Assistant Director, Digital Learning Enablement - Field Talent Acquisition and Development

About the Job:

Lead the strategy execution, operations, and continuous evolution of learning technology solutions to meet the expectations of modern learners and enable the future of learning for the 22,500+ U.S.-based field force.

Reporting to the Sr. Director, Content Strategy & Digital Learning Enablement within the Field Talent Acquisition and Development division, this role provides hands-on expertise and leads, manages, and develops the team responsible for day-to-day learning platform operations and implementing scalable, engaging, data-informed learning experiences that drive business impact.

What You'll Do:

• Lead, coach, and develop a small learning technology team responsible for platform operations including configuration, administration, reporting, and support for learners, field leaders, and business partners.

• Act as the learning business lead responsible for the implementation, ongoing operations, and evolution of the field-facing learning platform.

• Execute the learning technology roadmap in alignment and collaboration with partners in Field Talent, Digital Product, and the broader Field Function organization.

• Identify, assess, and apply AI-enabled capabilities to enhance the learner and leader experience, enable learning in the flow of work, and drive operational efficiency.

• Ensure learning platforms and processes support regulatory, compliance, product qualification, field enablement, and reporting requirements with appropriate controls, documentation, and governance.

• Lead or support Field Function initiatives with learning technology implications across learning, business, digital product, vendor, and field stakeholder teams.

• Consult with learning and development program owners on technology solutions that meet the program requirements, including learner and leader experience, program administration, and reporting.

• Lead ongoing assessment and improvement to the learning platform operating model, including intake, governance, documentation, service processes and standards, and business partner enablement.

• Partner with learning and business stakeholders to gather feedback, evaluate use cases, and define requirements for new or enhanced learning technology capabilities.

• Collaborate with partners across Field Function and Digital Product to evaluate, plan, and implement internal or vendor-based solutions, including vendor assessment, implementation planning, release readiness, stakeholder enablement, and change management.

• Monitor and evaluate vendor roadmaps and product releases to identify opportunities that improve engagement, efficiency, scalability, and business impact.

• Stay current on industry best practices, trends, and emerging learning technology capabilities; translate relevant insights into practical recommendations, pilots, and innovation opportunities.

What You'll bring to the role:

• Minimum 10+ years of progressive experience in the learning and development field, with proven track record in leveraging learning technology to drive business results.

• Bachelor’s degree in learning technology, instructional design, or related field required; Master’s degree preferred.

• Experience leading, coaching, and developing a team of learning technology professionals.

• Expertise in learning technology ecosystems, including learning management systems, LXPs or learning portals, virtual classroom platforms, integrations, data and reporting, and end-user support. Docebo and Zoom experience preferred.

• Deep proficiency in leading platform operations, including configuration, user and catalog management, security and permissions, automated assignments, integrations, reporting and dashboards.

• Experience partnering with vendors and internal teams to manage platform enhancements, issue resolution, releases, and service expectations.

• Understanding of and experience with modern and emerging learning capabilities, including AI-enabled learning experiences, roleplay and simulation, adaptive and personalized learning, learning in the flow of work, social and collaborative learning, and learning analytics and intelligence.

• Experience with learning authoring tools, content standards such as SCORM and xAPI, and content catalog integrations.

• Ability to balance operational leadership, execution, stakeholder partnership, and team development.

• Ability to work effectively across the organization, including learning and other business partners, leadership, digital product and technology partners, as well as field-based stakeholders and vendor partners.

• Proven ability to assess technology needs, evaluate solutions, define requirements, support business cases, and lead implementation of new capabilities.

• Strong project, program, and change management skills with the ability to manage priorities, align stakeholders, mitigate risks, and deliver results.

• Strong analytical skills and experience using learning metrics, dashboards, platform data, learner insights, and business measures to inform decisions and demonstrate impact.

• Demonstrated curiosity, learning agility, creativity, enterprise mindset, client-first orientation, and commitment to continuous improvement.

Skills You Have:

• Analytical Thinking – Organizes and compares various aspects of a situation to comprehend and identify key or underlying complex issues through the use of quantitative data and analysis; leverages strong business acumen, problem solving, and interpersonal skills to think critically about situations from multiple perspectives and consistently seeks ways to improve processes.
• Consulting – Connects with stakeholders to understand and gain specific information to help resolve customer problems in a given domain. Communicates effectively intent to customers, solicits customer requirements, utilizes domain knowledge and collaborates with the right stakeholders.
• Cross Functional Partnering & Planning - Facilitates collaboration, communication, coordination, and planning with individuals and teams from different functions within the organization, and who have different areas of expertise, to achieve common goals.
• Learning Experience Design – Builds human-centric experiences that help learners fulfill desired learning outcomes. Defines current and future learning & development needs and design learning programs to address gaps. Demonstrates working knowledge of creating instructional strategies and training programs.
• Process Improvement – Assesses the current processes and impact to analyze, design, and manage potential improvement areas for more efficient, effective workflow.
• Program Management – Oversees and is responsible for the realization of larger workstream goals and manages activities that span across the program. Understands technical aspects of the program, defines scope, develops schedules, and manages resourcing, risks, and dependencies to deliver successful outcomes.
• Strategic Thinking – Uses critical thinking and knowledge of business demand to plan, design, prioritize and execute high impact initiatives and programs.
• Technical & Digital Acumen - Leverages knowledge and approaches of digital products and technologies to solve problems, complete tasks and accomplish goals. Demonstrates effective adaptability to new and emerging technologies.

Compensation Range:

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We believe in fairness and transparency. It’s why we share the salary range for most of our roles. However, final salaries are based on a number of factors, including the skills and experience of the candidate; the current market; location of the candidate; and other factors uncovered in the hiring process. The standard pay structure is listed but if you’re living in California, New York City or other eligible location, geographic specific pay structures, compensation and benefits could be applicable, click here to learn more.

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Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer that welcomes talented individuals of all backgrounds. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which each employee can contribute creative ideas, seek challenges, assume leadership and continue to focus on meeting and exceeding business and personal objectives.