L&D Business Partner

Learning & Development Business Partner

Ballymena Full-Time Senior People & Culture Opportunity

Riada are proud to be recruiting on behalf of our client, Dowds Group, for an experienced Learning & Development Business Partner to join their growing People & Culture team in Ballymena.

Why Join Dowds Group?

Operating as a Gold Investors in People organisation and recognised as one of Northern Ireland's Best Managed Companies, Dowds Group are committed to creating a culture where people can thrive, develop, and progress.

Benefits Include:

• 41 Days holidays
• Bonus scheme
• Private medical insurance
• Pension scheme
• Hybrid / working from home opportunities
• Early finish fridays
• Wellbeing initiatives
• Professional development & career progression
• Gold Investors in People employer

About Dowds Group

• Dowds Group is a long-established, multidisciplinary Building Services Engineering and Construction company headquartered in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
• Founded in 1978, the company delivers complex projects across life sciences, commercial, education, and healthcare sectors, offering expertise from initial design and systems integration through to installation, commissioning, and handover.
• With people and performance at the heart of their business, Dowds Group continue to invest in leadership capability, emerging talent and creating a high-performing culture across the organisation.

The Role:

• This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced L&D professional to step into a senior, strategic role where they will influence learning and development across the wider business.
• Working closely with leaders and key stakeholders, the Learning & Development Business Partner will support the growth of leadership capability, emerging talent, and internal development programmes while promoting a culture of continuous learning and high performance.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the development and delivery of emerging talent and internal development programmes
• Partner with leaders across the business to identify development needs and learning opportunities
• Support the enhancement of leadership and management capability across the organisation
• Provide coaching and support to individuals participating in talent and development programmes
• Deliver engaging face-to-face and online learning sessions
• Design and implement an annual learning and development curriculum aligned to business needs
• Maximise apprenticeship levy utilisation while ensuring high-quality learning provision
• Build and manage strong relationships with external learning providers
• Contribute to wider People & Culture initiatives and organisational development projects

Criteria:

• Previous experience within a Learning & Development role with exposure to the responsibilities outlined above
• Experience designing and delivering training and development programmes
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills
• CIPD qualified
• Ability to work collaboratively across different departments and business areas

Desirable

• Experience within construction, engineering, or manufacturing environments
• Project Management qualification
• Scrum Master certification
• Qualified Coach accreditation

Interested?

If you are passionate about developing people, building leadership capability and driving a culture of continuous improvement, we would love to hear from you.