United Kingdom · Compliance, quality and safety · Lead (8-12 years)

Lead Crisis Management Specialist

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

Free to start: a plan built for this role, and a Future Fluency module to try first. No card.

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One email: what AI is changing in this job, and where to start free. With a link back here. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

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  • Experience bandLead (8-12 years)
  • Direct reports3-8 reports
  • Reports toManager, Crisis & Business Continuity
  • UK framework levelUsually a manager, or the deepest specialist in a team

Also advertised as Lead Crisis Strategist · Principal Resilience Analyst · Senior Business Continuity Lead

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in qualifications employers recognise

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Public Services Pearson Education Ltd · Level 5 · covers 1 of 10 standards
CMI Level 4 NVQ Diploma in Management Chartered Management Institute · Level 4 · covers 3 of 10 standards
ETCAL Level 3 Diploma in Management ETC Awards Limited · Level 3 · covers 2 of 10 standards
SFJ Awards Level 3 Certificate in Management Skills SFJ Awards · Level 3 · covers 2 of 10 standards
OCNLR Level 4 Certificate in Business Administration OCN London · Level 4 · covers 1 of 10 standards

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Business continuity and the disaster recovery process SFJ Awards Level 5 Certificate for the Security Risk Management Practitioner (RQF)
Emergency Management Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Public Services
Implement and maintain business continuity plans and processes CMI Level 4 NVQ Diploma in Management
Business Continuity Planning OCNLR Level 4 Certificate in Business Administration

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
AI Governance Fluency using AI responsibly
Foresight Fluency seeing round the corner
Trust Fluency keeping the digital world safe
Your Plan Illustration

Built for Lead Crisis Management Specialist

4 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Business continuity and the disaster recovery process SFJ Awards · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 5
  2. Emergency Management Pearson Education Ltd · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 5
  3. Implement and maintain business continuity plans and processes Chartered Management Institute · covers 3 of 10 standards Level 4
  4. Business Continuity Planning OCN London · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 4
These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Lead Crisis Management Specialist?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skills this role is being asked for

  • AI-Enhanced Risk & Threat Intelligence Analysis
  • Ethical AI in Crisis Communication
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Lead Crisis Management Specialist plan as you set up, starting with a Future Fluency module on using AI in your job. No card.

Your first Future Fluency module is free. After that, your AI tutor is £70 a month.

3What this role really is

This job designs crisis preparedness, building the systems, processes and training that keep an organisation ready for major disruption.

4What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

Everbridge Suite / OnSolve Platform / AlertMedia Advanced

Designing complex notification scenarios, configuring geo-fencing rules, and integrating emergency notification with other systems (e.g., HRIS) to ensure rapid, targeted communication during incidents.

Intelex / Enablon / Cority (EHS/Incident Management) Expert

Configuring incident workflows, building custom dashboards for trend analysis, and training business users on the platform. You'll ensure the system supports our incident management processes effectively.

ServiceNow GRC / Archer GRC Suite / OneTrust Advanced

Conducting Business Impact Analyses (BIAs) within the tool, managing the BCP lifecycle, and mapping dependencies between assets, processes, and risks across the organisation. You'll be a power user.

MS Teams (with Crisis Comms App) / SharePoint / Confluence Expert

Designing and managing dedicated crisis channels/sites, maintaining version control on all response documents, and ensuring a Common Operating Picture. You'll automate workflows for plan reviews and information sharing.

Power BI / Tableau Advanced

Connecting to incident data sources, building custom reports and dashboards to answer specific questions from leadership, and identifying trends in incident data to drive programme improvements.

Dataminr / NC4 / Esri ArcGIS (Threat Intelligence) Advanced

Configuring alert criteria based on company assets and risk profile, and using geospatial tools to visualise the potential impact of an event. You'll integrate this intelligence into our risk assessments.

