UK

United Kingdom · Learning and development · Mid-Level (2-5 years)

Global Performance Improvement 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.

See how AI is changing this job, and get the full read by email.

Start my free Data Fluency module

As a Global Performance Improvement Specialist, a good place to start on Data Storytelling for Impact is Turning Workplace Data into a Recommendation, a free Future Fluency module at Level 3. You'd practise turning the figures you already see at work into a recommendation someone will act on.

Free to start, no card.

Keep this job description

Where should we send it?

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

Your employer, or 'self-employed'

Leading a team? Try this with up to five of them for 14 days, free.

  • Experience bandMid-Level (2-5 years)
  • Direct reportsNo direct reports
  • Reports toSenior Manager, Global Performance Improvement
  • UK framework levelUsually a coordinator, or early in a professional job

Also advertised as Learning & Development Project Lead · Training Effectiveness Analyst · L&D Solutions Specialist · Performance Consultant (Mid-Level)

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in what real qualifications cover

Two short quizzes about you

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

GQA PAA\VQ-SET Level 3 Certificate in Learning and Development GQA Qualifications Limited · Level 3 · covers 2 of 10 standards
City & Guilds Level 4 Diploma in Learning and Development City & Guilds Limited · Level 4 · covers 1 of 10 standards
TQUK Level 3 Diploma in Specialist Support for Teaching and Learning in Schools (RQF) Training Qualifications UK Ltd · Level 3 · covers 1 of 10 standards
1st4sport Level 3 Diploma in Fitness Instructing and Personal Training 1st4sport · Level 3 · covers 1 of 10 standards
City & Guilds Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training City & Guilds Limited · Level 4 · covers 1 of 10 standards
Focus Awards Level 3 Diploma in Playwork (RQF) Focus Awards Limited · Level 3 · 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

Evaluate and improve learning and development provision GQA PAA\VQ-SET Level 3 Certificate in Learning and Development
Identify individual learning and development needs City & Guilds Level 4 Diploma in Learning and Development
Support learning and development within own area of responsibility TQUK Level 3 Diploma in Specialist Support for Teaching and Learning in Schools (RQF)
Programming personal training with clients 1st4sport Level 3 Diploma in Fitness Instructing and Personal Training
Provide learning opportunities for colleagues Focus Awards Level 3 Diploma in Playwork (RQF)

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
Your Plan Illustration

Built for Global Performance Improvement Specialist

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

  1. Evaluate and improve learning and development provision GQA Qualifications Limited · covers 2 of 10 standards Level 3
  2. Identify individual learning and development needs City & Guilds Limited · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 4
  3. Support learning and development within own area of responsibility Training Qualifications UK Ltd · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 3
  4. Programming personal training with clients 1st4sport · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 3
  5. Provide learning opportunities for colleagues Focus Awards Limited · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 3
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 Global Performance Improvement 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

  • Data Storytelling for Impact
  • Basic Prompt Engineering for L&D
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 Global Performance Improvement Specialist plan as you set up, starting with the free Data Fluency module. No card.

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

Ready to pay? Subscribe for £70 a month

Keep this read. One email with what AI is changing in this job, the new skills it asks for and where to start free. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

3What this role really is

This job involves diagnosing performance problems at work and building practical solutions to fix them. It means working out whether training is the right answer, then acting on it.

4What you'd actually use

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

Learning Experience Platform (LXP) / LMS (e.g., Degreed, Cornerstone) Advanced

You'll be configuring learning paths, building custom reports to track completion and engagement, and managing system integrations with HRIS. You'll also be training others on how to get the most out of the platform.

Data Analytics & Visualization (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Excel Power Query) Advanced

You'll connect data from various sources (LMS, HRIS, CRM) to build interactive dashboards from scratch. You'll use Power Query in Excel to clean and transform messy data, then visualise it to tell a clear story about performance.

Performance & Engagement Systems (e.g., Workday HCM, Lattice, Qualtrics) Intermediate

You'll extract performance review data, engagement survey results, and skills assessments for analysis. You'll also be able to build and launch basic surveys to gather specific feedback or diagnostic information.

Collaboration & Project Management (e.g., Asana, Jira, Miro, Confluence) Advanced

You'll manage complex, cross-functional project plans in Asana or Jira, ensuring tasks are on track and dependencies are clear. You'll also design and facilitate brainstorming sessions using Miro and keep project documentation updated in Confluence.

Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) Expert

You'll be using Excel for detailed data manipulation, pivot tables, and basic financial modelling. PowerPoint will be your go-to for creating compelling presentations for stakeholders, and Word for drafting reports and documentation.

