Closing date: 15 November 2026
Interview dates: 26 November 2026 (in person)
About us
At the Public Service Ombudsman, we are a modern, vibrant organisation full of passionate, committed people. We make final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by UK Government departments and the NHS in England. We work closely with people to understand where, how and why public services sometimes fall short and fail to put people first. And we find ways to put it right.
Based in the centre of Manchester, we employ over 600 people who are passionate about making a difference through public service. Together, we work to make sure people's voices are heard and used to drive improvements in public services. We are proud of our inclusive culture, where different perspectives are valued, colleagues are supported to develop, and everyone can contribute to meaningful change.
Please note that we were formerly known as The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
About the role
Our People team is developing and changing how we deliver our learning, organisational development and workforce capability across the organisation. This role is part of that wider investment in how we support and develop our people and will be part of our people leadership team.
As Learning and Development Manager, you will report into the Assistant Director of People and lead our approach to learning and development across the organisation. You will have the opportunity to put your stamp on the role to develop, shape and challenge how we maximise the impact of learning across the organisation. The focus is on helping colleagues build the skills and knowledge they need to do their best work using a range of learning interventions, while making sure it supports our wider priorities in a planned way that links to our workforce plan.
Working closely with the wider people team, senior leaders and colleagues across the organisation, the role will identify development needs and turn them into clear learning priorities and practical solutions. This includes leading the development of and overseeing learning programmes, budgets and external providers, with a focus on quality and value for money.
Leading and supporting the learning and development team is also an important part of the role. Feedback and data will be used to understand what is working well and where improvements can be made. This is a chance to shape learning and development across the organisation and help our people continue to grow.
What we are looking for:
- experience of working with senior stakeholders to identify corporate learning needs and agree practical solutions
- ability to translate business needs into practical, measurable learning solutions
- experience of working at pace, managing competing priorities and using insight to improve learning impact
- experience in a learning and development or organisational development role leading high performing, customer focussed teams
- experience of commissioning, design, delivery and evaluating of learning and development activity in a changing organisation.
We recognise the value of lived experience. If you have experience of complaining about any public body, we strongly encourage you to apply.
Our benefits:
- Civil Service Pension scheme
- 32.5 days annual leave (plus bank holidays on top)
- hybrid working, 40% office based
- flexible working
- access to a free, confidential Employee Assistance Programme offering 24/7 advice and support from professionals and counsellors
- comprehensive learning and development programme
- employee discount scheme across hundreds of retailers
- one day paid volunteering leave per year
- bicycle loan scheme
- season ticket loan
- gym membership subsidy in addition to an onsite gym
- paid for professional memberships
- eye test reimbursement
How to apply (and how to do well)
You will answer three scored questions at application stage. We use these to shortlist and longlist, so your answers matter.
- choose real examples (from professional settings)
- focus on what you did, not what “we” did as a group
- explain your thinking: what you looked at, what you decided, and why
- keep it clear and specific, avoid generic statements
Please do not use AI to write your answers. We need to assess your skills, and applications may be rejected if answers appear AI-generated.
If your examples are very short, mostly opinion-based, or don’t describe a specific situation and outcome, you are unlikely to score well.
Inclusion & Wellbeing
Equality, diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing are vital to the way we work and our culture. We want our colleagues feel included, valued, and supported at work. It is essential that we are representative and accessible for the people who work here and those who use our service.
Actions we take to embed this include:
- an anonymised shortlisting process to make sure it is fair and unbiased
- monitoring the demographic trends in our workforce and making measured, sustained efforts to improve our diversity at all levels
- providing wellbeing support and opportunities for personal and professional development for all colleagues
- creating spaces for connection and engagement through our employee network groups and social clubs
- part of the disability confident scheme
- providing reasonable adjustments
- engaging in regular inclusion learning to enhance the cultural competency of our organisation.
We know the value of having diverse, representative teams across our organisation. Which is why we particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented within the team. These include people who are:
- Asian, Black, Mixed Ethnicity or another ethnic background
- disabled
- LGBTQ
Contact and important information
If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact Katy Connon, Assistant Director of People, Katy.Connon@ombudsman.org.uk
- Interviews: held onsite
- Feedback: we do not offer feedback at application stage
- Right to work: we can only consider candidates with the right to work in the UK.
- Sponsorship: we are unable to offer sponsorship (we do not have a licence).
- Applications: we do not accept CVs, please apply via the application form (‘apply now’).
- Agencies: no agencies; applications from individuals only.
- Early closure: we may close the advert early if we receive a high volume of applications.
- Salary: non negotiable
Important notice: fraudulent job postings
We have been made aware that some websites are falsely advertising our job vacancies. We only tend advertise job vacancies through these official channels:
- our website
- LinkedIn
- Civil Service Jobs
- GOV.uk
- Indeed
- Ombudsman association
- BMEjobs.co.uk
- Disabilityjob.co.uk
- Neurodiversityjobs.co.uk
- LGBTjobs.co.uk
Do not share personal details with any other websites claiming to represent us. Contact our recruitment team to report any concerns at recruitment@ombudsman.org.uk
