Specialist, Learning & Development

The Institute for Performance and Learning; Oakville; Hybrid; CAD 67,000 - 92,000; Full time

Job summary

The Institute for Performance and Learning is seeking an experienced Learning & Development professional in Oakville to design, deliver, and continuously improve L&D programs and technologies. You will collaborate with HR, SMEs, and site leaders to build capabilities, support leadership development, and foster a culture of continuous learning.

Owner of learning design, delivery, LMS admin, and analytics, you will apply adult learning principles, AI-enabled insights, and project management to

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of progressive experience in learning and development, instructional design, and/or learning technology administration.
• Experience designing and facilitating learning programs for corporate or frontline audiences.
• Strong communication, presentation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Experience using AI-enabled learning tech to support content development, administration, and analytics.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Designs and manages learning programs end-to-end from needs analysis to evaluation and improvement.
• Leads L&D projects by coordinating with leaders, SMEs, and stakeholders to implement practical solutions and drive adoption.
• Administers LMS and learning technologies, ensures data integrity, and supports reporting and compliance.
• Develops dashboards and analytics to monitor participation, completion, and impact of learning programs.
• Partners with cross-functional teams to align learning with business needs and strategic plans.

Skills

Growth mindset

Curiosity

Adaptability

Influence

Independent work

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Education, Organizational Development, Instructional Design

Tools

LMS platforms

E-learning authoring tools

AI-enabled learning technologies

Job description

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director, Learning & Development, this role is responsible for the design, delivery, administration, coordination, evaluation, and continuous improvement of learning and development (L&D) programs and learning technologies that support Samuel’s growth and success.

Based at Samuel’s headquarters in Oakville, Ontario, the position works closely with business leaders, HR, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), and cross-functional stakeholders across a complex, multi-site organization to develop capabilities, support required learning, advance leadership development, and foster a culture of continuous learning. The role also leads stakeholder engagement for assigned initiatives, helping align learning solutions, implementation plans, and adoption support with business needs.

This is a builder role for someone who is energized by creating new solutions, improving existing programs, and finding better ways to support learning and development. Applying adult learning principles, data-informed decision making, creativity, and a continuous improvement mindset, the incumbent identifies opportunities, solves problems, and implements enhancements to learning experiences, processes, and technologies. The successful candidate is curious, resourceful, and motivated by challenge, with a strong commitment to making things better rather than simply maintaining the status quo.

This role owns assigned responsibilities across program design, learning technology administration, and essential operational support, with guidance and support from the Director, Learning & Development to set priorities, manage capacity, and enable scalable, effective L&D delivery.

Key Responsibilities

1. Learning Program Design & Management

• Applies a performance-consulting mindset and structured needs analysis to clarify business needs, gather relevant input, identify root causes, and recommend practical learning or support solutions.
• Leads assigned L&D projects by engaging leaders, HR Business Partners, SMEs, training owners, and cross-functional stakeholders to identify learning needs, design and deploy practical solutions, support adoption, and continuously improve enterprise-wide learning programs, compliance training, and capability-building initiatives.
• Owns assigned learning programs end-to-end, from needs analysis through design, delivery, evaluation, and continuous improvement.
• Coordinates essential day-to-day L&D operations, including learner support, program logistics, LMS administration, communications, and reporting, to ensure core learning programs and required learning continue to run effectively in a small-team environment.
• Designs, develops, and facilitates self-paced, instructor-led, virtual, and blended learning solutions using adult learning, instructional design, and AI-enabled research practices to inform benchmarking and industry best practices.
• Supports consistent implementation of learning programs across corporate and operational sites.
• Supports program delivery logistics, including scheduling, invitations, materials, reminders, session setup, and follow-up communications for assigned learning programs.
• Supports training owners and decision makers by applying learning technology and adult learning expertise to administer required learning in the LMS, including training requirements, curricula, learning pathways, and training matrices.
• Curates and manages Samuel's on-demand learning library to support business, technical, and leadership capability development aligned with Samuel's Strategic Plan and core values.
• Partners with the Communications team to maintain L&D resources on the intranet and promote learning opportunities across the organization.

2. Learning Technology Administration & Platform Ownership

• Serves as Samuel's primary corporate administrator and platform owner for Samuel's Learning Management System (LMS) and assigned learning technologies, including configuration, learning assignments, security roles, content integration, user support, troubleshooting, vendor coordination, platform optimization, and effective use of AI-enabled features to improve administration and the user experience.
• Establishes and maintains learning technology governance, standards, job aids, operating procedures, and data practices to ensure consistent administration and data integrity across Samuel.
• Partners with HRIS, IT, vendors, and business stakeholders to support system implementations, upgrades, integrations, testing, issue resolution, and enhancement initiatives.
• Collaborates with functional stakeholders, including Health & Safety, Quality, Legal, and HR, to configure learning technologies and administration processes that support regulatory, compliance, and business requirements.
• Enables site training administrators through onboarding, training, coaching, resources, and ongoing support.

3. Learning Analytics, Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Develops, maintains, and distributes learning dashboards, reports, and analytics that provide actionable insights into participation, completion, compliance, adoption, and operational effectiveness.
• Maintains accurate learning records, rosters, attendance, completions, and program documentation to support reporting, compliance, audit readiness, and continuous improvement.
• Monitors learning and system performance data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities, and recommends actions to improve learning outcomes, compliance, and user experience.
• Applies critical thinking when using AI-enabled tools to improve learning processes, reporting, automation, content development, and decision support.

Qualifications

• Growth mindset, with curiosity, adaptability, influence, and the ability to work independently and support change in a fast-changing business environment.
• Minimum 3 years of progressive experience in learning and development, instructional design, and/or learning technology administration, ideally in a complex, multi-site, manufacturing, industrial, or operational environment.
• Strong organizational, project-management, relationship-building, communication, presentation, stakeholder-management, and influence skills, with the confidence to lead stakeholder discussions for assigned work, speak in front of groups of varying sizes, and build trust across teams.
• Demonstrated experience designing and facilitating learning programs for corporate and/or frontline audiences, using adult learning principles, instructional design models, and program evaluation practices.
• Hands-on experience using AI-enabled learning technology solutions, including LMS platforms, e-learning authoring tools, learning data, dashboards, and reporting, to support content development, learning administration, problem solving, and sound decision making.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Education, Organizational Development, Instructional Design, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

The base salary range for this position is $66,800 - $91,850 per year (CAD). The posted range reflects the expected base salary for this position. Actual base salary will be determined based on factors such as geographic location, skills, education, and experience, as well as internal equity considerations. Offers are typically made within the range and not at the top of the range to support growth and progression. This position is eligible to participate in a short-term incentive plan. Incentive awards, if any, are based on business and individual performance and are not guaranteed.