Manager, Instructional Design

Job Description

McCarthy Tétrault is a leading Canadian law firm offering a full suite of legal and business solutions to clients in Canada and around the world. With offices in Toronto, Montréal, Québec City, Calgary and Vancouver, we provide challenging and rewarding career opportunities across the country. Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for eleven consecutive years and one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for fourteen consecutive years, our culture is guided by The McCarthy Way—our shared approach to working with clients and with each other.

The McCarthy Way is built on four core elements: Excellence, through attracting and developing top talent committed to delivering on our Client Commitment; Collaboration, through seamless, integrated teamwork; Inclusion, through eliminating barriers to belonging and success; and Innovation, through delivering maximum value by embracing leading-edge technologies and approaches. Together, these principles shape how we work, lead, and grow—every day.

We are recruiting for a Manager, Instructional Design to join our team in our Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal office. The successful candidate must have a minimum of 5 years of experience in the design, development and delivery of professional education programs, ideally within a legal or professional services environment, and will be responsible for designing and delivering innovative lawyer development programs, leading AI-enabled learning initiatives, collaborating with firm leaders and subject matter experts to enhance curriculum, evaluating program effectiveness, and overseeing the successful execution of MT Academy programs. McCarthy Tétrault employees benefit from a hybrid work environment. This position is to fill an existing vacancy.

Salary Range (Toronto or Vancouver Only): $95,000 – $105,000 annually 

The offered salary may vary based on the candidate’s job-specific knowledge, skills, and experience.

As a Manager, Instructional Design, you will be:

MT Professional Journey Office – MT Academy

Designing, developing and continuously improving national lawyer education programs that comprise MT Academy curriculum including student, associate, income partner and equity partner programs, as well as targeted, experiential retreats for defined lawyer groups. Duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• With the support of the MT Academy Director, designing, developing, overseeing effective delivery of, and continuously improving national Leadership and Business Development programs for lawyers at all career stages (from student to partner) as part of the MT Academy Professional Development programs at all stages of the lawyer development continuum in support of the MT Professional Journey.
• Lead the design and development of associate retreats for targeted lawyer groups including cohorts defined by call year, practice group, career stage or high-potential/leadership track, establishing the retreat learning objectives, curriculum and experiential agenda, and curating faculty and content together with the MT Academy Director and Head of the MT Professional Journey Office. Oversee the effective delivery of these retreats, providing direction to faculty and facilitators and ensuring a high-quality participant experience, and oversee end-to-end operationalization, including partnering with internal stakeholders and vendors on logistics, budget, venue and execution. Evaluate each retreat against defined outcomes to inform continuous improvement.
• Contributing expertise and leadership to ensure the curriculum remains progressive, market-leading and aligned with the firm’s Professional Journey framework.
• Contributing to the overall MT Academy curriculum by collaborating on the learning objectives and design of Legal Knowledge and Practice Skills programming across practice areas, as needed.
• Ensure programs are outcomes-driven, aligned with defined competencies and learning objectives, and reflect best practices in adult learning and professional education.
• Designing and developing training solutions using a variety of delivery methods and formats, including in-person, virtual, blended learning, simulations, assessments and on-demand tools.
• Partner with the MT Academy Director, internal leaders, and external experts to identify priorities, curate content and select high-quality faculty.
• Lead program scoping and planning discussions with stakeholders and speakers, developing program outlines, learning objectives and materials.
• Provide direction and coaching to faculty on content development, delivery approach and alignment with program objectives.
• Lead needs assessments to identify performance gaps and emerging capability requirements across the lawyer population.
• In collaboration with the MT Academy Director and the Head of the Professional Journey Office, identify critical human skills impacted by the increasing use of AI in legal practice and support the design and development of learning solutions to strengthen these capabilities across the lawyer lifecycle.
• Develop and implement evaluation frameworks and metrics to measure program effectiveness and impact against defined learning objectives.
• Maintain deep knowledge of trends in legal education, instructional design, facilitation and e-learning.
• Bring forward new ideas and approaches to ensure MT Academy programming remains innovative, competitive and aligned with leading practices.

