Be Part of a Journey Like No Other – Join GWR
At Great Western Railway, we're more than a train company - we're the proud custodians of Brunel's iconic railway, one of the most prestigious networks in the world. With over 100 million passenger journeys each year and more than 275 destinations across the South West, South Wales and London, we deliver travel experiences through some of the UK's most beautiful landscapes and top tourist spots.
We're not standing still. With a modern fleet and ambitious plans for growth, we're transforming the way people think about rail travel: relaxing, fast, efficient, friendly and fun.
Our team of 6,000+ passionate colleagues - from engineers to on-board hosts - play a vital role in this transformation. And their efforts are paying off with GWR's Customer satisfaction score of 92% - our highest in 20 years!
These results show what's possible when teamwork, pride and passion drive everything we do. We've set a new standard. Now we're looking for more great people to help us keep raising it.
Ready to join something exceptional? Discover opportunities at GWR and be part of our journey.
About the Team
GWR's Learning and Development Team have a broad remit – welcoming all new joiners to the organisation, delivering training to customer-facing colleagues, developing managers and providing development programmes at all levels from apprentices to senior leaders.
About the job
Are you passionate about driving impactful learning experiences and shaping the future of workforce development? Join GWR as our Learning & Development Planning Manager and lead the organisation of the delivery of high-quality onboarding and training solutions.
Your main responsibilities will be to
* Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders to capture and prioritise training needs.
* Lead a small team to deliver seamless onboarding and training experiences for new starters.
* Develop and manage annual training plans, ensuring alignment with business goals and resource
* Monitor performance metrics (SLAs, KPIs) and drive continuous improvement in L&D delivery.
* Champion consistency and best practices across training teams.
* Investigate and resolve emerging issues, ensuring timely and effective solutions.
About you
* Proven experience in L&D or HR environments.
* Strong stakeholder management and customer service skills.
* Excellent planning, communication, and problem-solving abilities.
* Ability to analyse data, prioritise actions, and deliver innovative solutions.
* High IT literacy and familiarity with training databases.
* Experience in managing teams and fostering professional development.
About the location
The role will be based in Milford House, Swindon in our new Learning and Development Centre.
Working pattern
The role, working 37 hours per week, requires sufficient visibility and presence to manage a small team and build relationships with the training team and stakeholders across the business.
Additional Information
This is a fixed term role for 18 months. Interviews will be held in Swindon on 11th September.
The Reward
As well as a great team environment and comprehensive training, all GWR colleagues enjoy a range of benefits including:
* on-going development,
* defined benefit pension scheme with the Railways Pension Scheme,
* free rail travel across the GWR network for you and your family,
* company-sponsored health care plan,
* discounted shopping and gym membership
* employee assistance programme and much more.
We all belong at GWR. This is our vision for providing an inclusive environment for all our colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.
We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA, ethnicity, religion and disability. We maintain zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.
We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.
We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.
If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.
INGWR