My friend Alan Cave, who has died aged 65 of cancer, devoted his life to helping people to find work and realise their ambitions. In a career that spanned the trade union movement, the senior civil service and most recently the chairmanship of a leading employment services provider, Alan applied his exceptional leadership skills to everything he did.

Born in Ruislip, north-west London, Alan was the son of Bernard Cave, a teacher, and his wife, Joan. He progressed from a local school to gaining a degree in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University and a master’s from the London School of Economics.

He joined the TUC economics department and went on to work in, and then run, the research department of the General and Municipal Workers’ Union (now part of the GMB), helping people get a better deal at work.

In the middle section of his career, Alan moved into consultancy, working from 1988 for Coopers & Lybrand and then for Kinsley Lord, where he specialised in employee relations and in 1993 wrote a book, Managing Change in the Workplace. He later helped found the consultancy TPMG.

In 2004 Alan joined the thinktank The Work Foundation, then run by the journalist and writer Will Hutton, and in 2007 was appointed as a director in the Department for Work and Pensions responsible for commissioning employment programmes worth more than £1bn a year.

He played a key role in launching the coalition government’s Work Programme for the longer term unemployed in 2011. Alan’s impact was immense. He established good relationships with the providers, raised standards and was a hugely popular leader.

Alan left the civil service in 2012 and, after roles with the services providers Serco and Capita, was appointed chief executive of APM, the UK subsidiary of the Australian-owned human services business. After APM acquired Ingeus, Alan became the chair of Ingeus UK last year. His contribution to the sector was recognised by a lifetime achievement award from the Employment Related Services Association.

Alan was a good cricketer – he was selected for the Middlesex county cricket club youth team when he was at school, and continued to play up until his daughter was born, when he opted to spend more time with his family. He returned to cricket in his late 50s, playing for a local team.

His other interests included rugby, politics, history and the arts. He also had a love of hill and mountain walking and travel.

Alan is survived by his wife, Christine (nee Hayes), whom he married in 1986, and daughter, Jessica.