Area L&D Manager: Elevate Safety & Productivity

WestRock Company; Spanish Fork (UT); On-site; USD 100,000 - 126,000; Full time

Job summary

WestRock Company seeks an Area Learning & Development (ALD) Manager to lead plant-level learning programs across an assigned area, covering Operations and Commercial teams with a focus on safety, quality, productivity and reliability through structured training.

The role serves as a connector between regional learning strategy and day-to-day plant execution, coaching Technical Trainers and ensuring onboarding, OJT, certification, and planning meet business outcomes.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience managing or executing training systems in a manufacturing or operational environment.
• Experience using Learning Management Systems; Cornerstone experience preferred.
• Proficiency with dashboards and tools to monitor training effectiveness and skill gaps.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.

Responsibilities

• Own execution quality of onboarding, on-the-job training (OJT), job certification, and training planning across assigned plants.
• Conduct regular learning health checks to validate execution quality, identify gaps, and drive corrective action.
• Partner with plant and area leadership to align learning efforts to safety, quality, productivity, and reliability priorities.
• Apply a risk-based approach to plant support and presence based on quarterly plant risk assessments.
• Coach site-level leaders on expectations and execution of hourly employee development programs.
• Provide oversight and coaching to Technical Trainers through a dotted-line relationship, ensuring trainer effort is focused on business impact.
• Utilize approved learning systems to assign, track, and report on training.
• Ensure training documentation is stored, maintained, and used as part of the learning process.
• Maintain an effective operating rhythm with key stakeholders including Plant Managers, RLD, HR, Safety, Quality, Reliability, CI partners, and other key stakeholders as appropriate.
• Escalate issues appropriately when barriers cannot be resolved through influence, data, and evidence.
• Capture and communicate learning impact, wins, and best practices across the area.
• Drive measurable improvements in safety, quality, productivity, and reliability through effective hourly workforce development.
• Improve consistency and effectiveness of onboarding, OJT, certification, and training planning across plants.
• Reduce skill gaps and operational risk by strengthening skill visibility and training execution.
• Increase effectiveness and consistency of Technical Trainers across the area.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Influence without authority

Communication

Facilitation

Presentation

Time management

Hourly workforce engagement

Tools

Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Cornerstone

Dashboards/analytics

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams)

Job description

WestRock Company seeks an Area Learning & Development (ALD) Manager to lead plant-level learning programs across an assigned area, covering Operations and Commercial teams with a focus on safety, quality, productivity and reliability through structured training.

The role serves as a connector between regional learning strategy and day-to-day plant execution, coaching Technical Trainers and ensuring onboarding, OJT, certification, and planning meet business outcomes.