Senior Leader, Level 7 Apprenticeship
About this course
Don't miss out: Government funding for Level 7 apprenticeships is changing from January 2026. Apply now for the September 2025 cohort.
The Senior Leader Apprenticeship (SLA) is designed for specialists who want to or have moved into a managerial role and wish to propel their career. The apprenticeship offers the opportunity to consolidate your managerial and leadership experience so far to be able to work more effectively across functions. The apprenticeship is designed around two key themes of Leading with Purpose and Leading Agile Transformation.
The apprenticeship will support you as you expand your network and gain a broad knowledge of business management and cover topics such as data driven decision making and change management. The ability to personalise your learning and apply it directly to your organisation puts you at the heart of our learning model and ensures both you and your organisation benefit directly from your studies.
Upon completion of the SLA, you have the choice to be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma or progress onto the Top Up Executive MBA where you will have the chance to undertake a live global consultancy project abroad and work with a global organisation as well as understand digital transformation and understand governance. By undertaking your MBA with NBS we offer you the opportunity to expand your reach as a leader within your organisation and sector. An Executive Coach will also work with you to explore the 'what next' post MBA.
Whichever route you choose, you will acquire the knowledge you need to work effectively at a senior, strategic management level, empowering organisations to achieve their objectives.
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Upon completion of the Senior Leader Apprenticeship, you have the opportunity to be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma or progress onto our Executive MBA Top Up programme. -
Since the introduction of the End Point Assessment, Nottingham Business School has a 100% success rate. -
100% of our Senior Leader Apprenticeship students are satisfied by the quality of the course (PTES 2024).
What you’ll study
At the start of the course, you will undertake some pre-study activities and a three day induction where you will get to know your tutors and peers.
As part of your onboarding, we will meet with you to identify your learning needs, you will undertake some pre-study activities and induction. Induction is held at our Postgraduate Centre, to allow you, your fellow learners and tutors to get to know each other, gain the skills needed to succeed and start your leadership journey with a deep dive into your individual learning needs.
Successful completion of the SLA End Point Assessment (EPA) provides you with the opportunity to be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma or progress onto the EMBA Top Up programme, you can find out more below.
Since the introduction of the EPA, Nottingham Business School have a 100% success rate.
Leading with Purpose
- Leading People and Organisations
- Customer Centric Marketing
- Leading Responsible and Sustainable Organisations
- Leading Strategy
- Leading Innovation
Leading Agile Transformation
- Finance for Strategic Decision Making
- Operations and Supply Chain Management
- Change Management
- Data Driven Decision Making
- Strategic Business Planning
On-going learning
Professional Leadership Development
This module is taught throughout the course develops professional, strategic transferable skills which students can deploy in the workplace.
The purpose of the module is to increase students understanding of how to manage their own continuous professional development in order to be a more effective leader and to enable sustained career success.
The module content can be grouped into three core themes:
- Developing core personal and professional competencies
- Developing leadership capability
- Reflective practice, development planning and career management.
Following successful completion of the Senior Leader Apprenticeship, you may choose to complete the EMBA Top Up. This eight month route will allow you to gain an EMBA qualification.
Building and Leading a Resilient Organisation
- Governing Organisations
- Digital Transformation
- Global Consultancy Experience
- Business Research Project
Completing your Apprenticeship
To achieve the apprenticeship, all apprentices must complete an End-Point Assessment (EPA). The EPA is an independent assessment that ascertains whether an apprentice is competent in their occupation.
Gateway
Gateway is the period of time between the end of the off-the-job training (practical period) and the beginning of the assessment period when EPA will take place.
At Gateway, the apprentice, employer and training provider will review the apprentice’s knowledge, skills and behaviours to determine whether they are ready to take their EPA. This is normally done at a Gateway review meeting which takes place near the end of the apprenticeship. At this meeting, all three parties will check that the mandatory aspects of the apprenticeship have been completed and that the apprentice is ready to take their final assessment(s).
Apprentices must meet the Gateway requirement set out in the assessment plan before taking their EPA.
End-Point Assessment
This apprenticeship is non-integrated. This means that the end-point assessment is administered and assessed by an external organisation. For this apprenticeship standard there are eight End-Point Assessment Organisations, previous apprentices have completed their EPA with the Chartered Management Institute.
Details of the assessment elements can be found in the assessment plan.
There are two elements to this end-point assessment:
- Strategic business proposal, presentation with questioning
- Professional discussion underpinned by a portfolio of evidence
We regularly review and update our course content based on student and employer feedback, ensuring that all of our courses remain current and relevant. This may result in changes to module content or module availability in future years.
Don’t just take our word for it, hear from our students themselves
How you're taught
How will I learn?
Teaching will take place through a range of delivery methods including on-campus teaching and one-to-one mentoring.
