Charity registered in Scotland SC035936
Top job! Head of Adult Learning (Maternity Cover)
- Full time
- £53,000
- Hybrid: Edinburgh
- Closing 2nd July 2025
We’re on a journey to create fairer communities by facilitating 10 million social entrepreneurs globally by 2030. Do you want to help make this a reality?
We are looking for a talented and values-driven Head of Adult Learning to join our highly skilled, motivated and supportive team in a maternity cover position.
This is a rare opportunity to join an organisation with a global footprint and a deeply local purpose — helping individuals unlock their potential and drive change in their communities. As Head of Adult Learning, you will take on a senior leadership role in shaping how we deliver transformational learning to thousands of social entrepreneurs, community leaders and changemakers.
At the Academy, we believe learning should do more than transfer knowledge — it should change how people see themselves. Our approach is built on practitioner-led, peer- learning, where skilled facilitators — who are themselves social change practitioners — create the conditions for real, human-centred transformation. We support people develop their leadership practice. Please read our manisfesto – if it chimes with you, please get in touch. This is learning that removes barriers, unlocks confidence, and helps people step fully into their purpose.
We’ve seen how powerful this can be — not just in individual growth, but in the collective impact that ripples out when people see their own potential clearly and feel equipped to act on it. Since 2004, we’ve supported over 28,000 adult learners in more than 30 countries, and our ambition is to reach 10 million social entrepreneurs by 2030.
If you have a strong grounding in adult learning and facilitation and share our belief in the power of learning to create lasting social change, we’d love to hear from you.
Job Purpose:
The role plays a pivotal role in championing, embedding, and promoting transformational learning principles, ethos, and skills internally and across the sector, positioning the Academy as a leading provider of transformational learning.
It will lead the sales and delivery team responsible for adult learning programmes, including large-scale contracts and projects and manage key client, funder, and sector stakeholder relationships. The role will ensure the continuous innovation and impact of the adult learning offer, ensuring impactful learning and building the organisation’s reputation for learning excellence and long-term sector influence.
The role will provide leadership, mentorship, and performance management to the Strategic Partnerships and Delivery Leads. It will play an active role in driving and supporting sales, proposals, and funding bids in collaboration with the Sustainability Lead, Strategic Partnership and Delivery Leads and CEO, including attending key sales meetings and pitches.
The post-holder will work at a senior specialist level across the organisation, contributing to the long-term business sustainability, strengthening the organisation’s reputation, and ensuring excellence and innovation in the design and delivery of experiential learning interventions.
Main Responsibilities:
- In collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team, develop and drive the Academy’s business development strategy and implementation plan.
- Take ownership of business development targets and efforts including sales, pitches, and proposals ensuring Adult Learning function financial targets are set and met.
- Build and maintain excellent relationships with clients, funders, partners and sector stakeholders, acting as a champion and ambassador for transformational learning and the Academy.
- Provide strategic leadership of the Adult Learning function, ensuring sustainability, growth, and innovation.
- Champion, embed, and promote transformational learning and development design principles and ethos both internally and across the sector.
- Lead, mentor and manage three Strategic Partnership and Delivery Leads and the Business Sustainability Lead, ensuring high performance and professional development.
- Oversee the quality, design, delivery and impact measurement of all adult learning programmes, ensuring they hold true to the ethos and principles of Academy learning, are impactful, and sector leading.
- Oversee the quality, development, and effective management of the Academy’s adult learning facilitator pool, maintaining high standards of delivery and alignment with the organisation’s learning ethos and values.
- Represent the Adult Learning function at Senior Leadership Team meetings, contributing to broader organisational strategy and decision-making.
- Ensure excellence and continuous improvement and innovation in learning and development service delivery, design, client experience, and impact measurement.
- Be a role model for the organisation’s values, creating a culture that encourages a growth mindset, continuous learning, and professional learning across the Adult Learning team and wider organisation.
- Model and champion the organisation’s values, culture, and commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI).
For a full set of criteria please download the recruitment pack below.
Organisation profile:
At the Social Enterprise Academy, we believe social entrepreneurs play an essential role in changing the world.
