Social Care People Development Manager

The Social Care People Development Manager will lead the design and delivery of a comprehensive learning and development framework that ensures all staff are fully prepared, competent and confident to work within our Disability and Paediatric Division.

This role is central to embedding a culture of safe, compliant and person-centred practice, ensuring that employees, from new starters to experienced leaders, possess the skills, knowledge and values required to deliver high-quality care in people’s homes and community settings.

You will ensure that learning, induction and ongoing development directly support HIQA standards, regulatory compliance and continuous quality improvement, while also nurturing staff wellbeing, professional growth and retention.

What the Role Involves

Learning Strategy & HIQA Alignment

Develop and implement a HIQA-led Learning & Development strategy aligned with: National Standards for Residential Services for Children and Adults with Disabilities

Organisational values and service model

Work closely with the Senior Leadership Team, Head of Services, Persons in Charge (PICs) Quality, HR and Operations to anticipate workforce capability needs.

Ensure all learning frameworks demonstrate clear evidence of:

Staff competence

Safe practice

Continuous improvement for inspection and audit purposes

Establish measurable learning outcomes linked to inspection performance, audit findings and service quality indicators.

Develop governance systems to evidence training compliance, including audit-ready records and reporting dashboards.

Monitor and respond to changes in HIQA standards and national policy, ensuring timely adaptation of learning frameworks.

Induction & Readiness

Design and own a structured, mandatory induction programme that prepares staff to work safely and confidently in:

HIQA-regulated houses

Community services

Ensure induction covers:

HIQA standards and regulations

Safeguarding of vulnerable adults and children

Person-centred planning and rights-based care

Professional boundaries and ethical practice

Health and safety, medication management and infection prevention

Organisational policies, procedures and values

Implement ‘fit for duty’ and readiness to practice frameworks, ensuring staff are appropriately inducted before working independently.

International Workforce & Regulatory Readiness

Lead the development of structured onboarding and adaptation programmes for internationally recruited staff

Ensure alignment with Irish regulatory requirements, including Health Information and Quality Authority standards, safeguarding legislation and professional practice expectations

Conduct competency gap analysis to identify differences between international training and Irish care standards

Design “bridging to practice” programmes to ensure safe, compliant and confident practice

Support cultural competence, communication skills and understanding of person-centred care in an Irish context

Work with HR and recruitment teams to ensure workforce readiness prior to deployment in regulated services

Capability Building for Community & Residential Services

Lead ongoing training and upskilling aligned with HIQA requirements and service needs, including:

Safeguarding and protection

Positive behaviour support

Risk assessment and risk management

Restrictive practices and human rights

Dignity-based care

Ensure learning reflects real-life practice in community and residential settings

Align all training programmes with competency frameworks that demonstrate readiness for HIQA inspection and safe practice in regulated environments

Leadership Development & Practice Oversight

Develop learning pathways for:

Team leaders and senior support workers

Persons in Charge (PICs)

Regional Managers

SCA

Support leaders to:

Evidence competence and training compliance

Lead HIQA inspections and action plans

Foster safe, accountable and compassionate team cultures

Embed reflective practice, supervision and peer learning to support continuous development

Partner with Quality and Operations teams to ensure learning supports inspection readiness and service improvement

Equip leaders to assess and evidence staff competence, particularly for newly inducted and internationally recruited staff

Support leaders in closing competency gaps identified through audit, supervision and inspection findings

Employee Experience & Professional Development

Embed learning throughout the employee lifecycle, from recruitment and induction to progression and leadership.

Create clear development pathways for:

Social care workers

Support workers

Supervisory and management roles

Promote inclusion, wellbeing and reflective practice in high-demand care environments.

Skills, Experience & Qualifications

Minimum 5 years’ experience in Learning & Development, Workforce Development or Practice Development within social care, disability, healthcare or regulated community services.

Qualification: Minimum Level 8 In Social care and CORU Registered.

Strong working knowledge of:

HIQA regulations and inspection processes

Community and residential service delivery models

Safeguarding legislation and best practice

Demonstrated experience designing:

Staff induction programmes

Mandatory and compliance training frameworks

Proven ability to work collaboratively with Operations and Quality teams.

Experience supporting or working with internationally recruited healthcare or social care staff.

Experience implementing compliance-driven training systems in regulated environments.

To apply, please ensure eligibility to work in Ireland. For more information, contact our recruitment team at 01 833 8000.

Pay: €55,000.00-€65,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Bike to work scheme

Company pension

On-site parking

Private medical insurance

Experience:

Learning & Development withing Healthcare: 5 years (required)

Licence/Certification:

CORU Registration (required)

Work authorisation:

Ireland (required)

Work Location: In person