UK

United Kingdom · Learning and development · Entry Level (0-2 years)

Junior Learning & Development 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.

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  • Experience bandEntry Level (0-2 years)
  • Direct reportsNo direct reports
  • Reports toSenior L&D Specialist
  • UK framework levelUsually someone starting out, or keeping a process running

Also advertised as L&D Coordinator · Learning Operations Assistant · Training Administrator

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

Two short quizzes about you

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

SFJ Awards Level 3 Certificate In Learning and Development SFJ Awards · Level 3 · covers 3 of 10 standards
Focus Awards Level 3 Diploma in Playwork (RQF) Focus Awards Limited · Level 3 · covers 2 of 10 standards
IAO Level 3 Diploma For the Children and Young People's Workforce Innovate Awarding · Level 3 · covers 1 of 10 standards
City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in Specialist Support for Teaching and Learning in Schools City & Guilds Limited · Level 3 · 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
Focus Awards Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce (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

Identify individual learning and development needs SFJ Awards Level 3 Certificate In Learning and Development
Provide learning opportunities for colleagues Focus Awards Level 3 Diploma in Playwork (RQF)
Support young people to develop, implement and review a plan of action IAO Level 3 Diploma For the Children and Young People's Workforce
Support learning and development within own area of responsibility TQUK Level 3 Diploma in Specialist Support for Teaching and Learning in Schools (RQF)
Facilitate learning and development activities to meet individual needs and preferences Focus Awards Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce (RQF)

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
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Your Plan Illustration

Built for Junior Learning & Development Specialist

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

  1. Identify individual learning and development needs SFJ Awards · covers 3 of 10 standards Level 3
  2. Provide learning opportunities for colleagues Focus Awards Limited · covers 2 of 10 standards Level 3
  3. Support young people to develop, implement and review a plan of action Innovate Awarding · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 3
  4. Support learning and development within own area of responsibility Training Qualifications UK Ltd · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 3
  5. Facilitate learning and development activities to meet individual needs and preferences 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 Junior Learning & Development Specialist?

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

The new skill this role is being asked for

  • AI-Assisted Content Curation & Discovery
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 Junior Learning & Development 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.

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3What this role really is

This job is about making sure training runs smoothly and people get the right learning at the right time. It involves coordinating courses and workshops, so everyone knows where to go, when to be there, and what they need to learn.

4What you'd actually use

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

Cornerstone OnDemand (LMS) Intermediate

Managing user enrolments, running standard reports on completions, uploading pre-built courses, troubleshooting learner access issues, and updating course metadata.

Degreed / LinkedIn Learning Hub (LXP) Basic

Curating content into existing learning pathways, promoting key resources to specific user groups, and monitoring basic user engagement.

Articulate Rise 360 Intermediate

Using existing templates to make minor edits to e-learning courses, updating text, images, or links, and publishing courses for the LMS.

Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) Intermediate

Creating simple charts for reports, formatting presentations, managing data in spreadsheets, and drafting communications.

Miro / Mural Basic

Participating in team brainstorming sessions, adding sticky notes and comments to existing boards, and helping to organise virtual whiteboards.

Workday HCM (HRIS) Basic

Looking up employee data like job codes, manager hierarchy, and department information to ensure accurate assignments in the LMS.

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
Learner Support / Troubleshooting Follow documented troubleshooting steps. Escalate to Senior Specialist or IT for complex technical issues or non-standard requests. Independently resolve most common learner issues. Propose new troubleshooting guides based on recurring problems. Escalate only novel or system-wide issues. Define and refine learner support processes. Train junior team members on complex troubleshooting. Act as an escalation point for difficult cases before involving IT.
Learning Programme Scheduling Schedule sessions based on pre-approved calendar slots and facilitator availability. Flag any potential conflicts to Senior Specialist. Propose optimal scheduling based on learner availability and business impact. Manage calendar conflicts with minimal oversight. Design the overall learning calendar for a specific portfolio. Negotiate with business leads and facilitators to secure optimal times and resources.
LMS Content Management Upload and organise pre-built content according to established tagging and categorisation rules. Report any system errors. Independently manage content updates and minor configuration changes. Propose improvements to content organisation and user experience within the LMS. Design and implement content architecture within the LMS/LXP. Oversee content migration projects and ensure data integrity across platforms.

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.

Logistical Accuracy
Error rate in scheduling, enrolments, and communications for learning events.
Target · <1% error rate

If you schedule 100 learners for a vILT session, and only one person gets the wrong link or time, that's a 1% error rate. We want it to be practically zero.

Learner Satisfaction (Level 1)
Average score from immediate post-training 'happy sheet' surveys regarding programme logistics and experience.
Target · >85% positive feedback

After a workshop, learners rate the organisation, communication, and tech setup. You'll aim for consistently high scores on these aspects.