We strengthen their role in local communities through transformational learning programmes that will increase their community impact.
Our programmes are accredited, responsive to learner needs, and are delivered by experienced Facilitators who are social change leaders themselves.
Since 2004, we have delivered over 1,900 learning programmes to 28,000+ learners in over 30 countries. We have also engaged over 55,000 young people around the world, using social enterprise as a tool to help them reach their full potential and create positive change in their communities.
We’re on a journey to create fairer communities by facilitating 10 million social entrepreneurs globally by 2030. Do you want to help make this a reality?
At the Social Enterprise Academy, we don’t just deliver learning programmes. We create spaces where people can connect with who they are, discover what they’re capable of, and grow into the leaders their communities need.
We’re here to support people who are stepping forward to make a difference in their communities — often against the odds. We do that through transformational learning: immersive, reflective, and practical experiences that develop not just knowledge, but confidence and courage. Please read our manifesto – if it strikes a chord with you, we’d like to hear from you.
But here’s the truth: none of that is possible unless our own people feel safe, supported, and inspired. That’s where this role comes in.
We are looking for someone who will help us be the kind of workplace we want to be — not just compliant and efficient, but deeply human. A place where wellbeing is taken seriously, where inclusion is real, and where people can bring their whole selves to work and grow into their best. A place where a sense of belonging is nurtured and achieved.
If you’re an HR professional who sees people as more than job descriptions — if you believe that leadership begins with how we treat each other — and if you want to help us build a learning culture from the inside out, then we’d love receive an application from you.
Job Purpose:
This is a critical technical role within The Academy which supports colleagues’ journey from recruitment to exit and makes a key contribution to the success of the Academy as a workplace of choice. Through effective business partnering across the organisation, the role ensures that staff are equipped with the guidance, materials and ability to manage their teams and drive a high performing, positive and healthy working culture with a focus on equality, diversity and inclusion. Through overseeing the delivery of organisational learning and development, the post-holder ensures that staff remain able to effectively deliver the work of the Academy.
The role ensures compliance with all related statutory requirements, developing and maintaining policies, overseeing HR procedures, managing payroll and pension providers and the related administrative requirements.
Main Responsibilities:
- Contribute to organisational planning in relation to workforce planning & priority projects
- Develop and monitor key performance indicators and provide HR related management information and reports as required to SLT, OLT and Board
- Develop & maintain staff-related policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with statutory regulations & partnering with teams to ensure awareness & adherence across the organisation
- Oversee the recruitment, selection and onboarding process, negotiating with suppliers where required & ensuring Managers have appropriate guidance & materials available to them.
- Handling of disciplinary processes and formal grievances as required
- Management of HR administration processes, databases & filing systems including appraisal process, performance monitoring, leave records and exit interviews, ensuring appropriate confidentiality and compliance with GDPR requirements.
- Ensure a focus on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in all The Academy’s HR processes
- Identify organisational learning and development needs & opportunities, and develop a plan to deliver skills development within budget
- Advise on pay structures, employee perks and benefits
- Procure and manage the relationship with the Pension Provider, ensuring appropriate review, administration, staff awareness and enrolment is delivered to comply with law
- Manage the relationship with the external Payroll Provider and ensure timely & accurate provision all information required
- Drive Staff engagement and satisfaction, utilising staff surveys to inform future direction.
- Lead the coordination of internal groups, forums & workshops in relation to staff wellbeing
- Liaise with external consultants for technical support as required
For a full set of criteria and information on how to apply please download the recruitment pack from our website.
Organisation profile:
At the Social Enterprise Academy, we believe social entrepreneurs play an essential role in changing the world.
We strengthen their role in local communities through transformational learning programmes that will increase their community impact.
Our programmes are accredited, responsive to learner needs, and are delivered by experienced Facilitators who are social change leaders themselves.
Since 2004, we have delivered over 1,900 learning programmes to 28,000+ learners in over 30 countries. We have also engaged over 55,000 young people around the world, using social enterprise as a tool to help them reach their full potential and create positive change in their communities.