Retention Coach

WHO WE ARE

Apprentify Group is a portfolio of six companies, each with its own culture, personality and people. Across the group we support around 10,000 learners a year and we're scaling fast, including a growing AI Leadership programme for senior professionals driving adoption inside their own organisations.

We're looking for a Retention Coach who can make a real difference at the moments that matter most. You'll work directly with learners who are at risk of withdrawing or falling behind, helping them overcome challenges, rebuild motivation and successfully complete their apprenticeship.

THE QUICK FACTS

Location: Remote
Contract: Full-time, Permanent
Start: Immediate or near-term
DBS Check: Required for all candidates
Programme: Delivery

The real work

Most of your time will be spent supporting learners who are at risk of withdrawing, falling behind or becoming disengaged from their apprenticeship. Your role is to understand what's really preventing progress, rebuild confidence and motivation, and help learners successfully complete their programme.

You'll manage your own caseload of at-risk learners, conducting structured intervention conversations to identify root causes, agree recovery plans and keep learners accountable to clear milestones. Whether the challenge is workload, confidence, wellbeing, employer support or personal circumstances, you'll work with each learner to find practical solutions that keep them moving forward.

This role isn't just about reacting to problems, it's about preventing withdrawals. You'll use coaching techniques, motivational interviewing and persuasive communication to help learners reconnect with their career goals, challenge withdrawal requests where appropriate, and explore every possible option before a learner leaves their programme.

Alongside learner interventions, you'll support learners who require additional help to get back on track, including developing completion plans, encouraging timely progress towards Gateway and End Point Assessment where applicable, and monitoring recovery against agreed objectives.

You'll also support learners who require a Break in Learning, explaining the process, maintaining contact throughout their break and helping them successfully return to learning.

Working closely with Coaches, Performance Managers, Customer Success teams and employers, you'll ensure learners receive the right support at the right time. You'll maintain accurate learner records, monitor engagement and risk indicators, contribute to case reviews and use learner insight to help improve retention strategies across the business. It moves fast, but the pace here is about making meaningful interventions that genuinely improve learner outcomes.

The environment

We work remote-first. You won't be micromanaged, but you'll be trusted to own your learner caseload, prioritise interventions and make informed decisions that improve learner retention.

Apprentify is a scale-up, so processes continue to evolve as we grow. The people who thrive here enjoy solving problems, taking ownership and continuously improving the learner experience.

You'll join our Retention Team, working closely with Coaches, Performance Managers, Customer Success teams and wider Delivery colleagues to ensure learners receive the right support at the right time.

Reports to: Retention Manager

How we work: Clear expectations, genuine ownership and collaboration, with the freedom to deliver meaningful outcomes for learners.

This role can be emotionally demanding. You'll regularly speak to learners who are frustrated, overwhelmed or ready to withdraw, and not every conversation will end with a positive outcome. You'll need the resilience to handle difficult discussions, balance empathy with accountability and remain focused on finding the best possible solution for each learner.

Alongside learner conversations, you'll manage a busy caseload, maintain detailed records, collaborate with multiple stakeholders and ensure every intervention meets funding and compliance requirements. If you're motivated by helping people overcome challenges and genuinely changing learner outcomes, you'll find this role incredibly rewarding.

✔ You enjoy coaching people through difficult situations and helping them overcome barriers.
✔ You're confident handling sensitive conversations and can balance empathy with accountability.
✔ You build trust quickly and know how to motivate people to stay committed to their goals.
✔ You're organised, proactive and comfortable managing multiple learner cases at once.
✔ You're comfortable operating in a startup environment, ambiguity included.

This is NOT for you if:

✘ You need a step-by-step guide for every task.
✘ You prefer slow, predictable work.
✘ You avoid difficult conversations or challenging underperformance.
✘ You struggle to manage competing priorities or detailed administration.
✘ You need a fully structured corporate environment to do your best work.

We're looking for someone who combines excellent coaching skills with genuine empathy, resilience and the confidence to influence positive learner outcomes.

You'll ideally have:

• Experience in apprenticeship coaching, learner support, student services, retention, customer success or another learner-facing environment.

• Experience managing sensitive conversations with individuals who are disengaged, dissatisfied or considering withdrawal.

• Strong coaching, questioning and motivational interviewing skills, with the ability to uncover root causes rather than simply treating symptoms.

• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the confidence to motivate learners to re-engage and remain committed to their programme.

• The ability to build trust and rapport quickly with learners from diverse backgrounds while balancing empathy with accountability.

• Strong organisational and caseload management skills, with the ability to prioritise multiple learner interventions simultaneously.

• Confidence using learner data, engagement metrics and risk indicators to prioritise support and monitor intervention outcomes.

• Resilience and professionalism when handling emotionally challenging conversations and complex learner situations.

• A collaborative approach, working effectively with coaches, employers, Performance Managers and wider delivery teams.

• Strong attention to detail, maintaining accurate learner records while ensuring all activity meets funding, compliance and audit requirements.

Nice to have:

• Experience working within apprenticeships, further education or another regulated learning environment.

• Experience using Aptem, BUD, OneFile or similar learner management systems.

• Knowledge of apprenticeship funding requirements, Break in Learning processes and learner compliance.

• Competitive salary

• 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), increasing with length of service

• Private medical insurance

• Birthday Leave + Volunteer Day

• Hybrid working with regular collaboration days in our Wilmslow HQ

• Ongoing professional development and leadership support

• Enhanced family leave policies

• Access to mental health and wellbeing support

• Benefits portal with access to 700+ deals

• Regular company-wide events and team socials

Recruiter Call
A short introductory conversation to discuss your experience and the role.

Final Interview (1 hour)
A competency-based interview with a short scenario to understand your approach to learner support and retention.

We are dedicated to removing barriers in our recruitment process and will provide reasonable adjustments where needed to ensure all candidates have a fair opportunity to succeed.

If you have any questions about the application process or would like to discuss reasonable adjustments, please get in touch with us, we're here to support you.