[Hiring] Associate Vice President, Organizational Training & Development @Distro

Role Description

The Associate Vice President, Organizational Training & Development (AVP, OTD) is responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive talent development strategy for the university. This role ensures that talent development initiatives are aligned to organizational strategy, deliver measurable ROI, and strengthen the university’s culture, engagement, and performance. This role designs and leads integrated strategies across leadership development, succession planning, organizational effectiveness, learning, and employee experience.

The AVP, OTD is fully accountable for all organizational training and development activities and outcomes for multiple functional areas across the University, ensuring timely and effective training and development solutions.

As a key member of the HR leadership team, the AVP, OTD partners with executive leadership to build a high-performing, future-ready workforce and a strong internal leadership pipeline. The AVP, OTD will serve as a consultant to teams across the University while also being responsible for developing training strategies to support the University's initiatives from a technical and professional level. This position will have a team to support training and OTD efforts while also serving as a trainer/facilitator based on level of content and expertise.

Essential Functions

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the CHRO and executive leadership on talent, leadership capability, organizational effectiveness, and talent risks.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive, multi-year talent development and leadership strategy aligned with the organization’s strategic plan.
• Build and enhance NU’s internal coaching function, providing leaders with the necessary resources to support their growth and development and support building high-performing teams.
• Assess organizational capability and future skill needs; create scalable development strategies to close critical capability gaps.
• Design and implement a best-in-class leadership development architecture for all levels: emerging leaders, mid-level leaders, senior leaders, and executives.
• Support the enterprise succession planning process for executive, senior leadership, and critical roles in alignment with university and Board of Trustees expectations.
• Partner with executives to create individualized development plans for high-potential and successor candidates.
• Lead the work to shaping competency model framework used to serve as a foundation for all professional development efforts in the university.
• Ensure assessment and evaluation mechanisms are in place to measure the impact and effectiveness of training programs/materials.
• Oversee the design and delivery of enterprise learning, onboarding, technical, and professional development programs.
• Ensure learning strategies support major organizational initiatives, system implementations, and strategic transformations.
• Partner with HR and senior leaders to diagnose organizational issues and implement targeted interventions.
• Partner with HR and university leaders to design programs that enhance employee engagement, onboarding, and retention.
• Use engagement survey data, performance metrics, and workforce analytics to identify trends and drive targeted development strategies.
• In partnership with Legal, oversee the deployment of all compliance training and ensure regulatory requirements are met.
• Lead vendor selection, due diligence, and contract negotiations.
• Set clear priorities, performance expectations, and development plans for team members.
• Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement within the team.
• Ensure the team delivers high-quality, scalable, and measurable programs across all levels of the organization.
• All other duties as assigned. Reasonable and attendance to fulfill the requirements of the position.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Hire, train, and develop OTD staff members.

Requirements

• Master's degree required in addition to 12+ years of training and development experience and 7+ years in a leadership role.
• Advanced education in adult learning methodologies and training & development required.
• Advanced experience in change management, e-learning strategies, and facilitation required.
• Certifications in change management, DiSC strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated leadership experience overseeing teams of learning and development professionals, with a track record of fostering growth and high performance.
• Experience leading large scale change initiatives and/or organization transformations.
• Demonstrated working knowledge of instructional design, with a solid understanding of adult learning.
• Prior experience in the development of function or organization-wide training strategies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; strong project management, leadership, and team building skills.
• Prior experience directing, implementing, and maintaining technology-based training/distance learning programs for a geographically dispersed workforce strongly preferred.
• Experience in higher education is preferred.
• Experience working in a technology-driven enterprise preferred.

Competencies / Technical / Functional Skills

• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate business strategy into talent strategies.
• Strong leadership presence and ability to influence senior leaders.
• Proven ability to drive innovative talent development strategies that align with university objectives.
• Demonstrated success building leadership pipelines and development programs at scale.
• Use of talent analytics to drive decisions.
• Excellent facilitation and creative program development skills.
• Excellent written and analytical skills; the ability to write clear and well-developed strategies and action plans to support a high level of performance by employees.
• Demonstrated ability to coach and develop talent and effectively provide constructive feedback to employees.
• Strong consulting skills with a client-focused mindset; building valuable relationships based on trust, respect, and collaboration.
• Knowledge of academic and business workings of a higher education institution.
• Ability to use and facilitate online communications.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with others.
• Ability to build and motivate a team.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Proficient with Microsoft Word and other applications in the Microsoft Office suite.

Logistics

• Location: Remote, USA
• Travel: Travel seldom required
• Salary: $140,000 - $175,000 a year