WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Building workforce systems that actually work
How a youth-focused charity created sustainable career pathways without consultant dependency.
The Challenge
A youth-focused charity had scaled rapidly but its people infrastructure hadn’t kept up. Staff lacked clear career pathways. Managers felt unprepared for difficult conversations. Turnover was increasing. The question was: how do we professionalise without losing our soul?
They needed development pathways for different staff groups, a strong appraisal process, young people genuinely embedded (not just consulted), and a clear competency framework. All while building their capability to sustain it themselves with no ongoing consultant dependency.
What I did
I started by looking at what they already had. The problem wasn’t missing materials. They had competency frameworks, appraisal processes, and training options. The problem was none of it connected.
I built
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Mapped to their existing training access.
Making it immediately usable, not aspirational.
Each pathway had quarterly touchpoints and clear progression markets
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for the conversations they were avoiding.
Feedback scripts that felt empathetic, not corporate.
Templates for progression discussion
Approaches for underperformance that were honest and kind.
Ways to include input from young people.
Recognition beyond just money
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that structurally embeds young people’s voices in hiring, assessment, and organisational decisions.
Not performative consultation but actual co-design and power sharing.
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that made progression crystal clear.
No more confusion about what different levels meant.
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with phased rollout, resource needs, quick wins, and how to hand likely challenges
What made it work
I was building capability, not mine.
Everything had to work without me. No complex systems needing ongoing support. No dependency.
I also resisted making it comprehensive. I ruthlessly focused on what would get used with a focus on practical tools over theoretical perfection, manager confidence over pristine policies.
The impact
Staff had clear pathways. Managers have confidence for conversations they were possibly avoiding. Young people are structurally part of how the organisation develops its people. Embedded not just consulted.
The organisation runs this itself now. More sustainable. Still special.
Testimonial
“Isi had an usual ability to combine rigour with humanity. The work never felt like ‘consultancy’ being done to us. It was practical, thoughtful, and designed to genuinely work in our context. What made the biggest difference was the focus on building our confidence and capability, not creating dependency. The organisation now runs these systems itself, and they feel aligned, usable, and true to our values.”