our modern offices are located in Hoults Yard, nestled on the outskirts of the vibrant Ouseburn Valley. This area boasts a thriving creative community, rich local heritage, and a lively social scene.

Why This Role Is Different

If you are someone who finds real satisfaction in watching a colleague grow in confidence, who takes as much pride in a well-designed competency framework as in the session itself, this role was built for you.

As Learning and Development Specialist at Cintra, you will own the full learning journey for colleagues across the business, from a new starter's first day to a line manager's first difficult conversation. You will design and deliver technical payroll training, run our Aspiring Managers programme, coordinate our Apprenticeship Programme and keep the skills, knowledge and confidence of our people growing.

This is a role for someone who genuinely invests in people and has the breadth and rigour to make that investment count.
In this role you will:

Learning and development

• Design and deliver engaging learning programmes across technical, behavioural and management subjects, selecting the most appropriate method for each audience — face-to-face, virtual, coaching, workshops or self-directed learning.
• Own the new starter learning experience, with structured induction and role-specific programmes that take colleagues from their first day to sign-off as competent.
• Evaluate learning effectiveness using colleague, manager and performance feedback, and continuously improve content and delivery as a result.
• Maintain an annual learning and development calendar that balances business priorities with operational requirements and peak periods.

Payroll capability

• Design and deliver technical learning for Outsourced Payroll, Payroll Support and Payroll Onboarding colleagues, including new starter, refresher and legislative update training.
• Coach new payroll colleagues through their initial development, raising concerns constructively and early where further development is required.
• Own the payroll competency framework and career pathway, and the payroll training matrix, ensuring colleagues have a clear picture of what good looks like at each level.

Management development and apprenticeships

• Design, coordinate and deliver Cintra's Aspiring Managers programme, giving colleagues preparing for their first management role the practical skills and confidence to manage people effectively.
• Own and coordinate Cintra's Apprenticeship Programme, acting as the principal point of contact with providers and working with managers to monitor progress and support completion.

What We’re Looking For

You are genuinely interested in developing people, not as a job function but as something you find rewarding. You bring patience and adaptability to every audience, the coaching instinct to build confidence as well as competence, and the credibility to work effectively with both new starters and experienced payroll professionals. You are also organised enough to hold multiple programmes together without dropping the quality of any of them.

Essential
• Demonstrable experience designing and delivering effective learning programmes across technical, behavioural and management subjects to a range of audiences.
• Strong coaching and mentoring skills, with the ability to build confidence as well as competence and encourage individuals to own their development.
• Sufficient payroll knowledge to credibly support technical payroll learning, including a good working understanding of key payroll legislation, statutory payments, pensions and automatic enrolment.
• Experience delivering management or leadership development, with a good understanding of the core skills line managers need.
• The ability to give honest, constructive feedback early, including where development is not progressing and to receive it in the same spirit.
• Strong planning and organisational skills, managing multiple priorities around operational requirements and peak periods.
• Strong written skills, producing clear guides, exercises and assessments.
• Highly resilient and calm in a pressurised environment.

Desirable
• A recognised L&D, training, coaching or HR qualification such as CIPD or a Level 3 Award in Education and Training.
• A CIPP qualification or other recognised payroll qualification.
• Experience coordinating apprenticeship programmes and managing relationships with external providers.
• Experience designing blended learning and using e-learning authoring tools such as Articulate.

Why Join Cintra?

At Cintra we know our colleagues are our biggest asset and an investment in them is an investment into the company. We offer:

Hybrid and flexible working arrangements supporting your work-life balance
Employer matched pension contribution to 5%
Wellbeing support through our company-funded health plan, health checks and employee assistance program
Onsite parking
And more!

We go the extra mile to strategically invest in our employees by providing them with invaluable learning opportunities to propel their careers forward. Our commitment to continuous employee training ensures that knowledge remains up-to-date, skills stay sharp, and confidence continues to grow. We firmly believe in empowering our workforce with the tools they need to thrive and succeed.

Further details of the role can be found linked in the Job Description. Please note that we do not accept unsolicited CVs from agencies for this position, we thank you for your cooperation. We reserve the right to close this job advert at anytime should there be a high volume of applications.

Cintra HR & Payroll Services jobs

Learning & Development Specialist

Learning & Development Specialist