Manager, Workforce Development and Training

DS Bus Lines; Skokie (IL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Beacon Mobility is seeking a Manager, Workforce Development & Safety Culture to support onboarding, training, retention, and a strong safety culture across the organization. This role partners with Recruiting, Operations, Safety, Training, and HR to ensure new hires are prepared and compliant from day one.

Responsibilities include designing onboarding, coordinating cross-functional training programs, and tracking outcomes to improve readiness and retention.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field.
• 3+ years of experience in training, workforce development, onboarding, operations, safety, or talent development.
• Strong communication, facilitation, project management, and relationship-building skills.
• Experience in transportation, logistics, fleet operations, or a safety-sensitive environment preferred.
• Knowledge of DOT/state transportation regulations, LMS platforms, or safety compliance programs preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design and improve onboarding programs for drivers, attendants, dispatchers, maintenance employees, and operational leaders.
• Develop 30-, 60-, and 90-day onboarding plans with follow-up processes.
• Coordinate onboarding across Recruiting, Safety, Operations, Maintenance and HR.
• Ensure training, certifications, and compliance requirements are completed before active service.
• Track onboarding results and recommend improvements to readiness and retention.
• Promote a proactive safety culture and support safety engagement activities.
• Collaborate with Talent Acquisition to improve candidate quality and workforce readiness.
• Coordinate operational, safety, regulatory, and leadership training programs.
• Create training materials, job aids, facilitator guides, and learning resources.
• Support trainer development, training consistency, and career pathways for frontline employees.
• Conduct onboarding feedback sessions and stay interviews; analyze turnover trends.

Skills

Strong communication

Facilitation

Project management

Relationship-building

DOT regulations knowledge

LMS knowledge

Safety compliance programs

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Human Resources, Safety, Education, Organizational Development or equivalent

Job description

Alltown Bus Service The Manager, Workforce Development & Safety Culture supports employee onboarding, training, retention, and safety culture across the organization. This role partners with Recruiting, Operations, Safety, Training, and HR to ensure employees are prepared, compliant, and aligned with company expectations from day one. This position helps build strong frontline teams by improving new hire readiness, supporting leadership development, reinforcing safety expectations, and identifying opportunities to strengthen retention and operational performance.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Workforce Development & Onboarding

• Design and improve onboarding programs for drivers, attendants, dispatchers, maintenance employees, and operational leaders.
• Develop consistent 30-, 60-, and 90-day onboarding plans and follow-up processes.
• Coordinate onboarding between Recruiting, Safety, Operations, Maintenance, and HR.
• Ensure new employees complete the required training, certifications, and compliance requirements before active service.
• Track onboarding results and recommend improvements to readiness and retention.

Safety Culture Leadership

• Promote a proactive safety culture throughout the organization.
• Partner with Safety leadership training related to accident prevention, hazard recognition, defensive driving, and risk reduction.
• Support safety engagement activities, awareness campaigns, and consistent branch-level messaging.
• Use safety trends and incident data to identify training needs and proactive interventions.

Recruiting Partnership

• Collaborate with Talent Acquisition to improve candidate quality and workforce readiness.
• Help develop hiring profiles that emphasize safety, reliability, and cultural fit.
• Support recruiting events, hiring initiatives, workforce planning, and realistic job previews.

Training & Leadership Development

• Coordinate operational, safety, regulatory, and leadership training programs.
• Partner with leaders to identify skill gaps and development opportunities.
• Create training materials, job aids, facilitator guides, and learning resources.
• Support trainer development, training consistency, and career pathways for frontline employees.

Employee Retention & Engagement

• Conduct onboarding feedback sessions and stay interviews.
• Track early turnover trends and identify root causes.
• Partner with branch leadership to improve first-year engagement, employee experience, and workforce stability.

Program Management & Reporting

• Maintain training records, onboarding metrics, and compliance tracking.
• Build reports that measure onboarding effectiveness, retention, and safety outcomes.
• Recommend improvements based on data, program performance, and operational needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Human Resources, Safety, Education, Organizational Development, or equivalent experience.
• At least 3 years of experience in training, workforce development, onboarding, operations, safety, or talent development.
• Strong communication, facilitation, project management, and relationship-building skills.
• Experience in transportation, logistics, fleet operations, or a safety-sensitive environment preferred.
• Knowledge of DOT, state transportation regulations, LMS platforms, or safety compliance programs preferred.

Beacon Mobility is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. Beacon Mobility makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.

Alltown Bus Service and DHT Transportation have been providing school transportation and specialized coach and charter services in Detroit and throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs for over 27 years. Alltown operates a fleet of over 600 buses across six locations, three of which are located on Chicago’s north, west, and south sides. The size and presence of Alltown and DHT in Detroit and across metro Chicago allows us to provide personal attention to our customers’ individual needs; our motto is “Service Is All We Have to Sell” and we take great pride in having earned the reputation of providing excellent customer service to all of our passengers and customers.

Why Beacon Mobility

We are a family of transportation companies across 25 states, providing Mobility Without Limits. Our focus to show that every ride matters by helping people live, learn, and achieve every day.

Who we are Safe, reliable transportation for 100 Years Customized mobility solutions Serving students, patients, and 1,500+ communities Nearly 20,000 employees strong What we do best People First Safety Always School Bus & Special Education Paratransit Non‑Emergency Medical Alternative Student Transportation Why it matters Transportation creates opportunity Mobility builds independence Every Ride Matters