5What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Crisis Plan Design & Updates Follows templates to update specific sections of plans under guidance. Independently updates and maintains specific BCPs/crisis plans, proposing improvements. Designs and implements new crisis plan frameworks and methodologies for specific departments.
Exercise Design & Facilitation Assists with exercise logistics and note-taking during tabletops. Independently facilitates small departmental tabletop exercises using existing scenarios. Designs and facilitates complex, multi-departmental tabletop exercises, developing custom scenarios.
Incident Response Actions Executes assigned tasks during an incident (e.g., sending notifications) under direct supervision. Manages specific workstreams during an incident (e.g., communications log, resource tracking) following established protocols. Leads a specific functional team within the incident command structure (e.g., IT response, HR support). Makes tactical decisions within their area.
Budget Allocation (Programme) No budget authority. Escalates all spending requests. Can request minor purchases (up to £1K) for training materials, subject to Manager approval. Manages project-specific budgets up to £5K for exercise consultants or minor software. Recommends larger spend.

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

Exercise Completion Rate
The percentage of critical business units that have completed their required crisis exercises (tabletop, functional, full-scale) within the annual programme.
Target · Increase from 75% to 95% annually for critical business units.

If 15 out of 20 critical units completed their exercises by Q4, that's a 75% rate. You'd be driving that to 95% or higher, meaning 19 out of 20.

Reduction in High Severity AAR Findings
The year-over-year decrease in the number of 'high' severity findings identified in After Action Reports (AARs) following incidents or exercises.
Target · Reduce average high severity findings by 30% year-over-year.

If last year's AARs had an average of 10 high severity findings, you'd aim for an average of 7 or fewer this year, showing our preparedness is improving.

Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Readiness Score
An internal score reflecting the completeness, accuracy, and test status of BCPs for critical business processes.
Target · Achieve an average score of 4.5/5.0 across all critical BCPs.

Ensuring 100% of our Tier 1 operations have a BCP that's been reviewed, updated, and tested in the last 12 months, contributing to a higher overall readiness score.

Incident Response Activation Time
The average time from a confirmed incident trigger to the formal invocation of the crisis management team and initial communication.
Target · Reduce average activation time by 15% over 12 months.

If it typically takes 45 minutes to get the core team on a call and issue a holding statement, you'd be working to get that down to around 38 minutes.

Stakeholder Engagement & Buy-in
How effectively you influence and gain commitment from senior leaders and operational teams to participate in and support crisis preparedness initiatives.
  • You're regularly invited to departmental planning meetings to advise on risk. Operational leaders actively seek your input on new projects. You get strong attendance and active participation in exercises without having to chase people constantly.
Programme Design & Innovation
Your ability to design and implement crisis management programmes that are not only compliant but also practical, effective, and forward-thinking.
  • Your exercise designs are praised for their realism and impact. You introduce new tools or methodologies that genuinely improve our readiness. Our programmes are seen as a benchmark by industry peers.
Post-Incident Learning & Improvement
How thoroughly and effectively you drive learning from incidents and exercises, ensuring corrective actions are identified, assigned, and actually completed.
  • AARs are comprehensive and lead to clear, measurable improvements. There's a noticeable reduction in recurring issues. You're seen as the 'go-to' person for understanding what went wrong and how to fix it.
Team Development & Mentorship
Your effectiveness in guiding and developing your direct reports and other team members, building their capabilities in crisis management.
  • Your team members are growing in confidence and expertise. They're taking on more complex tasks. You're providing clear, constructive feedback and creating opportunities for their development.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Making a Tangible Impact on Safety & Security

You'll feel a deep satisfaction when you see a plan you designed successfully mitigate an incident, or when a training exercise significantly improves a team's readiness. It's about genuinely protecting people and the business.

After a minor incident, you're the one reviewing the 'hotwash' notes, seeing how your new communication protocol helped avoid missteps, and feeling proud of that tangible improvement.

Solving Complex, Ambiguous Problems

You thrive on taking a chaotic, ill-defined threat and turning it into a structured, manageable response plan. The more moving parts and unknowns, the more engaged you become in figuring out the best way forward.

Presented with a vague geopolitical risk, you'll enjoy researching its potential impact on our supply chain, mapping out dependencies, and then designing a proactive mitigation strategy.

Building & Leading Effective Programmes

You're not just a doer; you're a builder. You love designing the architecture of our crisis response, from the exercise programme to the policy framework, and then seeing your team execute it effectively.