LMS Data Integrity
Percentage of course completions and user data accurately recorded in the Learning Management System.
Target · 100% accuracy

Every time someone finishes a compliance course, it needs to show up correctly on their record. No missing data, no incorrect dates.

Content Update Turnaround
Time taken to implement minor updates to existing learning content (e.g., changing a date on a slide, updating a policy link).
Target · Within 2 business days

A Senior Specialist asks you to change the date on a course enrolment email. You'll get it done within 48 hours, usually much faster.

Proactive Problem Solving
Identifying potential logistical issues before they become actual problems for learners or facilitators.
  • You're the one who flags a potential clash in the training calendar, or spots that a new starter hasn't been added to the correct compliance course before their deadline. You'll often come to your Senior Specialist with a problem and a suggested solution.
Stakeholder Support Feedback
Feedback from internal learners, facilitators, and HR Business Partners on the quality and helpfulness of your support.
  • People will tell your manager (or you directly) that you were quick to respond, really helpful with their tech issue, or made their enrolment process super easy. They'll appreciate your calm approach when things get a bit stressful.
Attention to Detail
Consistently producing work that is free from errors, especially in communications and data entry.
  • Your emails go out with correct spelling and grammar. Course links actually work. You spot the tiny typo in a presentation deck that everyone else missed. You'll catch the £50K formula error before it hits the client (okay, maybe not £50K, but you get the idea).

7Would you like it

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

What people enjoy
Making a Tangible Impact

You'll feel good knowing that your organised approach means someone got the training they needed to excel in their role, or that a new starter felt welcomed and supported through their onboarding learning.

You get a thank-you email from a learner who passed their certification, partly because you made sure all the logistics were flawless.

Learning & Growth

This role is a fantastic stepping stone. You'll be exposed to all aspects of L&D, learning the ropes from experienced specialists. If you love picking up new skills and understanding how things work behind the scenes, you'll thrive.

You'll spend time with Senior Specialists, picking up tips on instructional design or how to analyse feedback, which directly helps your career.

Being the 'Go-To' Person

You'll become the person everyone asks about course schedules, LMS access, or where to find a specific resource. If you enjoy being helpful and having answers, you'll love this.

Your colleagues will regularly ping you on Teams for quick answers, and you'll enjoy being able to point them in the right direction.

What frustrates people
  • Dealing with tech glitches in the LMS that are beyond your control but still impact learners.
  • Chasing people for information or approvals to get programmes moving.
  • Managing multiple urgent requests at once, sometimes feeling like you're spinning plates.
  • The occasional learner who's a bit grumpy about mandatory training, even if you've made it as easy as possible for them.
What this role does not give you
  • Immediate ownership of strategic learning initiatives or budget decisions.
  • Extensive instructional design from scratch (you'll mostly be supporting existing content).
  • A quiet, uninterrupted work environment every day (expect frequent pings and requests).

8Who you work with

This role directly impacts the efficiency and effectiveness of our entire learning ecosystem. Your work ensures that our colleagues can easily access and complete their required and developmental training. Get it right, and people feel supported and valued; get it wrong, and you'll have a queue of frustrated people at your digital door.

Inside the business
  • Internal Learners (all levels)
  • Senior L&D Specialists
  • HR Business Partners
  • Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
  • IT Support
Outside the business
  • LMS/LXP Vendor Support
  • External Training Providers

9What you need before you start

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

  • Demonstrable experience (even from internships or volunteer work) in an administrative or coordination role where organisation and attention to detail were key.
  • A genuine interest in how people learn and develop, and a desire to contribute to a positive learning culture.
  • Proficiency with standard office software (e.g., Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and a comfort with learning new systems quickly.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills – you can clearly explain things and write professional emails.
  • A 'can-do' attitude and a willingness to tackle any task, big or small, to support the team.

10What to practise next

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

Advanced LMS Configuration & Reporting

As you gain experience, you'll move beyond just running standard reports. You'll need to understand how to pull more nuanced data, troubleshoot deeper system issues, and even suggest minor configuration changes to improve the learner experience.

Custom Report Building · System Integrations (Basic) · User Experience Optimisation

  • This quarter: Spend time exploring all the reporting options in Cornerstone OnDemand, even the ones you don't use daily.
  • Next quarter: Ask your Senior Specialist to walk you through a basic system integration. What data flows where?
  • Month 4-6: Proactively suggest one small improvement to the LMS navigation or course categorisation based on learner feedback.

Quick win: Take a deep dive into the LMS admin settings (with supervision, of course!) to understand all the options available. You'll be surprised what you find.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Join relevant professional groups on LinkedIn or local L&D meetups to network and learn from others.
  • Read L&D blogs and industry publications to stay up-to-date with trends (e.g., Learning Technologies, Training Journal).
  • Take online courses on platforms like LinkedIn Learning or Coursera in areas like 'Introduction to Instructional Design' or 'LMS Administration Basics'.
  • Seek out opportunities to shadow more experienced L&D professionals to see how they approach their work.