The course is delivered in modular blocks of two to three days each. Each teaching period is typically seven weeks apart.
The programme incorporates a mix of classroom modules, independent supported learning and work-based consultancy projects. It includes an international study visit and action learning group meetings.
The SLA experience is characterised by personalisation, achieved through the delivery of the Professional Leadership Development module which will include opportunities for personal diagnostics, mentoring, executive coaching, careers support and individual personal and professional development based around each senior leader's own situation and needs.
You'll also use our virtual learning environment, NOW, which is a flexible web-based system that gives you 24-hour access to module learning materials and reading lists. It allows you to discuss work with tutors and submit coursework electronically from anywhere in the world.
The course also includes workshops to develop professional, strategic and transferable skills.
The EMBA Top Up also includes a series of workshops to develop professional, strategic and transferable skills.
How will I be assessed?
For both the Senior Leader Apprenticeship and EMBA Top Up, there are no examinations, you will be assessed through a range of assignments, applied projects and presentations.
It is the application of the knowledge you have acquired during the course that will enable you to think strategically and bring about change within your organisation.
End Point Assessment
The End Point Assessment consists of two distinct assessment methods:
Presentation with questioning
Apprentices will present their strategic business proposal and be asked a series of questions to clarify and assess the depth and breadth of their understanding.
Professional discussion
Based on review of a portfolio, the Professional Discussion takes place between the apprentice and their independent assessor. The independent assessor must prepare areas for discussion following the review of the apprentice’s portfolio and based on the range of knowledge skills and behaviours that the programme is required to deliver.
Academic Mentors
Every postgraduate student will be allocated an Academic Mentor at the beginning of the academic year and you will meet with them regularly throughout the year. Academic Mentors help you make the most of your time at NTU. They will support you in developing and enhancing the qualities and transferable skills necessary for your studies, career progression, professional and personal development.
Careers and employability
Who is the SLA aimed at?
- High-performing managers with broad-level aspirations
- Healthcare and public sector managers working in complex political and government organisations
- Entrepreneurs who want to understand the ways to grow a business
- Successful leaders who need formal and qualifications to underpin their vast experience
Since the introduction of the EPA, Nottingham Business School have 100% success rate.
Campus and facilities
We are continually investing in our facilities, and transforming our learning and teaching environment to create an inspiring and innovative atmosphere.
Postgraduate Centre
The School is based in the impressive new Postgraduate Centre which facilitates on-campus teaching for Nottingham Business School’s postgraduate and executive education courses on NTU's City Campus.
Dryden Centre
Benefit from the newly built NTU Dryden Enterprise Centre that provides dedicated support for entrepreneurs, start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Fantastic facilities
- You can take advantage of the Link Lounge, a space dedicated to Business School students, located on floor zero of the Newton building.
- Explore your career prospects with the help of the University's Employability Team.
- You will benefit from spacious teaching rooms and lecture theatres.
- We provide students with a variety of social spaces.
- Your studies will benefit from the £13 million Boots Library.
- You can take advantage of our 24-hour IT facilities.
- Our Student Services Centre will also be on-hand should you need support.
The location of the City site also means that you have easy access to:
- sports facilities
- shops
- student accommodation
- music venues
- cafés.
Entry requirements
You will need the following:
- A good first degree (typically 2:2 or above) or equivalent professional qualifications and 3-5 years professional experience
- If you do not have an undergraduate degree we can accept 8+ years of professional experience
- GCSE 4 (C) in English and Maths (applies to Senior Leader Apprenticeship)
- Applicants must be in a role which allows the collection of appropriate evidence to indicate application of learning appropriate to the senior leader standard. The will be assessed at interview stage
As part of the application process, you will be supported in identifying your individual training needs to help us provide a personalised learning experience. You will have an Academic Mentor who will be with you throughout the duration of the course to help you achieve your training and learning objectives.
Please note, Top up to EMBA requires successful completion of SLA End Point Assessment.
Getting in touch
If you need more help or information, get in touch through our enquiry form
We will review your identify documents / immigration status to verify residency eligibility in line with the apprenticeship funding rules, at application stage.
Fees and funding
To undertake an apprenticeship you must be employed - as such, your employer will pay your tuition fees.
If you or your employer have any questions regarding the fees and funding available for this apprenticeship, please see our Apprenticeships pages, contact our Apprenticeships team at apprenticeships@ntu.ac.uk, or call +44 (0)115 848 2589.
Following the SLA, you can choose to join the Executive MBA top up. Fees for 2025-26 are £10,500 with a 50% discount for public sector organisations. Note that fees may be subject to increases in future years.
Unfortunately English apprenticeships are not available for EU or international students.
How to apply
Ready to join us? Apply through our NTU Applicant Portal.
Make sure you check the entry requirements above carefully before you do.