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
Project Scope & Approach Follows pre-defined project plans; escalates any proposed changes to supervisor. Defines project scope and methodology for small-to-medium projects; consults manager on significant deviations or resource needs. Defines strategic approach for major workstreams; makes independent decisions on scope, resources, and timelines within programme budget.
Solution Design & Development Develops content based on detailed specifications; all designs reviewed by senior team member. Designs and develops learning interventions independently; seeks peer review for quality assurance and manager approval for final launch. Architects complex, multi-faceted performance solutions; provides technical sign-off for team's designs; makes recommendations to leadership on solution strategy.
Budget Allocation (Project Level) Tracks project expenses against allocated budget; reports discrepancies to supervisor. Manages project budgets up to approximately £5K; requires manager approval for any spend above this threshold or unbudgeted items. Manages workstream budgets up to £50K; has authority to reallocate within approved budget; consults Director on significant unbudgeted spend.
Stakeholder Communication & Management Communicates project updates to immediate team; escalates stakeholder concerns to supervisor. Communicates directly with business unit managers and HRBPs on project status, risks, and recommendations; escalates major conflicts or political issues to manager. Leads stakeholder engagement for their workstreams; influences senior business leaders; manages complex conflicts and negotiates solutions.

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.

Project Completion Rate
The percentage of assigned performance improvement projects you complete within agreed timelines.
Target · 90% or higher

You take on 5 projects in a quarter, finish 4 on time, and one is slightly delayed due to external factors. That's an 80% completion rate for projects within your direct control.

Level 2 Evaluation Scores
Average scores from post-intervention assessments, quizzes, or simulations measuring knowledge transfer and skill acquisition.
Target · Average score of 80% across all your interventions

After a new training module on our CRM, learners score an average of 85% on the end-of-course quiz, showing they've picked up the key information.

Time to Proficiency (for specific roles)
The reduction in time it takes for new hires in targeted roles to reach full productivity, as a direct result of your onboarding or skill-building programmes.
Target · Reduce by 10-15% for identified roles

New sales reps typically take 6 months to hit 80% quota. After your revamped onboarding, they're hitting it in 5 months – a 16% reduction.

Scrap Learning Reduction
Measuring how much of the learning we deliver actually gets used on the job, rather than being forgotten or ignored.
Target · Reduce identified 'scrap learning' by 10%

A survey 3 months after a compliance course shows 20% of learners aren't applying a key procedure. Your intervention reduces this non-application to 10%.

Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration
How effectively you work with business unit managers and HRBPs to understand their needs and get their buy-in for solutions.
  • Managers proactively seek your advice on performance issues. You're invited to team meetings to discuss challenges. Feedback from your manager and peers highlights your collaborative approach and ability to get others on board. People actually listen to your recommendations.
Quality of Root Cause Analysis
The depth and accuracy of your initial diagnostic work, ensuring we're solving the right problem, not just symptoms.
  • Your recommendations consistently address underlying issues, not just surface-level requests. You can clearly articulate the 'why' behind a performance gap, backed by data. Your manager rarely needs to push you to dig deeper on initial requests.
Proactive Problem Identification
Your ability to spot potential performance issues before they become major problems, rather than just reacting to requests.
  • You bring forward ideas for improvement based on trends you've noticed in data or feedback. You suggest solutions to problems that haven't formally been raised yet. You're not just waiting for someone to ask for training
  • you're looking for where we can improve.
Solution Adoption & Impact
How well your designed solutions are adopted by the target audience and whether they lead to observable behaviour changes.
  • Employees are actually using the new tools or applying the new processes you've introduced. Managers report positive changes in team behaviour. Informal feedback from learners indicates the solutions are practical and helpful in their day-to-day work.

7Would you like it

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

What people enjoy
Solving Real Business Problems

You get a real kick out of taking a vague business challenge and breaking it down into something fixable. You enjoy the detective work of finding the 'why' behind a performance gap.

A manager complains about low team productivity, and you enjoy digging into the data, interviewing team members, and discovering it's actually a clunky software process, not a lack of effort.

Seeing Tangible Impact

It's important for you to see your work actually make a difference. You're not content with just launching a programme; you want to know if it actually moved the needle.

You've worked on improving the onboarding for a specific role, and six months later, you see the time to proficiency drop by 15% – that's what gets you out of bed.

Continuous Learning & Improvement

You're naturally inclined to look for better ways of doing things, both in your own work and for the organisation. You enjoy experimenting with new approaches and learning from what works (and what doesn't).

You're always reading up on the latest in performance science or L&D tech, and you're keen to try out a new evaluation method you've just discovered.