You'll spend a good chunk of your time refining our enterprise exercise programme, making sure it's challenging, relevant, and genuinely prepares our leadership for real-world scenarios.

What frustrates people
  • The constant struggle of being held accountable for the outcome of a crisis without always having direct command authority over the senior operational leaders whose resources you desperately need. It's 'authority vs. influence' writ large.
  • Watching the organisation make huge strides in preparedness right after a major incident, only to see budget and attention wane a year later as complacency inevitably creeps back in. It's 'post-crisis amnesia' and it's frustrating.
  • Being seen as the 'prophet of doom' because your job is to constantly think about what could go wrong. This can sometimes feel negative or obstructive to more optimistic, 'get it done' operational teams.
  • Spending months creating a detailed crisis playbook, only for a re-org, a major system change, or a facility move to make 30% of it obsolete overnight. The documentation battle is genuinely never-ending.
  • The 2 AM call. The personal toll of being on call is very real. It's not just the disruption; it's that constant, low-level anxiety of knowing your phone could ring at any moment with a major incident.
  • Fighting for budget for preparedness (new software, training, headcount) is often an uphill battle against departments that can show a clear ROI. You're selling insurance, and it's a hard sell until after the fire.
  • Trying to get busy executives and line workers to take yet another tabletop exercise seriously when they have 'real work' to do, especially when we haven't had a major incident in years. Exercise fatigue is a real thing.
What this role does not give you
  • A predictable, routine work schedule – incidents don't stick to office hours.
  • Guaranteed direct authority over all crisis response resources; you'll lead through influence.
  • A role where every single piece of your work goes 'live' or directly generates revenue.
  • An environment where risk is completely eliminated; your job is to manage it, not make it disappear.

8Who you work with

This role directly shapes our organisation's ability to withstand and recover from significant disruptions. Your work ensures we're not just compliant, but genuinely resilient, protecting our people, assets, and reputation. You're essentially building the company's insurance policy against chaos.

Inside the business
  • Your Manager, for strategic direction and resource allocation
  • Heads of Operations, IT, HR, and Legal, for incident response and plan validation
  • Senior Leadership Team, for updates on preparedness and emerging risks
  • Compliance and Audit teams, to ensure our plans meet regulatory requirements
Outside the business
  • Emergency Services (police, fire, ambulance) during actual incidents
  • Key vendors and suppliers, especially for business continuity planning
  • Regulatory bodies, for reporting and compliance checks
  • Industry peers, for benchmarking and best practice sharing

9What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

  • A proven track record of leading complex projects or workstreams in a compliance, safety, or operational resilience context.
  • Demonstrable experience in designing and facilitating crisis exercises, including tabletop and functional drills, for diverse audiences.
  • Solid experience in developing and maintaining Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) and conducting Business Impact Analyses (BIAs).
  • Experience managing or mentoring junior team members, providing guidance and support.
  • A strong understanding of Incident Command System (ICS) principles and their practical application.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a knack for influencing senior stakeholders.

10What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced GRC Platform Configuration & Integration

Our GRC platform (e.g., ServiceNow GRC) is becoming the central nervous system for all things resilience. You'll need to move beyond just using it to actively shaping its capabilities, integrating it with other systems to create a truly holistic view of risk and response.

Workflow Automation · API Integration · Custom Dashboard Development · Data Model Governance

  • This month: Deep dive into the admin/developer documentation for our current GRC platform. Understand its capabilities beyond your daily use.
  • Next quarter: Complete an advanced administrator or developer course for our GRC platform vendor (e.g., ServiceNow Certified System Administrator).
  • Next 6 months: Lead a project to integrate a new data source into our GRC platform, automating a manual reporting process.
  • Next 12 months: Design and implement a new module or set of workflows within the GRC platform to support an emerging resilience requirement.

Quick win: Identify one small, manual data entry or reporting task related to GRC and explore if it can be automated using existing platform features or a simple integration.

Advanced Data Visualisation & Storytelling (Power BI/Tableau)

It's not enough to just have data; you need to tell a compelling story with it, especially to senior leaders who need quick, clear insights. Your ability to transform raw incident data into impactful visualisations that drive action will become even more critical.

