Designing and delivering a career development programme for LGBTQ+ staff
The context
The University of Manchester wanted to better support the career development of its LGBTQ+ staff.
While many organisations offer leadership and development programmes, these are rarely designed with the specific experiences of LGBTQ+ colleagues in mind. As a result, the barriers people face, around visibility, confidence, progression and belonging, often go unaddressed.
The University recognised the need for something more targeted. A programme that would create space for honest conversations, support personal and professional growth, and enable LGBTQ+ colleagues to progress with greater confidence.
We were commissioned to design and deliver that programme.
Our approach and what we delivered
We designed and delivered a four-part career development programme specifically for LGBTQ+ staff, combining leadership development with a deeper exploration of identity, confidence and voice.
All sessions were delivered by LGBTQ+ trainers, creating a space where participants could be open, candid and supported by others with shared experiences.
The programme brought together four core areas:
overcoming barriers to career development
re-powering personal and professional narrative
becoming a key LGBTQ+ person of influence
elevating your queer voice
We structured the programme across two half days and two full days, allowing time for both deep reflection and practical application. Each session built on the last, helping participants to move from understanding their barriers, through reframing their narrative, to developing influence and using their voice more confidently at work.
Alongside the formal sessions, we supported participants to build connections across the cohort, encouraging ongoing peer support and a sense of community that extended beyond the programme itself.
The result was a programme that combined practical tools with meaningful reflection, enabling participants to make changes that were both immediate and lasting.
What made it work
A key strength of the programme was the space it created.
Participants consistently highlighted the value of being in a room with other LGBTQ+ colleagues, where they did not need to explain or justify their experiences. This enabled a level of openness and honesty that is rarely possible in more general leadership training.
The combination of practical tools and deeper reflection was also critical. The programme did not just focus on skills, but on the underlying beliefs and experiences that shape how people show up at work.
This allowed participants to make meaningful, lasting changes, rather than short-term adjustments.
The impact
The programme was extremely well received, with a Net Promoter Score of 100, meaning every participant would recommend it. See participant feedback below.
Feedback highlighted both professional and personal impact, including:
increased confidence to speak up and pursue opportunities
a stronger sense of identity and self-belief
greater understanding of the barriers affecting career progression
the development of a supportive peer network across the organisation
For many participants, the impact went beyond career development alone, with reflections on broader confidence, wellbeing and sense of belonging.
The programme also created a lasting sense of connection, with participants continuing to support each other beyond the sessions.
Feedback from participants:
The course was challenging and brilliant. The modules seemed to have been picked very carefully, each session we built on the last and there were takeaways to reflect on at home. The variety of speakers/ leaders of each module were inspiring and engaging and facilitated the group being open and honest with one another which was a huge benefit to how enjoyable the course was.
The impact that this programme has had on my life is indescribable. It has shown me who I am, and empowered that person to a level of content and happiness that I've never known. I feel able to be my optimal self now thanks to all I've learned.
This was great, as someone from a marginalised background, being able to take these courses and feel more empowered to push myself and not worry about hiding my queerness.
Such a great experience, I've taken so much away from it and I think this would be really beneficial for a whole host of others to get involved with as well.
I'm deeply grateful to the OTL team for putting together an outstanding course. Each event challenged me to rethink my attitudes towards my career and to question where I've been selling myself short. I now have a leadership toolkit, an amazing network of colleagues, and the courage to pursue opportunities rather than wait for them to come my way.
Fantastic course, I learned a lot about myself and feel much more confident to speak up and make my voice heard!
I never expected to delve so deeply into my emotions, but this course showed me a side of myself I never knew existed. It's truly an eye-opening experience that everyone should have. Having a safe space to share my thoughts and feelings has been incredibly empowering. I've made real, lasting improvements within myself, and I couldn't be more grateful for this transformative journey. I can't recommend this course enough. It's been a life-changing experience.
I can confidently say that this course stands out as one of the most impactful experiences I've had. The focus on the unique challenges and experiences of the LGBT+ community made it particularly relevant and meaningful. I initially signed up for the course expecting to gain professional skills, but I ended up gaining so much more. The sense of community and personal growth I experienced exceeded my expectations and left a lasting impact on me.
I would highly recommend this course to anyone in the LGBT+ community looking for a transformative and affirming learning experience. It's a rare opportunity to grow both personally and professionally in a space that celebrates diversity and authenticity.
On The Level's LGBTQ+ Leadership Programme is a brilliantly motivational course that has enabled me to see the barriers that I have faced as an LGBTQ+ person and to find ways to break through them, encouraging me to have more confidence in myself as a leader and person of influence.
Genuinely this has been the most impactful and validating training I've done. I wasn't expecting it to get so deep but it was incredibly validating. I'd never considered how much of an impact my queerness had on my work-life until this: there was more than one moment where it was like someone holding a mirror up to how I behave or thought about myself and things clicked into place as to why. It's allowed me to recognise things in myself which have held me back, and process them. A couple of times something was mentioned on slides about how LGBTQ+ try to make themselves small, invisible almost to protect themselves - it was like a penny drop moment. I honestly feel like it's helped me to process some of my insecurities and recognise them and I feel so much more confident to progress now.
Why it matters
Standard leadership programmes often assume a level playing field. For many LGBTQ+ professionals, that is not the reality.
This programme created a space to explore those differences openly, while equipping participants with the tools and confidence to navigate them.
For the University, it demonstrated a meaningful commitment to supporting its people, not just through policy, but through targeted, high-impact development.
Interested in doing something similar?
If you are looking to better support the progression of underrepresented groups in your organisation, this is exactly the kind of work we do.
We design and deliver programmes that combine leadership development with real-world insight into people’s experiences, creating learning that is both practical and genuinely transformative.
If you would like to explore what that could look like in your organisation, we would be very happy to have a conversation.