What frustrates people
  • Getting requests for training when the root cause is clearly a process or systems issue.
  • Spending too much time trying to extract and clean data from different, poorly integrated systems.
  • Seeing your well-designed solutions struggle for adoption because people are too busy or resistant to change.
  • Having to justify the value of L&D with hard numbers to sceptical business leaders.
  • The constant battle against 'order-taking' where you're asked to just build something without proper diagnosis.
What this role does not give you
  • A perfectly linear, predictable set of tasks every day.
  • The opportunity to just build training content without thinking about the 'why'.
  • A guarantee that every single initiative you work on will be a resounding success and widely celebrated.
  • A role where you can avoid dealing with messy data or imperfect information.
  • A static environment where you don't need to adapt to changing business priorities.

8Who you work with

This role directly improves the efficiency and effectiveness of our global workforce. By accurately diagnosing performance gaps and implementing targeted interventions, you'll help reduce 'scrap learning', improve 'time to proficiency' for new hires, and ultimately contribute to better business outcomes like increased sales or reduced operational costs. You're essentially helping people be better at their jobs, which has a ripple effect across the entire organisation.

Inside the business
  • Business Unit Managers (e.g., Sales Managers, Operations Team Leads)
  • HR Business Partners
  • Product & Engineering Teams (for system-related performance issues)
  • Regional L&D Teams
Outside the business
  • Learning Content Vendors (occasionally)
  • External Consultants (rarely, for specific projects)

9What you need before you start

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

  • At least 2-3 years of hands-on experience in an L&D, HR, or Organisational Development role, specifically focused on improving performance, not just delivering training.
  • Proven experience using data to diagnose problems and measure the impact of interventions. You'll need to show us you've done this before.
  • A solid grasp of at least one major LXP/LMS platform and a data visualisation tool (Tableau/Power BI).
  • Experience managing small-to-medium projects independently, seeing them through from start to finish.
  • A track record of collaborating effectively with various internal stakeholders, getting them on board with your ideas.

10What to practise next

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

Advanced Data Integration & Modelling

As our data sources grow, simply pulling reports won't cut it. You'll need to become adept at integrating disparate datasets (LMS, HRIS, CRM, performance data) and building more sophisticated models to uncover deeper insights and predict trends.

API Connectivity · Data Warehousing Basics · Basic Statistical Modelling · ETL Processes

  • This quarter: Take an online course on advanced Excel Power Query or an introduction to SQL for data extraction.
  • Next quarter: Work with a senior analyst to understand how they integrate different data sources for their reports.
  • Month 6: Try to build a small, automated data pipeline for one of your recurring reports, even if it's just pulling from two sources.
  • Ongoing: Look for opportunities to correlate learning data with actual business performance metrics.

Quick win: Identify one recurring manual data task you do and research if there's an existing API or automation tool that could streamline it.

Change Management Application (ADKAR)

Designing a great solution is only half the battle; getting people to actually adopt it is the other. You'll need to become more skilled at planning and executing the 'people side' of change to ensure your performance improvement initiatives stick.

Awareness & Desire · Knowledge & Ability · Reinforcement · Resistance Management

  • This quarter: Familiarise yourself with the Prosci ADKAR® Model; there are plenty of free resources online.
  • Next quarter: For your next project, consciously map out the ADKAR stages and plan specific activities for each.
  • Month 6: Seek feedback from project stakeholders on how well the 'people side' of your project was managed.
  • Ongoing: Look for opportunities to apply change management principles to even small shifts in team processes.

Quick win: Before launching your next initiative, think about 'what's in it for them?' from the perspective of the people who have to change. Communicate that benefit clearly.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Regularly reading industry publications and research on performance improvement, adult learning, and organisational psychology.
  • Attending webinars or virtual conferences on new L&D technologies and methodologies.
  • Participating in online communities or forums for L&D professionals to share best practices and learn from peers.
  • Taking short courses or workshops on advanced data visualisation, storytelling with data, or specific AI applications in L&D.
  • Seeking out opportunities to mentor junior colleagues or lead small internal training sessions to hone your presentation and coaching skills.

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.

Data Storytelling for Impact

It's no longer enough to just present data; you need to tell a compelling story with it that resonates with busy business leaders. They don't have time for raw numbers; they need to understand the 'so what?' and the 'now what?'.

  • Narrative Structure
  • Visualisation Best Practices
  • Audience Empathy
  • Call to Action

Basic Prompt Engineering for L&D

AI tools (like ChatGPT, Claude) are becoming incredibly powerful for drafting content, summarising research, and even generating ideas. Knowing how to 'talk' to them effectively – prompt engineering – will make you significantly more productive and efficient.

