Learning & Development Manager – South Africa

Role summary

The role holder will lead the design and delivery of the firm’s learning strategy across all jurisdictions. This role is central to developing a high-performing, future-ready workforce by embedding a culture of continuous learning and professional growth. This is a high-impact role requiring strategic thinking, hands-on execution, and the ability to partner across all levels of the business.

​Key responsibilities

• Develop and lead the Group’s learning and development strategy, ensuring it aligns with the firm’s strategic objectives and supports employee engagement, capability, and retention.
• Own and continuously improve the Group-wide performance management framework, embedding a culture of feedback, accountability, and high performance. Partner with the HR Manager to ensure operational delivery of the framework is seamless.
• Design and deliver programmes to support technical, regulatory, and soft skills development across all levels and business functions.
• Lead the development and implementation of mentoring, leadership and management programmes to build effective people leaders and support succession planning.
• Create structured career development frameworks, progression pathways, and role-based learning journeys to support long-term employee growth and mobility.
• Manage early careers programmes including graduate and trainee pathways, in collaboration with relevant business units.
• ​Build and maintain strong relationships with external learning providers, ensuring the firm gets best value and high-quality delivery from all learning vendors.
• Lead the identification, implementation, and optimisation of learning systems and tools that support delivery, tracking, and evaluation of learning across the Group.
• Develop and manage the annual learning budget, ensuring cost-effective investment in learning solutions and a strong return on learning outcomes.
• Act as a trusted advisor to business leaders and HR colleagues, supporting capability assessments and advising on appropriate learning interventions.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of learning programmes and initiatives through feedback, data, and impact metrics, and use insights to drive continuous improvement.

Skills & Experience

• Proven experience in a senior Learning and Development role, ideally within a professional services or corporate environment.
• Demonstrable success in designing and delivering strategic L&D initiatives across multiple jurisdictions or business units.
• Strong understanding of performance management, adult learning principles, instructional design, and leadership development.
• Experience in designing and implementing structured career pathways and employee development frameworks.
• Expertise in selecting and managing learning technologies and systems.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to influence at all levels of the organisation.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.