Dashboard Design Principles · Data Blending & Transformation · Interactive Reporting · Narrative Visualisation

  • This month: Explore advanced features of Power BI or Tableau. Look beyond basic charts to more complex visualisations.
  • Next quarter: Take an online course on 'Data Storytelling' or 'Advanced Dashboard Design' focusing on executive-level reporting.
  • Next 6 months: Redesign one of our existing quarterly resilience reports, transforming it from static charts into an interactive, narrative-driven dashboard.
  • Next 12 months: Lead a session for your peers on best practices in data visualisation for crisis management, sharing your learnings and new techniques.

Quick win: Pick a simple dataset (e.g., last quarter's incident types) and try to create 3-4 different visualisations that tell a different story about the data. Experiment with colours and layouts.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Regularly attending industry conferences and workshops (e.g., BCI World, DRI Conference) to stay current on best practices and emerging threats.
  • Actively participating in professional networks and forums to share knowledge and learn from peers in other organisations.
  • Subscribing to leading industry publications and research papers on crisis management, business continuity, and organisational resilience.
  • Seeking out opportunities to lead internal training sessions or present on crisis-related topics, honing your communication and leadership skills.
  • Undertaking specific training in advanced data analysis or visualisation tools if you feel there's a gap in your skillset.

12The rising capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

AI-Enhanced Risk & Threat Intelligence Analysis

Frankly, the sheer volume of global data (news, social media, geopolitical reports, weather patterns) is too much for humans to process manually. AI tools are becoming indispensable for identifying emerging threats faster and with greater accuracy, shifting us from reactive to truly proactive preparedness.

  • Predictive Analytics for Risk
  • Natural Language Processing (NLP) for Sentiment
  • Geospatial AI
  • Anomaly Detection

Ethical AI in Crisis Communication

As we increasingly use AI to draft crisis communications and analyse public sentiment, the ethical implications become critical. Getting it wrong can lead to accusations of bias, manipulation, or insensitivity, which can severely damage trust during a crisis.

  • Bias Detection in LLMs
  • Transparency & Attribution
  • Human Oversight & Validation
  • Data Privacy in Sentiment Analysis

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Incident Command System (ICS)
  • Business Continuity Lifecycle Management
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
  • Tabletop Exercise (TTX) Design & Facilitation
  • Crisis Communication Strategy
  • Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA)

14The pathway

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

  1. 1

    From Senior Crisis Management Specialist (L3)

    3-5 years as a Senior Specialist

    Skills to master

    • You'd need to have consistently led significant workstreams, designed and facilitated complex departmental exercises, and started to mentor junior colleagues. Proving you can influence upwards and across the business is key.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully led 3+ major, cross-functional crisis exercises from design to AAR.
    • Consistently received high feedback on your ability to influence non-direct reports.
    • Demonstrated initiative in identifying and proposing solutions for programme gaps.
    • Actively mentored at least two junior specialists, helping them grow their capabilities.
  2. 2

    From a Lead Role in a Related Field (e.g., Lead EHS Manager, Senior Operational Risk Manager)

    5-8 years in a lead role in a related discipline, with a strong focus on incident response or risk mitigation.

    Skills to master

    • You'd need to demonstrate a deep understanding of crisis management methodologies (ICS, BCM), excellent leadership skills in high-pressure situations, and a track record of driving change through influence. A strong desire to specialise in crisis management is essential.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Managed significant incident responses (e.g., major safety incidents, environmental spills) in previous roles.
    • Developed and implemented risk mitigation strategies that significantly reduced exposure.
    • Can clearly articulate how your previous experience directly translates to crisis preparedness.
    • Completed relevant crisis management certifications (e.g., CBCP, ICS training) independently.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This work can lead to wider risk management roles, or to resilience consulting, or on to senior positions such as director of global resilience.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Lead Crisis Management Specialist is actually changing.

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Business continuity and the disaster recovery process, worked against Lead Crisis Management Specialist.

