Global Head of Learning Systems and Operations
Reporting to: Director or Talent and Learning
Location: Any Hays office location and Home (Hybrid Role)
Welcome to Hays!
Hays is a market leader in specialist recruitment and workforce solutions worldwide. With over 50 years’ experience Hays Operates across 29 different countries within 21 different industries.
But joining Hays isn’t just about being part of a global business leader; here your ambition, collaboration and performance will be celebrated. Hays offers clear progression pathways, continue your recruitment career with us at Hays!
Role Purpose:
The Global Head of Learning Systems & Operations is a senior leadership role accountable for shaping, governing, and optimising Hays’ global learning technology ecosystem and operational delivery model. This role ensures that learning systems, digital platforms, and global learning operations deliver measurable value, support business performance, and enable a consistent, high-quality learning experience across all markets. The role will need to balance global consistency (80%) with regional customisation (20%) while ensuring a high‑quality, scalable learner experience.
The role will lead the product and platform transition towards a digital first, AI enabled, global integrated learning environment, enabling Hays to deploy 80% global content with structured regional tailoring of 20%. The role will ensure that Hays has global processes, systems and digital content delivery that is scalable, consistent, and aligned with the new Global Experience team priorities. They will partner closely with the Technology and Procurement teams, Global Experience team, Regional Learning Leads, and business leaders to ensure learning solutions are scalable, secure, data‑driven, and aligned with Hays’ Digital First learning strategy.
The role is pivotal to ensuring the effective delivery of its Digital First Learning strategy; in terms of deployment of global learning content, learning programs & workshops; ensuring that the learning needs of Hays are met efficiently and effectively.
As the global product owner for learning, performance, (and in the future: talent, and succession modules), the role holder will define the strategic product roadmap, drive adoption of new capabilities, and ensure that Hays maximises ROI from its technology investments, managing future releases and adoption of new functionality. They will work with the platform providers with regards to new releases of functionality and continuous improvement, collaborating closely with internal stakeholders, particularly the Technology team, regarding prioritisation decisions and change impact vs adoption of new functionality.
The role will ensure that the learning, talent, and performance platforms are delivering optimum value to the business, as well as partnering with procurement in terms of any future contract variations/new suppliers for related platforms.
Key Responsibilities:
Global Product owner for Learning Systems
- Serve as the global product owner for the LMS.
- Oversee platform configuration, release management, and adoption of new features.
- Ensure seamless integration with future HRIS and other enterprise systems.
- Drive continuous improvement through user feedback, analytics, and market insights.
- Owns the global product strategy, roadmap, and governance for all learning platforms. Ensures platforms are fully optimised, secure, integrated, and delivering measurable business value, collaborating closely with the technology and procurement teams.
- The role holder will work closely with the Global experience team as well as the regional teams to ensure the efficient deployment and adoption of the CA Perform module for global the global implementation of the Be My Best Framework.
- Partner closely with Technology teams to ensure compliance with cybersecurity, GDPR, and data privacy requirements. Sets up and maintains global standards, policies, and governance frameworks for learning systems (including Culture Amp Perform platform) and data.
- Collaborate closely with Procurement team to ensure Hays is getting the maximum value from its suite of learning management systems (LMS) and platform to ensure effective ROI, optimal functionality, security, and a superior user experience to enhance adoption and usage.
- Lead on future design, implementation & adoption of future innovative learning systems and processes to enhance the company's learning capabilities and effectiveness. Ensuring adoption of any new platforms and functionality within existing systems is aligned, secure with all relevant tech/data/privacy and legal considerations addressed.
- Manages the global learning systems and operations budget. Ensures maximise ROI from technology and content investments. Identifies opportunities for consolidation, efficiency, and vendor optimisation.
Tech, Digital, and AI enabled learning.
- Enables a digital first content strategy, ensuring learning content is globally scalable and deployed consistently.
- Leads the adoption of AI enabled learning, with simulations, avatar led role plays, scenario-based assessments, interactive and engaging modules.
- Partners with the global design leads to ensure that systems support new digital and AI enabled content formats.
- Leads pilot AI learning programmes and scales successful innovations across Hays worldwide.
- Ensure Hays remains at the forefront of digital learning trends and market developments.
Operational delivery of global learning content & continuous improvement
- Ensures efficient deployment of digital learning content, global programmes, and capability initiatives. Owns end‑to‑end operational ownership – accountable for the full lifecycle of delivery (from planning and deployment through to quality, learner experience, and continuous improvement).
- Defines and maintain global learning standards/playbooks to ensure consistency and quality across regions. (e.g.: skills development framework for consultant power skills).
- Build and manage global processes for content governance, decision rights and escalation process, version control, and quality assurance, balancing global consistency (80%) with regional needs/customisation (20%).
- Where learning content will be delivered as virtual global workshops and facilitated (e.g.: for leadership development /line manager skills) – this role will own the global scheduling, logistics, and operational support - in partnership with regional heads of learning and the global experience team.
- Ensures operational consistency across regions while enabling local flexibility where needed.
- Monitors systems adoption, learner engagement, data integrity, performance metrics and reports key insights to PLT. Ensures data quality, reporting integrity, compliance and risk management across learning systems and operations.
- Implements tools to assess the effectiveness of learning, providing data-driven insights and recommendations for continuous improvement. Drives continuous improvement of learning systems, workflows, digital content deployment processes.
- Leads data and reporting requirements for learning, talent and succession planning and Be my Best cycles, ensuring compliance and actionable insights - enabling data‑driven decisions on capability development.
Vendor, platform, and data governance
- Manages relationships with learning tech vendors (and third parties we may partner with for design and co-delivery of global programmes, e.g. for leadership development / high potentials) ensuring high quality and cost-effective service delivery.
- Leads global vendor relationships, contract negotiations, and platform lifecycle management in collaboration with procurement.
- Leads the assessment, optimisation, and ongoing management of the global LMS landscape across all regions to drive down cost and optimise value. Lead reviews of existing platforms (e.g. Go One, Holistica /other existing regional learning platforms) with recommendations for future solutions.
- Ensures systems comply with global standards, governance frameworks for data protection and privacy – collaborating with key stakeholders (Tech/Legal, Data protection and Privacy).
Skills and Experience:
- Demonstrated senior-level experience leading learning systems and operations within a large, complex, and preferably global organisation, including accountability for platforms, governance, delivery, and continuous improvement.
- Deep expertise in enterprise learning technologies, including LMS/LXP ecosystems and digital learning tools, with a proven track record of driving adoption, platform optimisation, and measurable business outcomes.
- Strong operational and programme leadership capability, including end-to-end ownership of system implementations, upgrades, integrations, and global rollouts, delivered on time and within budget.
- Highly effective people leader and collaborator, with experience leading dispersed, cross-functional teams and influencing senior stakeholders across regions, cultures, and functions.
- Advanced analytical capability, with the ability to define meaningful metrics, interpret data confidently, and translate insights into prioritised actions that improve performance, efficiency, and learner experience.
- Proven vendor and commercial management experience, including supplier selection, contract negotiation, performance management, and value realisation across multiple strategic vendors.
At Hays, we share a passion for creating a culture of opportunities for our people to flourish and succeed, whatever your background. We know that diversity of perspective and an inclusive approach, which encourages those experiences and views to be heard, is great for business and therefore your career.