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-Assisted Content Curation & Discovery

AI is already making it easier to find and recommend relevant learning content. As more platforms use AI, your job will shift from manual searching to effectively 'prompting' and validating AI suggestions, ensuring learners get the best, most relevant resources.

  • Effective Prompting
  • Content Validation
  • Personalised Learning Paths

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Basic Instructional Design Principles
  • Training Needs Identification (Support)
  • Learning Evaluation (Level 1)
  • Adult Learning Principles (Andragogy)

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

    Administrative Assistant / Office Coordinator

    1-2 years

    Skills to master

    • Organisational skills, scheduling, communication, basic troubleshooting, data entry accuracy.

    You're ready to move on when

    • You're the most organised person in your team, always on top of tasks.
    • You're the go-to person for 'how to use this system' questions.
    • You've shown initiative in streamlining administrative processes.
  2. 2

    HR Assistant / HR Administrator

    1-2 years

    Skills to master

    • Understanding of HR processes, employee data management, confidentiality, communication with diverse employee groups.

    You're ready to move on when

    • You're comfortable handling sensitive employee information.
    • You've assisted with onboarding or training logistics in a previous role.
    • You have a good grasp of basic HR policies and procedures.
  3. 3

    Customer Service / Helpdesk Representative

    1-3 years

    Skills to master

    • Problem-solving, empathetic communication, managing frustrated customers, documenting solutions, technical troubleshooting.

    You're ready to move on when

    • You excel at patiently guiding people through technical issues.
    • You're great at explaining complex things in simple terms.
    • You're used to working with ticketing systems and resolving queries efficiently.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This role can lead to designing learning programmes as an instructional designer, or managing wider learning projects as a programme manager.

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 Junior Learning & Development Specialist is actually changing.

Where it leads

Roles this leads to

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 Identify individual learning and development needs, worked against Junior Learning & Development Specialist.

Identify individual learning and development needs Level 3

Applied to your work in Junior Learning & Development Specialist

The objective of this unit is to enable learners to understand and apply the principles of learning needs analysis for individuals. Learners will be able to conduct a learning needs analysis, analyse the findings, and agree on individual learning and development needs with relevant parties, ensuring effective communication throughout the process.

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.

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See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Junior Learning & Development Specialist
  • Basic Instructional Design Principles
  • Training Needs Identification (Support)
  • Learning Evaluation (Level 1)
  • Adult Learning Principles (Andragogy)
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

Junior Learning & Development Specialist is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. Learning & Development Specialist (Level 002)

    2-3 years

    One level up (Mid-Level)

    • Updating and building standard e-learning courses using templates (e.g., Articulate Rise)
    • Facilitating established workshops or onboarding sessions
    • Conducting basic training needs analysis to identify skill gaps
    • Designing Level 2 (learning) evaluations and basic Level 3 (behaviour) assessments
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, a lot of the day-to-day in L&D involves tasks that are important but can be a bit repetitive. Imagine if you could get some of that done in minutes instead of hours. That's where AI comes in. We're not talking about replacing your job; we're talking about giving you superpowers to get more done, more accurately, and free you up for the interesting stuff.

Our team is actively exploring and integrating AI tools to make our work smarter, not harder. As a Junior Specialist, you'll be at the forefront, learning how to use these tools to automate the mundane and focus on what truly matters: supporting our learners. You'll be trained on the best ways to use AI to boost your productivity, right from day one.

First-Draft Comms Generator

Use AI to quickly draft emails for programme announcements, reminders, or follow-ups. Just give it the key info, and it'll whip up a professional, engaging message. You'll then refine it, saving you heaps of time on staring at a blank screen.

Feedback Summariser

Got hundreds of open-ended comments from a post-course survey? Feed them into an AI tool, and it'll instantly identify common themes, sentiment, and key suggestions. No more sifting through every single comment by hand—you'll get the gist in minutes.

Video Transcript & Summary

Upload a recorded vILT session or an SME interview, and AI will generate an accurate transcript. It can even create a quick summary, pull out key topics, and help you find specific moments in the video, making it easier to create microlearning clips later.

Smart Scheduling Assistant

While not fully automated, AI can help you find optimal scheduling slots by analysing calendar data and suggesting times with minimal conflicts for a large group. It won't make the final decision, but it'll give you a massive head start.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Junior Learning & Development Specialist?

Common routes in include Administrative Assistant / Office Coordinator (1-2 years), HR Assistant / HR Administrator (1-2 years) and Customer Service / Helpdesk Representative (1-3 years). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Junior Learning & Development Specialist progress to?

This role can lead on to Learning & Development Specialist (2-3 years), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Junior Learning & Development Specialist?

Increasingly, AI-Assisted Content Curation & Discovery. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

Free tools

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

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17Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 2

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 built in this role, including learning technology, programme coordination, and understanding how adults learn, transfer across industries. Similar work exists in finance, healthcare, and other sectors, as well as with learning technology providers.

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 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.