MT Professional Journey Office – Client Service Delivery

Working with the Head of the MT Professional Journey Office and the MT Academy Director to support the co-ordination and delivery of AI-enabled training. Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Supporting and advancing AI-enabled learning initiatives across MT Academy programs by integrating Client Service Delivery (CSD) workflows and tools into curriculum design to enhance practice readiness and client outcomes.
• Collaborating closely with the Client Service Delivery (CSD) and MT Academy to incorporate AI-enabled workflows into lawyer training, ensuring alignment between evolving legal service delivery models and MT Academy programming.
• Translate CSD-developed workflows into effective learning experiences, embedding them into program design through practical, scenario-based and experiential learning approaches.
• Designing and integrating AI-enhanced learning experiences (e.g., AI-supported simulations, intelligent coaching tools, adaptive learning platforms) that reinforce workflow adoption while maintaining a strong focus on learning objectives and skill development.
• Identify opportunities to incorporate AI tools into instructional design, facilitation and learner engagement, enhancing program scalability, personalization and overall effectiveness—while ensuring alignment with established workflows.
• Contributing to the development and delivery of external strategic AI learning initiatives, including supporting partnerships with law schools and early talent pipelines to build foundational AI literacy and workflow awareness.
• Supporting work with internal and external stakeholders to incorporate real-world workflows and client scenarios into training content, ensuring relevance to practice and alignment with firm strategy. 

Team Leadership 

• With oversight from the MT Academy Director,  managing the day-to-day functional activities of the MT Academy Coordinator who is a direct report by working effectively with them to achieve goals and objectives through assigning and supervising work as well as collaborating with peers across the MT Academy, PJO and other functional groups.

As our ideal candidate, you will distinguish yourself by the following profile:

• LLB or a Bachelor’s degree combined with 5 years’ experience in the development and delivery of educational programs.
• Experience in legal practice or in working with lawyers in a non-practice environment.
• Substantial experience in designing, delivering and managing Professional Development programs for legal professionals (lawyers and/or paralegals).
• Proven working experience in instructional design and with instructional technology, including knowledge of adult learning theories and design models, lesson and curriculum planning, solid knowledge of course development software, visual design skills and ability to write instructional text, audio scripts/video scripts. 
• Proficiency in relevant instructional design technology (Articulate 360, Storyline and Rise).
• Law firm or other professional services firm experience preferred.
• Certificate or course in instructional design is an asset.
• Bilingual in French language an asset.
• Significant flexibility, including flexible lunch hours, arrival and departure times as well as some evening work during heavy workload periods. 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and comfortable speaking to groups of students and lawyers at programs or meetings.
• Strong interpersonal skills and comfortable working with lawyers, clients and staff individually and in teams.
• High level of service orientation with the ability to problem solve independently and practically.
• Self-starter who takes initiative with exceptional organizational and time management skills, and who works efficiently with minimum supervision.
• Ability to maintain a fast pace and manage multiple demands under pressure by prioritizing, being practical and results-oriented.
• Strong attention to accuracy and detail along with a numeric aptitude.

As a member of the McCarthy team, you will have access to:

• Outstanding benefits from day one, including insurance premiums paid by the Firm and wellness and technology reimbursements.
• Competitive compensation and generous time off, including a day off to volunteer and a day off for your birthday.
• A commitment to professional development and growth opportunities for our people at all levels, supported by a culture that fully embraces and encourages two-way feedback.
• Strong community involvement and a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
• A collaborative, cohesive culture that connects lawyers and business teams through collective purpose.

How to Apply: 

We encourage external candidates to apply online and internal applicants must apply directly through our internal careers portal on Espresso. We look forward to receiving your application.

McCarthy Tétrault utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) technology as part of our application screening process to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our recruitment efforts by analyzing applications to identify candidates whose qualifications and experiences align with the requirements of the position.

We thank all applicants for their interest in McCarthy Tétrault; however, only chosen applicants will be contacted. We regret that we are unable to respond to individual inquiries about application status. McCarthy Tétrault is an equal opportunity employer that fosters an inclusive, equitable, and accessible environment. Please notify us if you require accommodation at any time during the recruitment process.