Area Learning & Development Manager

WestRock Company; Knoxville (TN); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Smurfit Westrock seeks an Area Learning & Development Manager to ensure effective execution of the plant‑level L&D program across the Corrugated Division. You will drive improvements in safety, quality, productivity and reliability through structured learning and coaching.

You will partner with plant and area leadership, manage onboarding and training planning, and oversee trainers to maximize business impact. Travel ~50% is required.

Qualifications

• Strong stakeholder management and influence without authority.
• Results‑driven with emphasis on business outcomes over activity.
• Experience in manufacturing environments with hourly teams.
• Excellent communication, facilitation and presentation skills.
• Ability to execute with prioritization, discipline and time management.
• Empathy, curiosity and sound judgment for diverse teams.

Responsibilities

• Own onboarding, on‑the‑job training, certification and training planning across plants.
• Conduct learning health checks to identify gaps and drive corrective action.
• Align learning efforts with safety, quality, productivity, and reliability priorities.
• Coach site leaders on expectations and execution of hourly workforce development.
• Provide oversight to Technical Trainers and ensure action focused on business impact.
• Utilize learning systems to assign, track and report training.
• Capture learning impact and best practices across the area.
• Travel approximately 50% to support multiple plants.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Results oriented

Manufacturing environment

Communication

Execution discipline

Empathy & curiosity

Tools

Cornerstone LMS

Dashboards & analytics

MS Office (Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook/Teams)

Job description

The opportunity

Area Learning & Development (ALD) Manager is responsible for ensuring the effective execution and business impact of the Corrugated Division Learning & Development program at the plant level across an assigned area. The scope of this role spans Operations, Commercial, and other functional teams, with primary emphasis on manufacturing operations. This role is focused on driving measurable improvements in safety, quality, productivity, and reliability through learning.

ALDs serve as the primary connector between regional learning strategy and day‑to‑day plant execution, ensuring learning expectations are consistently implemented and aligned to business outcomes across functions. This role reports to the Senior Manager, Learning & Development and operates through influence rather than authority, including a dotted‑line relationship to Technical Trainers.

How you will impact Smurfit Westrock

• 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.

What you need to succeed

Critical Skills / Capabilities:

• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence without authority.
• Results‑oriented mindset with a focus on business outcomes over training activity.
• Ability to work effectively in manufacturing environments and engage hourly teams.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and presentation skills across all organizational levels.
• Strong execution discipline, prioritization, and time management skills.
• Empathy, curiosity, and sound judgment when working with diverse teams.

Technical Skills:

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

Other Qualifications:

• Equivalent experience accepted in lieu of formal degree.
• Manufacturing experience required; paper or packaging industry experience preferred.
• Ability to work effectively in a matrixed organization.
• Willingness and ability to travel approximately 50%.