Sophia - Global Learning & Development Manager

Sophia joined Liz Earle back in November 2009 as a Customer Advisor. Fast forward ten years and she’s progressed to Global Learning & Development Manager for WBA Global Brands. Her story is a great example of how her absolute love and passion for the brand, combined with drive, commitment and the support and opportunities created by the business have enabled our team members to create long-term, successful careers with Liz Earle and our Global Brands partners.

“I can still remember when I first discovered Liz Earle, working for a competitor. I was a foaming cleanser girl and fairly set in my ways, but I was watching this Signature Blue ‘self-select’ bay constantly busy with so many people talking about this ‘cleanser with a cloth’.

Eventually Liz Earle became so successful in store that the first counter was launched, so I gave in and put aside what I was currently using and tried the cleanser everyone was talking about. Well… that was over 10 years ago now, and I haven’t used anything else on my skin since – I fell in love with it from the very first use, and my passion for the products began to grow.

"However, throughout it all, what has remained the same is our core focus on the customer."

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After discovering more about the story behind the brand, as well as experiencing its incredible Precious Recipe and core values every time I came into contact with anyone from the company, I decided that it wasn’t enough to just use the products. I needed to become a part of this incredibly exciting brand that kept one thing at the heart of absolutely everything – its customers.

Many years later and I am still here – this is in itself a testimony of how I feel about Liz Earle as an employer. I have progressed through several roles on my journey with Liz Earle over the years, starting as a Customer Advisor, then becoming a Counter Manager of a very small London counter with just a team of two (including me!). I then took over the Oxford Street flagship John Lewis counter – at that time it was only a team of three, but when I left it a few years later it was a team of ten and we had seen two counter moves along with many other amazing experiences.

I remember that for at least the first year and a half of working in London, I was commuting from outside of London every day as a full-time manager before I eventually moved into London. This was a two-and-a-half-hour journey door to door, but it never felt like a chore because of my love for the brand and being part of such an incredible organisation. I then progressed into the Service & Education Team where I worked for 4 years as a Field Trainer for the South, before being promoted into a Global Education Development Manager and having full responsibility for content design and development for Liz Earle Service & Education function for retail. The latest update on my journey is has lead me to take on an even bigger role as a Global Learning & Development Manager for Global Beauty Brands. This sees me having the overall responsibility for the Learning & Development design and deployment of the six Global Beauty Brands, including Liz Earle Retail.

Over my time there have naturally been many positive changes within the organisation, but also some challenging times – as there are with any business that grows with success. However, throughout it all, what has remained the same is our core focus on the customer, working as one team, caring more about each other and what we do every day.

Liz Earle have supported my own growth and development over the years, including investing in my skillset through supporting my 18-month CIPD Learning & Development course. They not only paid for the course, but also allowed me to set time aside within my contracted hours each week to complete it (alongside personal study time). Because of this, I was able to complete my course way ahead of schedule (in 14 months!). This has been absolutely imperative to enhancing my skillset and performance, as well as enabled me to carry on progressing with the business ultimately leading into my current role as the Global Learning & Development Manager for WBA. “