Welcome to Transport for London Careers Take a look at job opportunities with us and you may be surprised at what you discover: a rich heritage, a commercial outlook, an iconic brand, a unique public service. It all adds up to make Transport for London a great place to develop your career. Here you can start your journey Key Information Job title: Early Careers Lead Salary: £75 - £82K Grade: 4 Contract type: Permanent Location: Southwark/Hybrid Application closing date: 10th February 2025 Hybrid working within this role enables a balance of 50 per cent of time split between the office and home over a 4-week period. Hybrid working arrangements can evolve subject to business requirements About us and the role At Transport for London (TfL), our purpose is to keep London moving forward every day safely, inclusively and sustainably. We are responsible for delivering the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and TfL’s business plan, which aims to make London a greener, healthier and a more connected city. Putting our customers, our contractors, supply chain partners and our colleagues at the heart of how we work is fundamental to achieving our purpose. We are constantly striving to ensure our colleagues feel engaged, supported and able to develop and achieve their work amibitions. Colleagues who share our vision, values and commitment to excellence. Investing in people’s skills and development enabling individuals from diverse backgrounds whether starting work or making a career change is one of our colleague strategy aims. Our graduate, intern and apprenticeship schemes are externally recognised and highly sought after with thousands of applications a year and between 600 – 800 on programme at one time. As Early Careers Lead you will report to the Head of Talent and be a key member of the Talent senior leadership team. You will lead a team of up to 20 early careers recruitment and development experts responsible for the design and delivery of TfL's graduate, intern and apprenticeship programmes. You will shape the early careers strategy in line with the strategic aims of TfL's colleague strategy. Key Accountabilities Develop the early careers strategy informed by the strategic workforce plan and aligned to the TfL colleague strategy as well as delivering to the Mayoral skills strategy and Government skills policies. Recommend and implement early career development programme changes in response to Government policy and legislation, market and organisational drivers. Ensure delivery of programmes to time, cost and quality - in accordance with the TfL relevant corporate standards Lead a team in the design, implementation and management of early careers development programmes in partnership with business leaders, HR business partnering colleagues, training providers and professional bodies that delivers the capability and capacity of long term organisational skill requirements Lead a team in the recruitment of graduates, interns and apprentices across TfL setting out the strategic approach to recruitment of early careers participants in line with the TfL recruitment approach Define early career development frameworks and governance supporting our aim to support everyone to achieve their work ambitions - this will be achieved through a clearly defined and measurable plan ensuring that these benefits are realised through delivery of the career development framework Accountable for the production of early careers reports and strategy updates for TfL internal and external publications and governance groups Oversee relationships with third party suppliers (including managing the day to day contracts and agreements), education bodies, professional bodies and communities to build and develop a diverse source of required early careers talent to fill medium to long term skill needs Lead the development and delivery of internal/external early careers events that support the recruitment and development strategy for early careers Represent TfL at industry and political forums to produce and influence the most effective industry wide approaches to the early careers agenda Developing, coaching and leading team members in order to achieve a high performance culture within the function driving a collaborative team culture, an environment of continuous learning and inclusive place to work Skills, Knowledge & Experience Skills Demonstrated practical application of inclusive leadership capability essential Strong relationship building skills essential Ability to gather data from a variety of sources and provide effective insight and analysis to inform credible conclusions essential Ability to scope out and implement early careers strategy and plans essential Project management skills preferrable but not essential Knowledge Understanding of the links between between business strategy, a colleague strategy and Government / Mayoral skills strategy essential In depth knowledge of external developments and best practice in job entry programmes including graduate schemes, apprenticeship schemes and internships essential An awareness of Government policy on skills including but not limited to, apprenticeship government funding and legislation preferrable but not essential Experience Extensive experience of designing and delivering successful early careers programmes in a large, complex and unionised organisation essential Experience of linking the early careers agenda to organisational strategic and workforce plans to deliver medium and long term skill requirements of the organisation essential Experience of working successfully with universities, further education colleges and third party early career development and recruitment providers preferred but not essential Experience of leading a high performing team essential Experience of cost centre management preferred but not essential TfL Safeguarding Statement We take the safety and security of transport and travelling in London, and all the activities we are responsible for, very seriously. We want to further improve the safety and security of our organisation and its services. We want to do all we can to protect our staff, customers and everyone working with us from harm and injury. We recognise that some groups – children and adults at risk – need greater levels of protection when using, or coming into contact with us and our services. Our work in the Early Careers Team involves working directly with children and overseeing organisations we partner with and therefore requires enhanced DBS checks. How to apply Please submit an up-to-date copy of your CV. In addition to your CV please provide a covering letter of no more than 500 words that addresses the following question: - “How will you approach leading your team in delivering high quality recruitment and development Early Careers outcomes, balancing the need of all stakeholders and providing the skills and capability needed now and in the future.” Please consider your motivation for the role and the skills, knowledge and experience in the advert in your application. PDF format preferred and do not include any photographs or images The closing date for applications is 10th February 2025 23:59 Interviews will commence from 3rd March 2025 Equality, diversity and inclusion We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We want to represent the city we serve, which will help us become a more innovative and efficient organisation. Our goal is to make our recruitment as inclusive as possible. We are a disability confident employer who guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate who meets all of the essential criteria. Benefits In return for your commitment and expertise, you will enjoy excellent benefits and scope to grow. Rewards vary according to the level of role but mostly include the below: Final salary pension scheme Free travel for you on the TfL network Reimbursement of 75% of the cost of a standard class Ticket for National Rail travel from home or 75% reimbursement on a 28-day flexi ticket 30 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays TfL is committed to work-life balance, operating a hybrid working approach where business and role requirements allow Private healthcare discounted scheme (optional) Tax-efficient cycle-to-work programme Retail, health, leisure and travel offers Discounted Eurostar travel We will make every effort to give you as much notice as possible, however some interviews/assessments could be organised at short notice.