Learning, Development and Innovation Lead

Lead, Learning Development & Innovation

Position Summary Learning, Development & Innovation (LDI) serves as the primary execution and thought partner to the LDI Manager. The role provides leadership across the LDI portfolio by supporting the translation of department strategy and priorities into actionable plans, scalable solutions, and high-quality deliverables. The Lead owns the day-to-day advancement of assigned programs and initiatives and may represent LDI in working-level and cross-functional settings.

The ideal candidate is resourceful, adaptable, and comfortable operating with incomplete information. This individual independently determines appropriate next steps, exercises sound judgment, and moves work forward without requiring step-by-step direction. The Lead is expected to bring informed perspectives, constructively challenge assumptions, recommend stronger approaches, and help shape solutions while remaining aligned with the LDI Manager on department direction and major decisions.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP Leading individual contributor directly below the LDI Manager and has meaningful ownership of assigned programs, projects, and implementation decisions. The Lead provides functional leadership, operational expertise, recommendations, and strategic input, and may act on behalf of LDI within agreed boundaries. Responsibility for departmental vision, enterprise strategy, portfolio priorities, budget planning, resource allocation, people management, and final decisions remains with the LDI Manager.

Key Responsibilities

• Learning & Development Execution
• Lead the design, development, implementation, and continuous improvement of training programs, workshops, learning pathways, and development initiatives.
• Translate organizational needs and LDI priorities into practical learning solutions, performance-support resources, and employee development experiences.
• Research unfamiliar or emerging subject areas and develop credible learning solutions when existing materials or internal expertise are limited.
• Partner with leaders and subject matter experts to capture, validate, and convert knowledge into clear, engaging, and scalable learning content.
• Support initiatives including onboarding, leadership development, career development, technical learning, professional development, and knowledge sharing.
• Innovation & Solution Development
• Research emerging technologies, AI applications, learning methods, and industry practices; develop informed recommendations; and lead approved pilots or implementation efforts.
• Identify opportunities to improve learning delivery, employee experiences, knowledge sharing, and operational effectiveness.
• Build and pilot tools, frameworks, and solutions where established content, expertise, or precedent may not exist.
• Contribute ideas, question assumptions constructively, and recommend alternative approaches that strengthen outcomes.
• Lead the execution of innovation initiatives within assigned areas, making day-to-day implementation decisions and supporting adoption, measurement, and continuous improvement.
• Program & Project Leadership
• Independently lead assigned programs and high-impact initiatives from concept through implementation, evaluation, and refinement, with accountability for quality, momentum, and outcomes.
• Translate broad objectives and partially defined ideas into clear project plans, milestones, deliverables, stakeholder actions, and success measures.
• Anticipate needs, identify roadblocks, and propose solutions that maintain project momentum.
• Coordinate stakeholders, manage competing priorities, and communicate progress, decisions, risks, and recommendations clearly.
• Exercise delegated decision-making authority within assigned initiatives and determine when to proceed independently, seek alignment, or elevate a strategic decision, material risk, or resource tradeoff to the LDI Manager.
• Content, Technology & Knowledge Management
• Create high-quality eLearning courses, facilitator guides, participant materials, job aids, toolkits, communications, templates, and implementation resources.
• Use learning technologies, digital tools, and AI-enabled approaches to improve efficiency, engagement, accessibility, and scalability.
• Maintain standards for content quality, instructional effectiveness, consistency, and learner experience.
• Develop repeatable processes that capture organizational knowledge and make it easier to find and apply.
• Partnership & Influence
• Build trusted relationships with leaders, employees, subject matter experts, external partners, and cross-functional teams.
• Facilitate working sessions, learning experiences, and stakeholder discussions that move initiatives toward decisions and action.
• Provide functional leadership across assigned initiatives, influence decisions without relying on formal authority, and create accountability among project contributors.
• Serve as a trusted extension of the LDI Manager, provide continuity across the LDI portfolio, and maintain alignment with department strategy, standards, and priorities.

Experience & Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in learning and development, instructional design, organizational development, education, human resources, business, communications, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 3 or more years of progressively responsible experience in learning and development, instructional design, organizational development, talent development, program management, innovation, or a closely related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience independently leading complex, cross-functional projects or programs from early concept through development, implementation, evaluation, and improvement, including ownership of recommendations and day-to-day decisions.
• Experience providing functional leadership to project teams, coordinating contributors, and advancing work through influence rather than direct people-management authority.
• Experience designing professional learning solutions across instructor-led, virtual, digital, asynchronous, and performance-support formats.
• Demonstrated ability to take partially defined concepts, navigate ambiguity, and transform ideas into scalable programs, learning solutions, processes, and resources.
• Experience gathering input from leaders and subject matter experts, synthesizing incomplete or competing information, and translating it into recommendations and executable plans.
• Strong project-management skills, including scope definition, work planning, timeline and dependency management, stakeholder coordination, and follow-through.
• Excellent research, critical-thinking, problem-solving, writing, communication, facilitation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Demonstrated judgment in deciding when to act independently, seek alignment, validate content, or elevate a risk.
• Ability to operate as a credible thought partner by providing candid, constructive input, recommending alternatives, and supporting final decisions while maintaining alignment with department priorities.
• Working proficiency with learning management systems, collaboration platforms, content-development tools, and AI-enabled productivity solutions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting enterprise-wide initiatives across multiple departments, disciplines, offices, or employee populations.
• Experience with eLearning authoring, multimedia development, learning analytics, program evaluation, and continuous-improvement methods.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and supporting organizational change, communications, adoption, or implementation planning.
• Experience researching or piloting responsible uses of emerging technologies and AI in learning or organizational workflows.
• Experience facilitating leadership development, professional development, onboarding, or train-the-trainer programs.
• Relevant certification in learning and development, instructional design, project management, change management, HR, or a related area.

Core Competencies

• Strategic Execution: Turns direction into organized action and completed outcomes.
• Resourcefulness: Closes information gaps and creates practical solutions without waiting for every detail.
• Innovation Mindset: Explores new approaches and converts useful ideas into realistic applications.
• Ownership & Accountability: Takes initiative and remains responsible for quality, momentum, and results.
• Judgment: Balances independent action with appropriate alignment, validation, and escalation.
• Constructive Partnership: Offers thoughtful input, challenges assumptions professionally, and supports final decisions.
• Learning Agility: Quickly understands unfamiliar topics and translates them into audience-centered solutions.
• Collaboration & Influence: Builds trust and gains commitment across teams without formal authority.

What Success Looks Like

• Partially defined ideas become clear plans, polished deliverables, and implemented solutions.
• Assigned programs and initiatives move forward with limited oversight because decisions are made at the appropriate level and risks, dependencies, and next steps are identified early.
• Recommendations meaningfully improve the direction, design, or implementation of LDI solutions while remaining aligned with the department's strategy.
• Programs and resources are engaging, scalable, and responsive to business needs.
• The LDI Manager gains capacity to focus on department strategy, organizational partnerships, resource decisions, and long-term priorities.

$75,000 - $85,000 a year

Ready to join us?

If you're passionate about building structured, scalable development programs and creating meaningful learning experiences that drive both personal growth and business impact, we'd love to hear from you.