Head of Learning Design & Development (Interim

Head of Learning Design & Development (Interim)

Contract: Interim (Immediate Start)

Duration: Until December 2026, with the potential for extension

Location: Hybrid – 60% remote / 40% onsite in Manchester or London

Day Rate: Competitive (dependent on experience)

Instinct is partnering with a leading education organisation to appoint an experienced Head of Learning Design & Development on an interim basis.

This is a senior leadership opportunity for an individual with a proven track record of leading learning design, creative production and digital learning development teams. You will be responsible for overseeing the end-to-end design and development of high-quality learning products, ensuring they are pedagogically robust, technically sound and accessible across classroom, virtual and on-demand delivery.

Working closely with senior stakeholders across learning technology, AI, curriculum and commercial functions, you will drive innovation, establish quality standards and lead multidisciplinary teams to deliver engaging learning experiences that support organisational objectives.

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across Learning Design, Creative Production and Development teams.
• Lead the design, development and continuous improvement of digital learning products and experiences.
• Establish and maintain learning design standards, frameworks and quality assurance processes.
• Drive innovation across digital learning, multimedia production and AI-enabled content creation.
• Work collaboratively with learning technology, curriculum and product stakeholders to align pedagogy with technology.
• Use learner data, feedback and user research to inform product improvements and learning design decisions.
• Oversee resource planning and ensure projects are delivered to agreed timescales, budgets and quality standards.
• Manage relationships with external suppliers, partners and subject matter experts.
• Champion accessibility, inclusive design and best practice across all learning outputs.
• Demonstrable experience leading Learning Design, Digital Learning or Learning Experience functions.
• Strong understanding of instructional design principles, learning science and digital pedagogy.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams across learning design, creative production and technical development.
• Knowledge of learning technologies and standards, including SCORM and xAPI.
• Experience using AI technologies to enhance learning design, content production or development workflows.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at senior level.
• Experience delivering complex digital learning programmes within education, professional learning or a related sector.

We're ideally looking for professionals with recent experience working in roles such as:

• Head of Learning Design
• Head of Digital Learning
• Head of Learning Experience
• Learning Design Manager
• Learning Development Manager
• Creative Production Manager

This is an excellent opportunity to join a respected organisation at an exciting stage of its digital learning journey, contributing to the delivery of innovative, high-quality learning experiences while leading experienced multidisciplinary teams.