Manager, Learning & Development

Company Description

Indigo is a physical and digital place inspired by and filled with books, ideas, beautifully designed lifestyle products, and the creative people who help make it all happen. We believe in real books, living life fully and generously, being kind to each other and to the environment, and that stories — big and little — connect us. Indigo is our customer's happy place — for joyful moments of discovery and for connecting with people who share their passion for reading, their belief in ideas, and their commitment to making the world a better, more beautiful place.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Our Mission is to inspire reading and enrich the lives of booklovers. As such, we believe in the power of people and their stories. We aim to attract top talent, nurture the potential of our employees, and create space for everyone to thrive. Our Guiding Principles are the few key ideas that are meant to influence everything we do, every day.

• We Will Hire, Inspire, Promote and Retain the Best
• We Will Be Customer Centric
• We Will Be Entrepreneurial
• We Will Be Committed to Caring About Each Other, Our Communities, and Our Environment
• We Will Be Committed to True and Shared Value Creation
• We Will Be Systems Thinking, Data Driven and AI enabled

Job Description

The Manager, Learning and Development is responsible for designing, implementing, and continuously improving learning strategies and programs that build individual, team, and organizational capabilities. This role ensures learning solutions are aligned with business goals, fosters a culture of continuous development, leverages innovative technologies and methodologies, and supports employee growth to drive high performance and future readiness across Indigo.

KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS

• Course Evaluation Results
• Employee Survey Results – Specific to Training
• Delivery against Plan
• Improved business results – specific to each learning initiative

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Functional

• Design and develop interactive and engaging learning programs to support organizational talent development needs.
• Manage the enterprise LMS and continually improve its functionality and content to engage employees and develop key organizational skills.
• Lead learning and development programs through design, development, facilitation and evaluation—partner with HRM and business leaders to develop implementation plans to roll out programs and new initiatives.
• Collaborate with HRMs and leaders to proactively complete learning needs analyses based on business priorities, identify skill gaps and design programs to meet those needs.
• Design and produce programs and materials for blended learning programs, including facilitator guides, visual aids, case studies and evaluation tools consistent with the Indigo learning strategy, principles and guidelines
• Continuously monitor and integrate emerging trends, technology and innovations in learning and development to enhance program effectiveness and learner experience.
• Provide input to the training budget process.
• Maintain and update current core curriculum and compliance training programs and materials.
• Develop partnerships and collaborate with business partners and SMEs, including during analysis, design, and development, to produce quality learning within established timeframes.
• Design, develop and evaluate learning and delivery strategies including leader and participant guides, learning activities, reference guides or job-aids, storyboards, video scripts, design documents, E-Learning modules, pre-work, post-work and train-the-trainer materials
• Develop appropriate learning assessment strategies and tools to measure the effectiveness of learning programs.
• Ensure the completion of learning deliverables and set/adhere to team budgets, as applicable.
• Embrace and seek out technology that creates high-tech and high-touch solutions for Indigo employees.

People

• Act as an advocate for the customer by placing them at the forefront of all design and decision-making processes.
• Ensure all workstream team members have clear performance objectives aligned with Indigo Function and Department goals.
• Communicate appropriate context, standards and prescribed limits for work stream team members.
• Establish effective working relationships with work stream team members
• Bring out the best in others, empower, and constructively stretch talent
• Give authentic feedback on performance and potential
• Collaborate with others to drive flexible and iterative solutions, quickly and easily
• Share technical knowledge with others and actively seek to learn from those more knowledgeable than yourself
• Help others see the impacts of their efforts and proactively engage other functions to get input
• Encourage others to freely share their point of view and be open to feedback

Cultural

• Model Indigo’s Guiding Principles and convey a positive image in everything you do
• Celebrate the diversity of thought and have an open mindset
• Take an active role in fostering a culture of continual learning, taking risks without the fear of making mistakes
• Embrace, champion, and influence change through the HR team and the organization
• Challenge the status quo and consistently identify areas for improvement, diagnose issues and work to resolve them

SCOPE

Reports to: Director, Talent Development

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Internal:

• Interfaces and builds relationships with members of the Retail and Supply Chain team, the HR team, corporate business groups, external consultants and vendors
• Cultivate and maintain collaborative professional relationships with internal and external Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and analyze learning and performance needs of the business/function

External:

• Vendors and contacts

Qualifications

Work Experience / Education / Certifications

• Minimum 5 years of instructional and e-learning design and delivery experience, ideally in a retail environment
• University degree in Human Resources, Education or Adult Training and Development
• Must demonstrate a solid understanding of adult learning principles and design methodologies

Competencies / Skills / Attributes

• Strong instructional design and visual design skills - sensitivity to layout, typography and colour
• Expert in MS Office applications, primarily: Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Highly proficient in using multimedia technology to enhance training/learning experiences
• Exceptional writing, editing, and researching skills
• Expert multi-tasking, prioritization, and project management abilities
• Strong organizational skills and relentless attention to detail
• Proven ability to consistently meet and exceed goals and deadlines
• Able to quickly learn new product releases and industry trends
• Self-starter with demonstrated ability to drive results and get the job done
• Conceptual and strategic thinker, team player, excellent communication skills with internal customers and colleagues

Technical Skills

• Experience using Articulate 360, or similar, to create learning content
• Experience using AI applications to enhance learning and development initiatives, including the design of personalized learning pathways, content creation, learner engagement strategies and performance analytics.
• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite
• Experience managing LMS, LCMS, and online learning platforms
• Experience using video editing software