Business continuity and the disaster recovery process Level 5

Applied to your work in Lead Crisis Management Specialist

1. To enable the learner to define business continuity and its core principles. 2. To enable the learner to explain the fundamental purpose and importance of disaster recovery planning. 3. To enable the learner to identify the relationship between business continuity and disaster recovery strategies.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Lead Crisis Management Specialist
  • Incident Command System (ICS)
  • Business Continuity Lifecycle Management
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
  • Tabletop Exercise (TTX) Design & Facilitation
  • Crisis Communication Strategy
  • Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA)
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

16The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Lead Crisis Management Specialist is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. Manager, Crisis & Business Continuity (L5)

    3-5 years in the Lead Crisis Management Specialist role

    This is a natural step up into people management and broader functional leadership. You'll be managing the overall crisis team and budget, presenting programme status to senior leadership, and making strategic decisions on tooling and direction.

    • Vendor Management & Negotiation Leading relationships with key crisis management software vendors and external consultants, negotiating contracts.
    • Enterprise Risk Framework Integration Ensuring crisis management is deeply integrated into the broader enterprise risk management framework.
    • P&L Management Taking accountability for the financial performance of the function, managing costs and demonstrating value.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be honest, a big chunk of crisis management involves sifting through data, drafting communications, and tracking actions—all tasks that can be tedious and time-consuming. Imagine if you could offload a significant portion of that to intelligent tools, freeing you up to focus on strategy, influence, and the truly human elements of leadership during a crisis.

Here at [Company Name], we're not just talking about AI; we're actively integrating it into our Compliance, Quality, Health, and Safety operations. For a Lead Crisis Management Specialist, this means transforming your day-to-day, moving you from manual grunt work to strategic oversight. We see AI not as a replacement, but as a powerful co-pilot that helps you build a more resilient organisation, faster.

Automated Scribe & Action Tracker

Picture this: during a high-stress crisis response bridge call, an AI meeting assistant (like Otter.ai or Fathom) is auto-transcribing everything. It doesn't just write it down; it identifies key decisions, flags critical information, and automatically assigns action items with deadlines based on verbal commands. You're free to lead, not take notes.

Real-Time Social Media Sentiment Analysis

When a public-facing crisis hits (say, a product recall or an environmental spill), you need to know what people are saying, right now. An AI tool can monitor social media and news sites, analysing sentiment (positive, negative, neutral) and quickly spotting emerging misinformation narratives. This gives your comms team a massive head start, allowing for faster, more targeted public statements.

Proactive Risk Horizon Scanning

Forget spending hours manually trawling news feeds. We're setting up AI agents to continuously scan global news, weather alerts, supply chain data, and geopolitical reports for keywords relevant to our assets (e.g., 'protest near Factory X,' 'earthquake in region Y,' 'supplier Z bankruptcy'). It then summarises and flags the highest-priority emerging threats, giving you precious 'left of boom' time.

Draft Communications Generator

Based on an incident type (e.g., 'IT Outage,' 'Facility Closure'), imagine a generative AI model (trained on our company's approved templates) instantly drafting initial communications for different audiences: a technical IT alert, an empathetic employee message, and a factual holding statement for leadership. This saves you 30-60 minutes at the most critical start of a crisis, letting your team focus on validation and strategy instead of wordsmithing.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Lead Crisis Management Specialist?

Common routes in include From Senior Crisis Management Specialist (3-5 years as a Senior Specialist) and From a Lead Role in a Related Field (e.g., Lead EHS Manager, Senior Operational Risk Manager) (5-8 years in a lead role in a related discipline, with a strong focus on incident response or risk mitigation.). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Lead Crisis Management Specialist progress to?

This role can lead on to Manager, Crisis & Business Continuity (3-5 years in the Lead Crisis Management Specialist role), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Lead Crisis Management Specialist?

Increasingly, AI-Enhanced Risk & Threat Intelligence Analysis and Ethical AI in Crisis Communication. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

Free tools

Want a read on where you stand?

Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.

17Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 5

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

More jobs in compliance, quality and safety

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.

If you leave this industry

The skills here carry across sectors. They can lead into broader enterprise risk management, operational resilience work, or consulting roles focused on organisational resilience. Experienced crisis management professionals are sought across most industries.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Start my Lead Crisis Management Specialist plan, free What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.