Head of Skills & Capability at BBC

PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £130,000 - £165,000 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

We're happy to discuss flexible working. If you'd like to, please indicate your preference in the application – though there's no obligation to do so now. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

• The Head of Skills & Capability leads the organisation’s skills, learning and capability agenda, ensuring people and teams have the skills, confidence and opportunities to perform, adapt and thrive.
• This role sets the long-term direction for skills and learning, translating workforce and organisational priorities into a coherent, evidence-led skills ecosystem. It brings together strategy, technology, culture change and innovation to embed skills into everyday work, strengthen performance and build future readiness. The role works closely with senior leaders to make capability and learning a shared responsibility and a genuine driver of organisational value, ensuring the organisation’s skills profile remains robust, relevant and sustainable by attending to the distinct needs, contexts and career pathways of different workforce populations across the BBC

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

• You’ll join a senior Talent & Inclusion leadership team deeply committed to building a skilled, future ready workforce. You’ll have the space, influence and remit to shape enterprise wide capability, modernise how skills are developed, and drive meaningful, measurable impact for people, teams and organisational performance. You’ll lead a multidisciplinary team, steward a significant portfolio, and act as a visible ambassador for innovation in skills, learning and capability.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

• Lead the organisation wide Skills & Capability strategy, ensuring alignment with workforce priorities and long term strategic workforce plans. 
• Translate organisational change, evolving operating models and workforce needs into prioritised, adaptable skills frameworks, capability plans and career pathways. 
• Design differentiated skills approaches for editorial, production, technology, corporate and early career populations, ensuring equitable access and a balanced skills profile. 
• Build and maintain a data driven understanding of organisational capability, skills supply, demand and progression. 
• Create and embed a joined up digital skills ecosystem, driving adoption of digital and AI enabled skills tools to enhance development and performance. 
• Use data, insight and workforce intelligence to guide strategic decisions, assess impact and continuously refine the skills strategy. 
• Lead, develop and empower a high performing, multidisciplinary skills team, fostering collaboration, accountability and cohesion.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Proven ability to create and deliver a compelling, organisation wide vision for skills and capability. 
• Significant experience leading large scale skills and capability strategies in complex environments. 
• Strong ability to anticipate organisational and sector shifts and translate insight into practical, adaptive responses. 
• Excellent influencing and partnership building skills with senior leaders and stakeholders. 
• Experience leading complex organisational change with a data led, commercially aware approach.

DESIRABLE:

• Deep knowledge of emerging skills technologies, digital learning platforms and AI enabled skills tools. 
• Experience designing skills frameworks for diverse workforce populations. 
• Background in workforce planning, talent management or organisational development. 
• Experience representing an organisation externally on skills, capability or learning agendas. 
• Proven ability to oversee commercial and supplier arrangements, ensuring value for money and return on investment.

End Date: 23rd April 2026