Senior Director, Learning and Development

Who We Are:

For more than a century, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been helping change kids’ perspectives and giving them the opportunity to reach their potential.

Since 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is incredible potential. As the nation’s largest donor- and volunteer-supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 5 through young adulthood in communities across the country. We develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people.

Summary of Opportunity:

As a direct report of the Chief Agency Growth Officer, the Senior Director, Learning and Development leads the development and execution of strategic and tactical learning and performance improvement programs that support the development of leaders, managers, and staff across the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) affiliate network. This includes technical, functional, management and leadership skill development. The Senior Director leads the management and educational aspects of national and regional conferences. They will also hold responsibility for the development and support of certification programs for professionals across the BBBS network.

Travel: Approximately 20-30%

Location: Full-time Remote, U.S.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
• Conducts and/or leads training needs assessment and determines training curriculum and related talent management support in collaboration with Agency Support & Child Safety staff members.
• Manages the assessment, design, development and implementation of solutions, curriculum plans, and talent interventions. Creates multi-year plans to ensure organizational and performance goals are achieved.
• Collaborates with all departments to determine appropriate learning solutions to address emerging learning opportunities; assess knowledge and performance gaps to support organizational and brand objectives.
• Plans National, Regional and certification program offerings. Establishes standards for program delivery and provides guidance to vendors and staff. Develops and delivers programs and workshop sessions at national and regional conferences, for the leadership network and other forums.
• Delivers trainings through a variety of means including, e-learning, podcasts, classroom, conference workshops, webinars, self-study guides, job aids, or a variety of other techniques. Plans, prioritizes, and schedules offerings.
• Establishes systems & processes, standards and measurements that assure quality, accuracy, effectiveness and ROI of training programs, tools, and resources. Reports ROI outcomes to senior management and makes substantive recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Sources and negotiates with vendors nationwide for courses / curriculum for national staff and affiliates at a reduced cost or in accord with other preferred purchasing arrangements.
• Actively manages vendor relations with selected providers to ensure the quality of services to affiliates.
• Actively coordinates with the Marketing department to effectively communicate learning programs and services to BBBS agencies, utilizing the LMS for online learning, BBBS Connect (shared intranet between the national office and the network of 230+ agencies) for toolkits and other appropriate medium.
• Seeks out cost-effective learning approaches and appropriate development delivery vehicles to maximize the return on the organization’s development investment. Tracks course attendance to determine expense justification; implements changes as warranted.
• Actively networks within the learning and development “community” of professionals and benchmarks BBBS training practices against trends, developments, and best practices in the field to recommend new, more effective, and innovative approaches.
• Develops and ensures effective implementation of training objectives in support and achievement of BBBS’s strategic direction and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s (BBBSA’s) operating plan. Ensures effective collaboration with other departments to enhance overall performance.
• Monitor and report on ongoing trends and shifts in leadership development, talent development and youth development practices and make appropriate recommendations.
• Provides program oversight of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Leadership Institute Program, which includes design, content development, participant and program management, and facilitation.
• Oversees the BBBS network-wide learning management system to include contract and vendor management, maintenance, content, and ongoing improvement.
• Other duties as assigned.

People Management
• Demonstrates a commitment to cultural diversity and inclusion that reflects BBBSA’s commitment to JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion)
• Recruits, trains, retains, and cultivates professional development of direct reports

Creates a dynamic, supportive, and effective team that is impactful across the BBBSA network.
• Leads and manages resources (people and capital) that retains and cultivates positive, measurable success

Monitors progress against performance targets; implements countermeasures as needed.

Culture
• Demonstrates a commitment to cultural diversity and inclusion that reflects BBBSA’s commitment to JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion).
• Champions internal and external culture of the organization focusing on being a JEDI-focused youth empowerment and equity organization.
• Provides consistent follow-up regarding assigned projects and after meetings.
• Manages related and other duties as assigned in support of department and business needs.

Education & Related Work Experience

Education Level: Bachelor’s degree required OR experience equivalency

Years of Related Work Experience: Minimum of 5-7 years of progressive organization development and/or leadership development experience required, preferably within the BBBS network or another national affiliate environment, utilizing various learning methodologies or comparable, proven experience.

Skills and Knowledge: Solid understanding of adult learning; Knowledge of synchronous and asynchronous learning best practices in online teaching and online course development; Advanced instructional design experience with eLearning platforms such as Articulate Rise or comparable; Intermediate to advanced graphic design experience using Adobe Creative Suite (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) preferred, but not required; Advanced MS Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, e-learning tools and authoring systems; Able to work effectively within budget constraints

JEDI Commitment 

At Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) is an integral part of our values and mission. We recognize, affirm, and celebrate the diverse backgrounds, lives, and experiences of all of our stakeholders, including youth, families, donors, volunteers, and staff. We ensure the opportunity for all voices and perspectives to be heard and honored. In the workplace, we foster an environment where all people can be their best selves. We affirm that every person [regardless of ability, age, cultural background, ethnicity, faith, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ideology, income, national origin, race or sexual orientation, marital or veteran status] has the opportunity to reach their full potential. We strive to realize the full potential that is within all of us by ensuring that all voices and perspectives are heard and honored. 

Equal Employment Opportunity 

BBBSA provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to race, creed, color, citizenship, religion, national origin, age, sex, familial or marital status, pregnancy, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, or any other legally protected status in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and ordinances. 

Americans with Disabilities Act 

Employee must be able to perform all essential job functions, with or without reasonable accommodation. 

Job Responsibilities 

The above statements reflect the general duties, responsibilities and competencies considered necessary to perform the essential duties and responsibilities of the job and should not be considered as a detailed description of all the work requirements of the position.  BBBSA may change the specific job duties with or without prior notice based on the needs of the organization.  

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is directly recruiting and hiring for this position. We are not engaging any staffing/recruitment firms or agencies for this position. If any candidate profile/resume/identifying information is sent to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and/or Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies, we will not pay any referral or firm fees in relation to this information.