Senior People and Culture Manager

About us

We are an arm’s length body of the Welsh Government, responsible for the strategy, funding and oversight of:

• further education
• higher education including research and innovation;
• apprenticeships
• adult community learning; and local authority maintained school sixth forms.

We work in close collaboration with our partners to enable a tertiary education and research system which is centred around the needs of learners; society; and economy with excellence, equality and engagement at its heart.

Our values really matter to us, they help shape the culture of our organisation:

• Dysgu (to learn; to teach; to educate) - learning is at the heart of everything we do. We believe curiosity fuels innovation and helps expand our horizons.
• Cydweithio (to work together; to collaborate; to co-operate) - we can achieve far more together than we ever could alone.
• Cynnwys Pawb (to include everyone; to involve everyone) - we are passionate about inclusion, seeking to create the right conditions for everyone to achieve their full potential.
• Rhagori (to exceed; to excel) - we have high aspirations for tertiary education and research in Wales and always set high standards for ourselves to be the best we can be.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and accredited as a Living Wage employer.

Location

Our headquarters is in 2, Capital Quarter, Cardiff, which has been specifically designed to meet our needs. This is where most colleagues will meet to collaborate, both with each other and with stakeholders.

As we operate across Wales, we also have limited office and collaboration space in Welsh Government offices in Llandudno Junction, Aberystwyth, Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil.

Main purpose of the job

You will work closely with the Head of the People and Culture Team to bring new ideas and fresh thinking to support transformational change across Medr.

You will lead and deliver on high quality and professional organisation-wide people centred priorities, with a focus on delivering our learning and development offer that makes a tangible difference, and builds organisational capacity, capability and performance.

You will support the development of an exceptional workplace culture based on our values, that enables our people to learn, develop and thrive.

You will be expected to organise and prioritise resources effectively and line manage a small team.

What you'll be doing

As part of a small team who deliver across the full range of people functions, you will focus on:

• Learning and development strategy and delivery
• Leadership and management development
• Performance culture and performance management
• Talent management and succession
• Career development and internal mobility
• Employee engagement
• Culture and organisational values
• OD/change capability (people aspects of change)
• Manager enablement: Design People and Culture processes so managers can do more themselves with clear guidance, tools, data and timely expert support
• Equality and diversity and an inclusive culture
• Capability/ skills development and future capability
• Employee experience (belong, develop, progress, change)
• Complex HR advice/ casework and generalist cover

You will need to embrace change, nourish and nurture a positive inclusive culture, be happy working in a fast paced environment and committed to your own personal development.

Operationally translating the People and Culture Strategy into clear, practical actions for teams across the organisation.

Promoting and embedding Medr’s organisational values (Dysgu, Cydweithio, Cynnwys Pawb, Rhagori) in day to day operations.

Building positive working relationships across the organisation to support people focused solutions.

Working in social partnership with trade unions, supporting the development and implementation of agreed work plans.

Line managing a small multidisciplinary team, allocating work, providing direction, coaching and performance support

Promoting and supporting the uptake of Welsh language learning and use in the workplace.

Key challenges

Our Strategic Plan includes a foundation aim to establish Medr as a highly effective organisation and trusted regulator. You’ll need to:

• align people and culture priorities to the delivery of our Strategic Plan.
• work in a fast-paced and sensitive environment, dealing with complex and shifting priorities
• influence and communicate to build positive relationships
• bring our People and Culture strategy to life
• design and deliver learning and development opportunities building organisational capability to meet our needs today and in the future.

About your team

You will be part of the People and Culture Team, which is a small multi-disciplinary team of six people. You will report to the Head of People and Culture, and you will have responsibility for the line management of up to two people.

This is an exciting time to be joining the People and Culture team at Medr, as we roll out new ways of delivering people functions, including policies, procedures, systems and learning & development.

About your line manager

Head of People and Culture.

Jemma joined Medr in October 2026 and brings over 25 years of experience in people, culture and organisational development. She has worked with senior leaders across both the public and private sectors in organisations including the BBC, Mazda Motors and Insight HRC, leading work on leadership development, organisational change, talent and transformation.

Jemma combines a strategic outlook with a practical, people-focused approach to help organisations and their people to thrive. She loves bringing people together, bouncing ideas around and working collaboratively to make things happen. Outside work, she enjoys the gym, travelling and spending time with friends and family, and has a particular soft spot for hot chocolate and Mini Eggs.

Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) or equivalent, or willing to work towards this qualification.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

The above statement and link do not apply to Medr, this is only for Civil Service vacancies.

We are really interested in you as an individual and what you will bring to our organisation. We are happy for you to make use of AI tools, but please do not overly rely on AI so that we can get to know the real you.

Our assessment process is designed to help us get to know you better enabling us to appoint someone who will thrive in the role and who shares our organisational values.

If you are interested in working with us, please send us your application and personal statement through Civil Service Jobs.

The following attributes/experience will be assessed at sift stage:

Attributes

• Agile – You drive forward improvements, and respond to changing needs by collaborating, embracing new technologies and championing a culture of continuous learning
• Reflective: You critically assess your decisions and actions, seeking to learn and adapt from both successes and failures.

Experience

• Significant experience of creating, delivering and embedding an impactful and comprehensive learning and development offer, with an understanding of a range of HR functions.
• Strong problem-solving skills, able to influence people at all levels within an organisation and adept at handling complex and sensitive people situations.

Technical

• Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) or equivalent, or willing to work towards this qualification.

To be fair to everyone who applies, we won’t accept:

• Late applications
• Applications with missing or incomplete information
• Personal statements over 1,250 words

The deadline for application submission is Wednesday 11 November.

Applications are welcome in Welsh and will not be treated less favourably than those submitted in English.

All applications will be notified of their outcomes via Civil Service Jobs at sift and interview stage.

Candidates who successfully navigate the sift stage will be required to complete an online exercise to enable us to determine their behavioural and personality preferences. Immediately on completion you will be given a report which highlights your strengths plus some development tips to help you prepare for interview. Candidates should note that the online exercise is not intended to eliminate anyone from consideration. Instead, it serves as a tool to aid in the decision-making process.

Following this, you will be required to participate in an interview and a presentation and in-person interviews will take place on Tuesday 8 December.

In addition to the attributes/experience assessed at sift stage, the remaining attributes will also be assessed at interview:

Attributes

• Act with Integrity – You consistently act in the best interest of the organisation and its stakeholders and take responsibility for your decisions.
• Drive - You lead by example, showing dedication and perseverance in meeting organisational objectives.
• Motivate – You set ambitious goals and inspire others to strive for excellence, driving a culture of continuous improvement.

We strive for a diverse and inclusive workplace and we want to help you demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. We are happy to discuss any person-centred adjustments required to the recruitment process. Please contact swyddi@medr.cymru

We're looking forward to meeting everyone invited to interview at our headquarters in 2, Capital Quarter, Cardiff. We don’t usually pay travel expenses, but if this presents a real barrier to your attendance in person or if you require a reasonable adjustment, please let us know in advance by emailing swyddi@medr.cymru so we can discuss and agree arrangements prior to your interview.

Following interview we are committed to offering constructive and actionable feedback to support you on your future career journey.

Next steps

Interested…? Want to find out more?

We know how important it is for you to find out more about us so we will be holding a virtual information session for candidates on Wednesday 28 October at 3pm on Microsoft Teams. This session will not be recorded.

This will be an opportunity for you to hear more about our organisation; the role and how we invest in our people.

If you would like to attend, register by emailing swyddi@medr.cymru.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.