Senior Specialist, Training and Employee Development

Portland State University; Portland (OR); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Paid time off

Health insurance

Retirement plans

Tuition discount

Job summary

Portland State University is seeking a Senior Specialist in Training and Employee Development to lead equity-centered training for managers and staff. The role focuses on designing, delivering, and evaluating employee development programs across campus.

You will help select and deploy a new ID authoring tool, apply adult learning principles, and collaborate across HR to advance organizational development. The position is based in downtown Portland with strong benefits and professional growth

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree plus a minimum of 4 years in training development or HR generalist roles.
• Strong written and verbal communication with ability to tailor messages.
• Experience managing multiple priorities and teams in a large organization.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement HR training for managers and staff with equity-centered focus.
• Collaborate on selecting and rolling out a new instructional design (ID) authoring tool.
• Design and deliver high-impact employee development programs leveraging adult learning principles.
• Coordinate with Training & Employee Development Manager to ensure program alignment.

Skills

Training development

Employee relations

HR generalist

Supervisory experience

Communication

Writing skills

Time management

Emotional intelligence

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Tools

LMS management

Instruction design tools

Job description

Senior Specialist, Training and Employee Development

Position Announcement

Proposed Start Date

Proposed Start Date 11/16/2026

Classification Title

Classification Title Human Resources & Organizational Development

Rank

Rank N - No Rank

Working Title

Working Title Senior Specialist, Training and Employee Development

Department

Department 600300 - HRC Human Resource Center

Position Number

Position Number D96759

Representation

Representation UU - Unclassified Unrepresented

Renewable

Renewable Renewable

End date, if applicable

Position FTE

Position FTE 1

Tenure Status F - Fixed Term

Position Summary

Brief Description of PSU/School/Dept

Portland State University is Oregon’s most affordable public research university, located in the heart of one of America’s most dynamic cities. Our mission to “let knowledge serve the city” reflects our dedication to turning ideas into action — in Portland and around the world. The city is our campus, giving students unmatched access to career connections, a vibrant cultural scene and hands-on learning experiences with hundreds of community partners.

More than 20,00 students from all backgrounds bring diverse perspectives to our classrooms and campus life, from the tree-lined Park Blocks to the bustling Urban Plaza and state-of-the-art science labs. We are proud of our world-class faculty, groundbreaking research and international reputation for excellence in sustainability, community engagement and innovation.

Position Summary

The Senior Specialist in Training and Employee Development will ensure an equity- and justice-centered approach to all training and communication programs while developing and implementing HR training for managers and employees. This position will report to the Training & Employee Development Manager in Human Resources.This position will also collaborate with the selection, and campus-wide rollout of a new instructional design (ID) authoring tool, leveraging expert facilitation in authoring software, LMS administration, and adult learning principles to design and deliver high-impact employee development programs.

This is a permanent full-time position within an innovative team-oriented environment located in downtown Portland, and includes a comprehensive benefits package with paid time off including paid sick time, paid holidays and paid vacation days, 95% employer-funded premium healthcare, employer-funded retirement plans , and 70% off of tuition for the employee, dependent children, and your spouse or domestic partner.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree plus a minimum of 4 years training development, employee relations, HR generalist, or a combination of other relevant experience, which could include supervisory experience.
• Ability to persuade others and to adjust communication style to suit the audience to effectively communicate with people in all levels of an organization.
• Excellent writing skills, including conveying all necessary points concisely.
• Excellent critical thinking, judgement and decision-making ability, including the ability to weigh short and long-term costs and benefits of a potential action.
• Effective at managing own time and time of others with high volume workloads.?
• Ability to work well under pressure and to handle conflict with the highest professionalism.
• Strong people management skills, preferably gained through managing and developing teams.
• High level of emotional intelligence and excellent interpersonal skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a large, complex organization.
• Experience in an environment with a unionized workforce.
• Experience in higher education and public sector.
• Experience in successfully building and leading a team.
• Expert-level LMS management and instruction design authoring tool skills
• Create an environment that acknowledges, encouraging, and celebrates differences.
• Function and communicate effectively and respectfully within the context of varying beliefs, behaviors, orientations, identities, and cultural backgrounds.
• Seek opportunities to gain experience working and collaborating in diverse, multicultural, and inclusive settings with a willingness to change for continual improvement.
• Adhere to all of PSU’s policies including the policies on Prohibited Discrimination & Harassment and the Professional Standards of Conduct.

Contributes to a culture of environmental stewardship, practices resource conservation, and actively works toward achieving long-term sustainability goals.

Work Days/Hours

Work Days/Hours Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm, Up to one day remote, after training period and with the approval of the supervisor.

Total Compensation Range & Benefits Statement

The starting annual salary for this position will $65,100-$80,000 and may be negotiated within this range.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled