Director, Learning & Development

SmartRecruiters, Inc.; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 125,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Indigo is seeking a Director, Learning & Development to define and implement Indigo’s learning philosophy, strategy, and execution roadmap—creating a culture of continuous learning that equips employees with the knowledge, skills, and capabilities required to drive business performance and career growth.

This role owns the enterprise learning ecosystem and is accountable for the design, delivery, governance, and continuous improvement of the learning and development programs across Home

Qualifications

• 10-15 years of progressive experience in Learning & Development, leadership development, organizational development, or capability building at a Tier 1 organization.
• University degree in HR, Education, OD, or Adult Learning.
• Deep understanding of enterprise-wide adult learning and capability-building strategies.
• Experience building customized learning curricula for frontline, corporate, and leadership audiences.
• Data-driven mindset with ability to turn insights into action and drive measurable outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Shaping Indigo’s people and capability strategy, ensuring learning investments support business performance and customer outcomes.
• Lead and launch Indigo U ensuring scalable, engaging, data-informed learning platforms and experiences.
• Partner with senior leaders to identify capability gaps and translate them into prioritized learning strategies.
• Develop and deliver a multi-year learning roadmap with priorities for leadership, onboarding, compliance, digital learning, and career growth.
• Build and lead a high-performing L&D team with clear standards for delivery and impact.
• Establish success measures and use analytics to assess effectiveness and business impact.
• Stay aware of trends in learning and technology-enabled development to keep Indigo innovative.

Skills

Learning & Development

Leadership development

Organizational development

Capability building

Education

University degree in Human Resources, Education, Organizational Development, Adult Learning, or related field

Tools

LMS/LXP platforms

Job description

• Compensation: CAD 125,000 - CAD 170,000 - yearly

Company Description

Indigo is a physical and digital place inspired by and filled with books, ideas, beautifullydesigned lifestyle products, and the creative people who help make it all happen. We believein real books, living life fully and generously, being kind to each other and to the environment,and that stories — big and little — connect us. Indigo is our customer's happy place — for joyfulmoments of discovery and to connect with people who share their passion for reading, theirbelief in ideas, and their commitment to making the world a better and more beautiful place.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Our Mission is to inspire reading and enrich the lives of booklovers. As such, we believe inthe power of people and their stories. We aim to attract top talent, nurture the potential ofour employees, and create space for everyone to thrive. OurGuidingPrinciples are thefew key ideas that are meant to influence everything we do, every day.

• We Will Hire, Inspire, Promote and Retain the Best – A’s Hire A’s
• We Will be Customer Centric
• We Will Be Data Driven – System Thinking – Entrepreneurial
• We are Committed to True and Shared Value Creation
• We Will be Human-Centered and AI Enabled
• We are Committed to Caring About Each Other, Our Communities, Our Environment

Job Description

The Director, Learning & Development is responsible for defining and implementing Indigo’s learning philosophy, strategy, and execution roadmap—creating a culture of continuous learning that equips employees with the knowledge, skills, and capabilities required to drive business performance and career growth.

This role owns the enterprise learning ecosystem and is accountable for the design, delivery, governance, and continuous improvement of the learning and development programs across Home Office, Retail, and Distribution Centre teams.

The Director will be a key driver of Indigo’s evolution to an organization where employees have access to meaningful development opportunities, leaders are equipped to grow talent, and learning is embedded into everyday work.

KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS

• On-time, on-budget delivery of Indigo U
• Learning participation and completion rates
• Quality, adoption, and usage of Indigo U and learning platforms
• “Clients” satisfaction score of Talent Team

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Participates as a senior HR leader in shaping Indigo’s people and capability strategy, ensuring learning investments directly support business performance, growth, and customer outcomes.
• Leads and launches Indigo U ensuring learning platforms, content, and experiences are scalable, engaging, data-informed, and aligned to business priorities.
• Partners with senior leaders to identify capability gaps, translating them into prioritized learning strategies and programs.
• Develops and delivers a multi-year learning roadmap with clear annual priorities covering leadership development, functional development, onboarding, compliance, digital learning, and career growth.
• Builds and leads a high-performing Learning & Development team, setting clear standards for delivery, accountability, and impact.
• Establishes clear success measures and uses learning analytics to assess effectiveness, learner engagement, knowledge transfer, and business impact.
• Maintains strong external awareness of emerging trends in learning, leadership development, technology-enabled learning, and capability building, ensuring Indigo remains innovative and competitive.
• Partners with HR and business leaders to identify future-critical skills and capabilities.
• Contributes to annual planning, budgeting, and prioritization across the learning portfolio.
• Leads the design of customized learning experiences and curricula grounded in adult learning principles, with clear goals, practice, reinforcement, and on-the-job application.
• Leads change and adoption efforts related to learning initiatives and capability programs.
• Creates scalable development pathways for frontline employees, leaders, and corporate teams.

Reports to: Chief People Officer

Manager once Removed (MOR): CEO

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Internal:

• HR Business Partners
• Cross Functional Leaders
• IT teams supporting learning systems and analytics

External:

• Leading industry experts and colleagues

Qualifications

• 10-15 years of progressive experience in Learning & Development, leadership development, organizational development, or capability building at a Tier 1 organization
• University degree in Human Resources, Education, Organizational Development, Adult Learning, or related field
• Deep understanding of enterprise-wide adult learning, instructional design, leadership development, and capability-building strategies
• Experience building customized learning curricula for frontline, corporate, and leadership audiences
• Strong experience with learning technologies, LMS/LXP platforms, digital learning, and measurement of learning effectiveness
• Data-driven mindset with ability to turn insights into action and drive measurable outcomes
• Demonstrates creative thinking and resilience
• Full alignment with Indigo values as reflected in the Guiding Principles statements

Additional Information

Indigo uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist with certain aspects of the hiring process, such as screening and assessments. These tools support our team but do not replace human judgment. We are committed to using AI responsibly, fairly, and in compliance with applicable employment and anti-discrimination laws. We regularly review these tools to help prevent bias or discrimination.

At Indigo, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility are core to our values. We integrate these principles into our training, policies, and hiring practices and continuously evolve to reflect the needs of the communities we serve. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and lived experiences, including but not limited to individuals who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour), members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and persons with disabilities. If you require an accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact Human Resources [e-mail].

We respect your privacy throughout the recruitment process. Our Candidate Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you apply for a role with Indigo, and the choices available to you.

This posting is for a current opportunity within Indigo.

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