AI-Enabled Learning Content Design Lead

freshfields; Manchester; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Freshfields is seeking an AI-enabled Learning Content Design Lead to shape the firm’s approach to AI-driven learning experiences. You will blend instructional design expertise with generative AI, modern learning platforms, and practical delivery to create high-impact content.

You will operate across micro to macro levels, setting direction, ensuring quality, and translating business priorities into scalable, learner-centred solutions. Strong facilitation and stakeholder consultancy are essential.

Qualifications

• Significant instructional and digital learning design experience for diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of engaging, outcomes-focused digital learning experiences across stakeholders.

Skills

Instructional design

Digital learning design

AI-enabled learning

Stakeholder management

Job description

Overview

At Freshfields, learning enables our people to perform at the highest level in an increasingly complex and fast-moving environment. As the firm evolves how it builds critical skills at pace and scale, we are investing in modern, high-quality, AI-enabled learning experiences that go beyond traditional e-learning.

Demand for innovative, digitally enabled learning content is growing significantly across the firm. This role will help shape how that demand is prioritised, governed, and delivered. It will ensure learning solutions are produced quickly, consistently, and to a high standard while remaining engaging, relevant, and impactful.

This is an opportunity to join a forward-thinking global Learning & Development team at a pivotal moment, helping to define the firm's approach to AI-augmented content creation and learner-centred design to deliver learning that genuinely changes behaviour.

Role Summary

The AI-Enabled Learning Content Design Lead will help shape and deliver the firm's approach to AI-enabled learning design, ensuring the Global L&D function can create high-impact learning experiences with pace, scale, and quality. The role combines deep instructional design expertise with generative AI, modern digital learning platforms, and a practical, delivery-focused mindset.

It requires someone who can operate confidently at both the micro level of AI tools, functionality, and content build, and the macro level of strategy, vision, learner experience, and measurable impact.

This role is ideal for someone who:

• Can set direction for AI-enabled learning design while staying close enough to the work to ensure quality, practical delivery, and alignment to relevant competencies.
• Uses AI strategically and responsibly as a core part of the learning design and production workflow.
• Can influence senior stakeholders, challenge briefs constructively, act as a consultant to diagnose the underlying issue, and translate business priorities into appropriate, scalable learning solutions.
• Brings excellent facilitation, translation, and connector skills, helping stakeholders understand what AI-enabled learning can look like now and how it is likely to evolve.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design of engaging, outcomes-focused digital learning experiences for a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders, supporting understanding, retention, and sustained behaviour change across diverse audiences and topics.
• Translate complex, technical, or high-stakes subject matter into clear, compelling learner journeys, linking content to relevant competencies without losing accuracy or nuance.
• Define and embed responsible, effective use of generative AI tools to accelerate content creation, including text, imagery, video, voiceover, and interactive assets.
• Establish quality standards, design principles, and governance for AI-generated learning content, ensuring consistency, brand alignment, and appropriate risk management.
• Oversee the build of high-quality digital learning using industry-standard authoring tools, moving beyond standard templates where this improves learner experience and impact.
• Support the design, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the firm's mandatory digital learning programmes, ensuring they remain engaging, accessible, compliant, and aligned to business and regulatory requirements.
• Lead the development of interactive formats such as scenarios, simulations, and branching journeys to deepen engagement and application.
• Partner with senior stakeholders, sponsors, and subject matter experts as a trusted consultant, helping them identify the real issue, shape the brief, and select the most appropriate learning solution.
• Use learner data, completion metrics, and engagement insights to evaluate effectiveness, demonstrate impact, and continuously improve learning content.
• Track emerging tools and trends in AI-enabled learning technology, advise on what AI-enabled learning looks like now and how it is likely to evolve, and bring fresh ideas into the firm's learning design roadmap.
• Lead the vision for AI-enabled learning content, challenging and transforming current thinking around learner experience, impact measures, and scalable design.
• Coach and upskill colleagues in AI-supported learning design approaches, building wider capability across the Global L&D team.
• Manage external suppliers, freelancers or specialist partners where required to deliver complex or high-profile learning projects.
• Deliver work in a flexible, responsive way, adapting approach and pace to the needs of different stakeholders, priorities, and delivery contexts.

Key requirements (Communication/skills/experience)

Essential

Significant instructional and digital learning design experience, with confidence designing content for a variety of internal and external stakeholders and a proven ab