  • Clear Instructions
  • Context & Constraints
  • Iterative Prompting
  • Output Validation

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Performance Consulting (HPT Model)
  • Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Evaluation Model
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
  • Instructional Design Theory (ADDIE/SAM)
  • Basic Business Acumen

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

    Learning & Performance Coordinator (L1)

    1-2 years

    Skills to master

    • LMS administration, basic data collection, project task execution, understanding of L&D processes, stakeholder support.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Consistently completes assigned tasks accurately and on time.
    • Shows initiative in identifying minor process improvements.
    • Demonstrates a keen interest in understanding the 'why' behind requests.
    • Proactively seeks out learning opportunities and asks thoughtful questions.
  2. 2

    HR Generalist / HR Business Partner (Junior)

    2-3 years

    Skills to master

    • Understanding business unit needs, employee relations, basic talent management processes, data analysis for HR metrics, stakeholder communication.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Has a strong grasp of how different business units operate and their challenges.
    • Shows a clear interest in identifying and solving people-related performance issues.
    • Can effectively communicate with managers and employees at various levels.
    • Has experience using HR data to inform decisions.
  3. 3

    Project Coordinator (Non-L&D specific)

    2-4 years

    Skills to master

    • Project planning, task management, stakeholder communication, risk identification, budget tracking, process improvement.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully managed small-to-medium projects from start to finish.
    • Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail.
    • Proven ability to coordinate across different teams and keep things on track.
    • Demonstrates a curiosity for how projects impact human performance.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This work can lead to senior performance improvement roles, managing teams or setting strategy for a whole business area.

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 Global Performance Improvement Specialist is actually changing.

Where it leads

Roles this leads to

The record names a next step, but the catalogue has no page for it yet:

  • Senior Global Performance Improvement Consultant (L3)

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 Evaluate and improve learning and development provision, worked against Global Performance Improvement Specialist.

Evaluate and improve learning and development provision Level 3

Applied to your work in Global Performance Improvement Specialist

This unit aims to provide learners with an understanding of the contexts, methods, and processes involved in evaluating and improving learning and development provision. Learners will be able to evaluate learning and development provision in accordance with organisational requirements and quality standards, and implement improvements while ensuring regulatory compliance.

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
Global Performance Improvement Specialist
  • Performance Consulting (HPT Model)
  • Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Evaluation Model
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
  • Instructional Design Theory (ADDIE/SAM)
  • Basic Business Acumen
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

Global Performance Improvement Specialist is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. Senior Global Performance Improvement Consultant (L3)

    3-5 years in current role

    You'll move from owning projects to leading complex workstreams and mentoring others. Your scope will broaden, and you'll tackle more ambiguous, higher-stakes problems.

    • Designing and implementing Level 3 (Behavioural) and Level 4 (Results) evaluation strategies.
    • Conducting in-depth organisational needs analysis.
    • Applying change management models (e.g., ADKAR) to larger initiatives.
    • Developing compelling business cases with clear ROI projections.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, you've got a lot on your plate. Imagine if you could get through the tedious bits faster, freeing you up for the interesting, high-impact work. That's exactly what AI can do for you in this role.

We're not talking about robots taking over your job. We're talking about smart tools that act as your personal assistant, helping you analyse data, draft reports, and even curate content in a fraction of the time. This isn't just a 'nice to have'; it's how you'll stay ahead and focus on the strategic stuff that truly matters.

Automated Feedback Analysis

Use AI to instantly sift through hundreds of open-ended comments from surveys and evaluations. It'll spot key themes and sentiment in minutes, saving you hours of manual reading and categorisation. Imagine getting insights from 'smile sheets' without the headache!

Predictive Performance Correlation

Feed your learning data and performance metrics into AI tools. They'll help you find hidden connections, like which specific training module actually leads to a jump in sales quota attainment, giving you data-backed insights faster than you could ever do manually.

Intelligent Content Curation

Leverage AI-powered LXPs to automatically suggest and personalise learning content for employees based on their role, skill gaps, and career goals. This means less time manually searching for resources and more time focusing on bespoke solutions.

Executive Summary & Business Case Drafts

Got a pile of data and a project goal? Use GenAI to quickly draft a concise, well-structured executive summary or the initial bones of a business case for a new L&D investment. It's like having a ghostwriter for your reports, saving you precious writing time.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Global Performance Improvement Specialist?

Common routes in include Learning & Performance Coordinator (1-2 years), HR Generalist / HR Business Partner (Junior) (2-3 years) and Project Coordinator (Non-L&D specific) (2-4 years). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Global Performance Improvement Specialist progress to?

This role can lead on to Senior Global Performance Improvement Consultant (3-5 years in current role), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Global Performance Improvement Specialist?

Increasingly, Data Storytelling for Impact and Basic Prompt Engineering for L&D. 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.

Read the Zavmo manifesto to understand how you will be taught Meet your tutors

Or try another one

17Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 3

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

 More jobs in learning and development

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.
If you leave this industry

The skills involved, including performance consulting, data analysis and change management, apply across sectors. They can lead into broader HR roles, organisational development consulting, or operational excellence roles outside this field. The ability to diagnose problems and drive measurable improvement carries across 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 free Data Fluency module 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.