Associate Director - Workforce & Learning

Associate Director – Workforce & Learning

Salary: £ - £

Location: Dudley, West Midlands – on site and hybrid

Employer: Dudley Council

Be the change. Lead the future. Improve lives.

Dudley Council is seeking an outstanding individual to join our senior leadership team as the Associate Director for Workforce & Learning. This is a high‑impact, high‑profile role at the heart of our transformation journey – driving the development of our workforce strategy, organisational development plans and effective, responsive business partnering support to all our teams.

As a key member of our senior leadership team, you will drive strategic and operational change, working closely with Directors and Group Directors to provide robust, modern, integrated HR services, an OD programme that shapes around the needs of the authority, our priorities, is co‑produced with key stakeholders and reflects the challenges facing the Council and wider public sector. You will understand the importance of shaping a programme that is able to build strong foundations across our HR services which are shaped around the business need and provide robust assurance, enabling us to move to improvement and then onto full transformation.

• Being the Council lead for people strategy and transformation, HR operations, business partnering, responsive organisational development (OD) programmes and providing professional advice, guidance and assurance.
• Lead strategic workforce planning aligned to the Council’s operational improvement and future service needs.
• Oversee all aspects of HR, OD, and people strategy, including policy development, job evaluation, and grading structures.
• Drive a modern, data‑informed HR function through ICT innovation, business partnering, and transactional services.
• Ensure effective employee relations, employment law compliance, and robust governance.
• Lead payroll and workforce information functions, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and audit controls.
• Champion staff wellbeing and inclusion as core pillars of the people strategy.
• Support corporate transformation by embedding the new operating model and evidencing continuous improvement.
• Provide strategic advice to senior leaders and Members and build partnerships across sectors to drive innovation and collaboration.
• Lead on relations where the council has traded services with outside organisations, including opportunities for growth.
• Manage budgets effectively and ensure all workforce functions demonstrate value for money and measurable impact.
• Lead the design and implementation of learning programmes that support employee development, leadership capability, talent management and retention, and champion professional development pathways to support succession planning and career progression to build a skilled and future‑ready workforce.
• Provide assurance that the council is following statutory and regulatory requirements related to training and qualifications, including safeguarding, continuing professional development and health & safety mandates.
• Embed a culture of continuous learning and improvement, supporting staff at all levels to develop the skills, knowledge, and behaviours needed for high performance.
• Oversee learning innovation, ensuring the effective use of technology, e‑learning platforms, and blended learning approaches to improve access, engagement, and efficiency.
• Drive leadership and management development, ensuring current and future leaders are equipped to lead transformation and deliver outstanding services.
• Lead on apprenticeship strategy and delivery, maximising levy spend, supporting workforce entry routes, and developing future talent pipelines.
• Commission and manage all external training providers, ensuring quality, impact, and value for money.

A visionary leader with the understanding, experience and drive to transform HR and OD in Dudley and be central to supporting our ongoing journey of improvement and modernisation. You will bring credibility, compassion, and courage – with the ability to lead transformation, inspire teams, and work collaboratively across our Groups and partners.

Dudley is a borough on the…