Head of Learning & Development at Splendid Group (2024-05 – Present)
Lead Learning, Talent and Capability across a c.2,800-colleague, 74-site UK Group spanning seven brands, three operating divisions and Group functions. Report directly to the CPO and partner with ExCo, MDs and the SLT, working closely with operational leaders to improve leadership, performance, capability and consistency across a geographically dispersed business.
- Operational & senior partnering: Work with ExCo, MDs, the SLT and operational leaders to understand business challenges and translate them into clear, practical people and capability actions.
- Performance, talent & succession: Built the organisation's first Group-wide performance, talent review and succession approaches, achieving 100% completion across the population in scope.
- Leadership & career pathways: Created scalable role-based skills frameworks linking expectations, assessment, development priorities and visible progression routes.
- Commercial management: Responsible for a £100k+ L&D budget alongside levy investment; delivered c.£42k of efficiencies and c.£62k in annual supplier savings through process redesign and provider rationalisation.
- Standards, governance & compliance: Strengthened reporting, competency oversight and digital delivery within regulated operations, contributing to compliance increasing from 44% to 94%.
- Change & digital improvement: Led a major LMS rebuild and simplified processes, improving reporting, usability, governance and operational access to support.
- Leadership development: Used apprenticeship levy funding strategically to create a bespoke leadership and management pathway aligned to Group capability priorities.
Learning & Development Manager at White Rabbit Projects (2022-01 – 2024-01)
Helped establish and build the L&D function within a fast-growing, decentralised hospitality organisation, supporting a changing portfolio of brands and operational teams through practical capability, systems and performance support.
- Operational partnering: Worked closely with site and senior leaders to diagnose performance needs and build practical learning, process or leadership solutions rather than defaulting to training.
- LMS transformation: Selected and proposed Totara, built the environment and led implementation and adoption for 900+ colleagues across a changing multi-site portfolio.
- Learning in the flow of work: Developed a mobile-first approach spanning onboarding, compliance, operational capability and performance support, making development easier to access during day-to-day operations.
- Commercial proposition: Built the bespoke LMS offer into the wider proposition for smaller brands joining the portfolio, making learning infrastructure and capability support part of the commercial package.
Head of People Operations at Frasers of Balmaha (now The Conic Group) - FTC (2020-01 – 2022-01)
Led the People and capability agenda within a growing hospitality business, combining operational People leadership with workforce planning, performance, talent, organisational development and commercially focused business support.
- People & operational leadership: Partnered with senior and site leaders on workforce planning, engagement, performance, capability and succession, keeping solutions practical and closely connected to operating needs.
- Leadership & progression: Developed structured development pathways supporting manager capability, internal progression and talent attraction.
- Commercial programme development: Identified a local skills gap and lack of suitable development provision across the west coast of Scotland, then created practical manager and team programmes that were sold externally.
- Transformation & change: Supported organisational and workforce change, improving people processes and helping leaders maintain performance through growth and change.
Focus Site Manager → Regional Manager → Senior L&D Business Partner at G1 Group (now Scotsman Hospitality) (2015-01 – 2020-01)
Joined G1 in operational management and progressed through site turnaround and regional leadership before moving into Learning & Development. This gave me direct experience of leading hospitality businesses, improving guest and commercial performance, and then applying that operator perspective to capability and leadership across a broad multi-site portfolio.
- Site turnaround & commercial performance: Initially appointed as a Focus Site Manager, taking responsibility for multiple sites requiring operational turnaround. Improved guest satisfaction scores and top-line sales while strengthening key commercial measures including COS and COL.
- General management & guest experience: Led branded hospitality operations with accountability for team performance, service standards, food and drink execution, guest experience and commercial delivery.
- Regional leadership: Progressed into a Regional Manager role, leading across multiple sites and working through site managers to improve standards, performance, guest experience and commercial results.
- People & performance: Used clear expectations, coaching and performance management to strengthen management capability and create more consistent operational delivery.
- Progression into L&D: Moved from operations into a senior L&D role, bringing direct operator credibility into leadership, management and operational development across the wider Group.
- Team leadership: Managed an L&D team of 4.5 FTE, setting priorities, coaching team members and supporting consistent delivery across a broad multi-site portfolio.
- Tennent's Training Academy: Supported the creation, delivery and ongoing operation of the Tennent's Training Academy, delivering business and leisure courses to external and tenant audiences.
- Commercial capability: Partnered with senior and operational leaders on performance challenges, using business insight and frontline experience to build practical responses rather than treating training as the default answer.
General Manager at Pizza Hut
Deputy General Manager at PizzaExpress
Business Development Management at Devar Group / Whistlefield Inn
