Director Learning and Development

Are you looking for more than just a job? Do you want to have a voice and feel a sense of belonging? At ICW Group, we hire innovative people who consistently adapt, grow and deliver. We believe in hard work, a fun work environment, and embracing creativity that only comes about when talented people collaborate to develop solutions. Our mission is to create the best insurance experience possible.
 

Headquartered in San Diego with regional offices located throughout the United States, ICW Group has been named for seven consecutive years as a Top 50 performing P&C company offering the stability of a large, profitable and growing company combined with a small-company entrepreneurial spirit. Our purpose-driven ethos provides team members with opportunities to contribute, develop, and belong. 

PURPOSE OF THE JOB

The purpose of this job is to develop and execute on learning and development programs and change management initiatives that drive achievement of ICW business objectives. This position will assess, design, and implement an enterprise approach to talent assessment, development, and learning to promote employee engagement and productivity. This position exists to consolidate all learning and development efforts enterprise wide to create a world class learning environment that has a measurable impact on business results and team member development.   

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Develops strategies around assessment research, design, creation and delivery of learning and development programs and initiatives that are relevant, timely, relatable, and measurable so that learning is embedded in the culture of ICW.

• Participates with leadership and members of management to identify needs and establish strategic plans and objectives for learning and development, including the development of a staffing plan and areas for cost-effective outsourcing to meet immediate needs.
• Conducts needs assessments and makes strategic learning recommendations based on business priorities and designs and oversees the end-to-end content development and implementation of targeted development solutions for a wide range of critical audiences.
• Partners with line of business leaders to develop learning and development programs and robust project plans curriculum that are relevant, targeted, attainable, and measurable for key components of the talent development strategy.
• Identifies ways of merging traditional methods of design and development of learning content and programs in a manner that is relevant and timely through approaches that address historical barriers to user engagement.
• Identifies and implements organizational development programs, processes, and training initiatives to proactively address organizational development and business needs, through a variety of delivery means (e.g., live, e-learning, self-paced, etc.) as appropriate for the target audience.
• Establishes key metrics and evaluation strategy for learning initiatives to measure effectiveness at all levels. Uses evaluations from participants, supervisors and colleagues, prepares, and presents summary reports and recommendations for management that outline training results and impact.
• Recommends and manages vendors utilized for learning across the organization. Develops scopes of work for outside vendor relationships in the learning and development space.
• Performs critical gap analyses and develops and/or purchases customized learning solutions to support the organization’s overall strategy. Assesses, and recommends appropriate technology, tools, and resources to execute on learning and development strategy.

Advises on and advocates for a learning model that demonstrates an investment in employees so continuous development and support for employees becomes an expected norm and part of company culture.

• Develops relationships and influences all levels of the organization so learning and development becomes relatable and the value is understood and appreciated enterprise wide.

• Conducts performance and organizational readiness diagnostics and needs assessments to develop and deliver a variety of organization development programs.
• Ensures delivery and facilitation of effective training in a variety of formats, including classroom, online, role-playing, group discussion, and other methods depending upon specific needs, learning styles and work-related constraints. May be the live facilitator or may identify outsourced resources or learning champions within the company to develop/deliver training.
• Partners with managers and supervisors to connect learning and development initiatives to performance management and evaluation.
• Proposes and develops regular, timely, creative communications around training value strategically designed to drive engagement and interest in training and related internal initiatives.

Designs and develops a variety of organizational development programs along with an ICW Academy to create professional and specialized development tracks for career succession planning.

• Manages development of Onboarding team member training, compliance training, e-learning and specialized training needs that support diversity and inclusion for our employee population.
• Creates professional insurance and specialized team member development tracks/journeys. Creates learning and development modules for groups of employees that recognize the critical role of their profession and aligns with retention goals.
• Develops leadership and skills training that supports professional development to prepare for their advancement as leaders.
• Identifies skills gaps and creates team member development pods that support both soft and technical skills development.
• Creates ongoing learning strategies and identifies scalable learning solutions to enhance the professional skills of all employees.

Researches, designs, and executes on strategies to promote employee engagement, productivity and development. 

• Stays abreast of best practices and continually assesses and realigns direction as appropriate for the benefit of constituents and the overall organization.
• Looks for new and innovative learning techniques for traditional and non-traditional training and development for both onsite and remote associates.
• Uses and leverages technology and social media as appropriate and in accordance with policies and procedures to promote learning and development.
• Conducts research and polling on best practices to help position ICW as an employer of choice overall with an emphasis on training as a benefit. Makes recommendations about those which could have measurable impact.
• Provides leadership on performance management and its use/effectiveness and suggests improvements in program content, metrics, and technology to support the culture and business objectives of ICW group.
• Oversees the development of innovative solutions to performance issues or competency gaps and monitors program progress to completion.

