Debbie Hopkins

I come with over a decade of experience delivering Learning & Development initiatives as well as leading a global learning & development team and am particularly skilled in the delivery of training; both in person and virtually. Much of my experience over the last 10 years has been focused around creating, leading and facilitating several development programmes including sales based topics and technical/work-based skills to management and executive leadership training programmes across a large, global organisation. One of my standout projects in the last year was the creation of an 18-month Executive Leadership Programme, crafted to elevate senior leadership capability. This initiative not only strengthened succession planning but also embedded a culture of continuous improvement, high performance, a focus on retention, conflict resolution and cultural awareness. Coaching played a huge part in this programme from the delivery of coaching topics to the attendees, to facilitating 360 degree feedback sessions and coaching conversations to support their ongoing development. A competent facilitator, I am experienced in delivering exceptional training in both face to face and virtual environments whether that be sales topics, wellbeing and mental health initiatives or leadership programmes. I’m especially proud of launching cultural awareness training in my last role which was delivered to colleagues in India and the UK both virtually and in person and was focused on DEI and improving communication through better cultural awareness. The results of the programme significantly improved leadership abilities and performance levels in teams working cross-culturally. These sessions deepened empathy, increased operational alignment and ultimately enhanced business outcomes. Through every engagement, I focus on measurable impact; often leveraging learning analytics and feedback tools to continuously refine delivery. As well as specialising in leadership coaching and training delivery, I am an experienced leader, having managed a global L&D team spanning the UK & India and supporting them with their continuous personal development. This is in addition to managing a range of situations such as conflict, matrix management, promotion or development plans and supporting individuals through periods of change or redundancy. In my last role, I was part of a complex, global organisation specialising in HR services across numerous industries. Prior to my move into L&D, I worked as part of a specialist education recruitment team for 9 years where I gained extensive knowledge in the education sector. Moving into the central L&D function meant I was interacting with colleagues in industries such as healthcare, construction & property, finance and further education, to name a few, thus enhancing my knowledge across multiple sectors. In addition to training delivery, I am also adept at delivering webinars or seminars on topics to support self-improvement or awareness (for example improving habit-making or embracing mindfulness and emotional intelligence) to delivering wellbeing or mental health sessions which included sessions to support managers to spot and manage mental health in the workplace.