Job: Business Advisor - Organisation Development Sector Specialist

Shape the future of leadership and workforce transformation across Greater Manchester.

We’re looking for a highly credible Organisational Development (OD) Specialist to support businesses within the Financial, Professional & Business Services (FPBS) sector to unlock growth through their people. This is a strategic, client-facing role, working with senior leaders across a diverse portfolio from scaling SMEs to complex organisations, designing and delivering impactful people and organisational strategies that drive productivity, performance, and inclusive growth.

Core purpose:

The position focuses on delivering high-quality organisational development assessments for a portfolio of Greater Manchester business owners and leaders. It involves diagnosing people focused issues, identifying opportunities for improvement, and helping organisations create tailored action plans that align workforce development with wider business growth goals, to boost productivity, specifically for those organisations operating in the Financial, Professional, & Business sector.

Why this role matters:

Given the strategic importance of the Financial, Professional & Business Services sector within Greater Manchester, applicants must be able to demonstrate credible sector insight and the ability to translate this into impactful organisational development solutions.  Greater Manchester is delivering an ambitious agenda for growth, productivity, and skills. To be effective in this role, you must have a strong understanding of:

The Greater Manchester Strategy (GMS), including its missions around productivity, innovation, skills, and inclusive growth.

The GM Good Growth Fund, its priorities, eligible sectors, and how workforce development contributes to improved business performance and wider economic outcomes.

Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), particularly how leadership capability, workforce development, and organisational culture support the skills needs of GM’s priority sectors.

These frameworks shape the region’s business support ecosystem, and your work will directly contribute to delivering their ambitions.

What you’ll be doing:

• You will act as a trusted advisor to business leaders, delivering end-to-end organisational development support, including.
• Leading in-depth organisational diagnostics, including culture, workforce, and capability assessments.
• Designing and implementing strategic OD interventions across the full employee lifecycle (workforce planning, talent, performance, culture, engagement, and retention).
• Supporting businesses with organisation design, restructuring, operating models, and change management.
• Developing leadership capability, performance frameworks, and workforce development strategies.
• Advising on employer value propositions, recruitment, and talent attraction within competitive FPBS markets.
• Delivering facilitated workshops, masterclasses, and cohort-based learning programmes.
• Managing a portfolio of clients, ensuring measurable impact in productivity, workforce capability, and growth outcomes.
• Collaborating with internal specialists and external partners to deliver integrated, high-quality business support.
• Using data, insight, and emerging tools (including AI) to inform solutions and enhance client impact.

What we’re looking for:

You’ll bring a blend of expertise, insight, and strong interpersonal skills. Essential attributes/experience include: 

• Significant experience in organisational development, workforce strategy, or people consulting.
• Strong understanding of FPBS sector dynamics (e.g. legal, financial, consultancy, professional services environments).
• Proven ability to influence and advise senior leaders on complex organisational challenges
• Expertise across OD disciplines, including:
  • Culture and engagement.
  • Change management.
  • Talent and succession planning.
  • Workforce planning and organisational design.
• Experience delivering diagnostics, strategic recommendations, and measurable business outcomes.
• Excellent facilitation, coaching, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• CIPD, L&D, or equivalent qualification.
• Knowledge of the Greater Manchester business support ecosystem (GMS, LSIPs, Good Growth).
• Experience using digital tools, data, or AI to enhance OD practice.

Why join us?

This is a high‑impact role where you will:

• Work at the heart of Greater Manchester’s growth and skills agenda.
• Influence senior leaders across a high-value sector.
• Deliver meaningful, measurable impact across the regional economy.
• Be part of a collaborative, specialist team.
• Shape and innovate the OD offer across the region.

We are currently unable to provide sponsorship for work permits or visas. Therefore, we can only consider candidates who already have the legal right to work in the UK.

Artificial intelligence can assist you during the application process, but every example and statement you include must be honest, accurate, and based on your own real experiences. If plagiarism is detected, meaning you present someone else’s ideas or experiences, or AI‑generated content, as your own, your application may be withdrawn, and internal applicants could face disciplinary action.

At GC, safeguarding the welfare of all individuals including vulnerable adults and young people is a top priority, and we expect all staff to uphold this standard. All appointments follow Safer Recruitment Procedures, including a DBS check carried out by Due Diligence Limited (DDC Ltd), at no cost to the successful candidate.

Please note: It is a legal offence to apply for a role involving regulated activity if you are on the Barred List.

We are committed to increasing workforce diversity and offer a guaranteed interview to applicants who meet the essential criteria and either have a disability or are from a diverse ethnic community.

If this applies to you, you can request consideration under this scheme during the application process. Your request will be shared only with the Hiring Manager and Internal Recruitment Team.

We also aim to make our recruitment process inclusive and accessible. If you need reasonable adjustments or have any general enquiries at any stage or the recruitment process, please contact careers@growthco.uk or call us on 0161 237 4447.

Examples include:

• Meeting the hiring manager or touring the venue in advance.
• Extra time for tasks.
• Interview questions shared beforehand.
• Accessibility software or equipment for assessments.

We’re proud to support the Ban the Box campaign, which helps people with convictions access job opportunities. As part of this, we’ve removed questions about convictions from the initial application stage.

GC is committed to fostering a culture of flexibility and agile working. Many roles will increasingly support full agile arrangements. If you require more permanent flexibility, we encourage you to discuss this during your interview so your request can be considered early in the process.

All GC colleagues will work in line with the Health and Safety at work act and the GC Health and Safety Policy.