Develops and leads a team of company-wide learning and development professionals.

• Provides strategic, tactical, and daily direction to Learning and Development team.  Communicates Mission, Values, and other organization operating principles to [direct and/or indirect] reports.
• Establishes and maintains the overall work cadence and, in partnership with department leadership, ensures performance and outcomes strive for excellence in delivery and customer experience.  Ensures that the entire team is engaged and that leadership practices encourage development, recognition, and retention.
• Establishes and adheres to hiring criteria, on-boarding, and training requirements for incoming staff.
• Oversees the performance management and development process for the team and performs performance management duties, development planning and coaching for direct reports. 
• Acts as a resource for team members to answer questions and solve complex problems.
• Manages budget, technology, and other resources, workload, and customer requests for Department services.  Ensures adherence to all Company policies and procedures and Compliance responsibilities.
• Ensures data quality, adherence to IT security guidelines, profitability and other risk-related metrics for self and members of the team.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

Directly supervises employees within the Learning and Development team and carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with company policies and applicable laws. These responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; conducting performance and salary reviews; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems; coaching, mentoring, and developing team members to further their skills and knowledge; creating and monitoring development plans; setting performance expectations/goals; forecasting staffing needs and planning for peak times and absences; enforcing department policies and procedures.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Master’s Degree or PhD/EDD required with a major or emphasis in Business, Organizational Development, Education, Human Resources, or related field. Minimum 10 years of experience designing and implementing learning and development programs required. Experience building a corporate university, leadership academy, or similar development program on a corporate-wide scale required. Minimum 3 years of leadership experience required.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

Certification in OD/interpersonal assessment instruments highly desirable.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Ability to conduct needs assessment, evaluation development, results analysis, metrics development and expectations management. Demonstrated knowledge of current learning technologies and platforms. Knowledge of and skill in use of e-learning platforms and how to leverage them for various audiences. Strong knowledge of instructional design, facilitation, coaching, e-learning, virtual learning, in-person learning and related best practices. Working knowledge in developing and designing training, organization development programs, employee surveys, facilitation, performance management and evaluation of programs.  Proven leadership, team-building and mentoring skills, a proven track record of building, leading, and working on teams. Excellent in building and maintaining relationships with internal clients/stakeholders and external vendors. Demonstrated skills in structured project management, facilitation, and internal consulting.  Excellent communication skills, ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with persons inside and outside the business. Strong public speaking skills. Strong problem-solving, analytical, and critical thinking skills in a complex business environment and ability to design and implement change management plans in an organization.  Skilled in research methods and the synthesis of information. Strong evidence of superior interpersonal skills, ability to model team member behavior, executive-level presentation experience.  Ability to independently formulate long-range objectives and manage varied programs and services. Ability to read and interpret documents such as operating instructions, or procedure manuals and to write routine reports and correspondence.  Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals and to write reports, business correspondence, or procedure manuals.   Ability to write speeches and articles using original or innovative techniques or styles.  Ability to make effective and persuasive speeches and presentations on controversial or complex topics to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors.  Able to analyze cost/benefit of various learning approaches to determine the best solution to close the gap while managing timelines, budget, and resources. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.  Basic understanding of statistics and measurement techniques.  Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to apply principles of logic to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Office environment - no specific or unusual physical or environmental demands and employees regularly required to sit, walk, stand, talk and hear.

WORK ENVIRONMENT 

This position operates in an office environment and requires the frequent use of a computer, telephone, copier and other standard office equipment.

The current range for this position is

This range is exclusive of fringe benefits and potential bonuses.  If hired at ICW Group, your final base salary compensation will be determined by factors unique to each candidate, including experience, education and the location of the role and considers employees performing substantially similar work.

WHY JOIN ICW GROUP?
•    Challenging work and the ability to make a difference
•    You will have a voice and feel a sense of belonging
•    We offer a competitive benefits package, with generous medical, dental, and vision plans as well as 401K retirement plans and company match
•    Bonus potential for all positions
•    Paid Time Off with an accrual rate of 5.23 hours per pay period (equal to 17 days per year)
•    10 paid holidays throughout the calendar year
•    Want to continue learning? We’ll support you 100%

ICW Group is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. ICW Group will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex/gender, age, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law.