Manager, People Development

If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future-consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Job Description

• Responsibilities

  Primary Responsibilities

• Proactively mentors their team in modelling the university's Leadership Principles and Cultural Beliefs.
• Leads a team of learning and development professionals, providing guidance, mentorship, and support to foster their growth and development.
• Leads and develops team members to improve the competency, proficiency, and job mastery and leadership skills for leaders and employees.
• Collaborates with cross-functional teams including People & Talent, operations, and senior leadership to align learning initiatives with organizational objectives.
• Takes ownership and accountability of key metrics that impact leaders, employees, and ultimately student success.
• Applies current industry trends and best practices within their focus area.
• Develops and implements work processes and products that meet industry standards and achieve organizational goals.
• Maintains a deep understanding of organizational needs, technical requirements, and quality standards that impact overall employee performance within their focus area.
• Works with leaders to identify solutions to problems through quantitative and qualitative data.
• Analyzes performance gaps and identifies opportunities for learning and development initiatives to address skill deficiencies and enhance employee performance.
• Leads agile development processes for new offerings and continuous improvement of existing programs and offerings.
• Manages relationships with stakeholders including presenting information, producing timely, consistent, and accurate reports, and gathering information about stakeholder priorities and needs.
• Conducts comprehensive assessments of organizational development needs.
• Oversees and designs engaging and interactive development programs utilizing learning design principles, adult learning theory, and modern learning technologies.
• Facilitates innovative and interactive learning experiences to maximize knowledge retention and skill acquisition, utilizing blended learning approaches.
• Provides coaching and support to facilitators and subject matter experts to ensure effective delivery of content.
• Collects feedback from participants and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and refine development content and delivery methods.
• Monitors industry trends and best practices in learning and development to continuously enhance development offerings and methodologies.
• Partners with P&T and organizational leaders to support and implement change management initiatives effectively.
• Participates in decision-making related to the fiscal impact of resources, projects, initiatives, and materials used in learning and development.
• Promotes and drives usage of People Development solutions.
• Demonstrates flexibility and an eagerness to proactively step in and assume additional responsibilities as needed and/or assigned.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

• Qualifications

  Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrates a growth mindset and emotional intelligence in all aspects of work.
• Consistently demonstrates the university Leadership Principles and Cultural Beliefs in all aspects of the role.
• Demonstrates a high level of professionalism in all situations.
• Possesses the ability to lead a team while building and maintaining relationships and influencing others, resulting in impactful contributions to the organization.
• Experience leading through and handling high-stress situations with composure and effectiveness.
• Proven track record of leading and delivering high quality work under tight timelines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a strong emphasis on teamwork.
• Highly engaged and influential leader with the ability to build effective working relationships and collaborate with team members, colleagues, and leaders.
• Experience leading and working effectively in cross-functional teams with influence and productive outcomes.
• Proven record of designing and developing engaging learning materials aligning with adult learning principles.
• Effectively implements best practices in adult learning theory to facilitate meaningful learning experiences and promote knowledge retention.
• Consistently takes initiative and is self-managed.
• Ability to measure and showcase effectiveness of learning solutions and programs.
• Engages in creative problem-solving to lead and drive continuous improvement.
• Demonstrates flexibility and an eagerness to seek additional responsibilities as assigned.
• Shows a willingness to be innovative and take risks that promote successful learning outcomes.
• Ability to build diverse, inclusive, and effective cross-functional teams.
• Handles confidential data with utmost discretion and integrity, ensuring team members do the same.
• Serves as a model for carrying out the university's mission and Key Results.

• Education

• Bachelor's Degree in related field

• Experience

• 5 or more years of related experience, which includes managing people
• Broad management knowledge in People Development functions.

• Experience in lieu of education

  An equivalent combination of training, experience, credentials, or accomplishments demonstrating the ability to perform the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements.

  Preferred Qualifications

• Master's Degree or equivalent
• Experience in leading a People Development function or related field.
• Certifications in Talent Development, Learning/Facilitating/Training, Project Management, or Quality Assurance

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Position & Application Details

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.