Director, Learning & Development

Director of Learning & Development

Join the PRIDE and Brookfield Zoo Chicago's mission to ignite emotional connections with wildlife that spark conservation action while leading vital programs to protect endangered species. Our beautiful 235-acre campus offers a living classroom that is home to over 3,500 animals representing 500 species. Brookfield Zoo Chicago is embarking on a groundbreaking, ambitious Next Century Plan to achieve our vision. It is the beginning of an exciting transformative journey!

The Director of Learning & Development contributes to the success of Brookfield Zoo Chicago ("BZC") by partnering with BZC staff, business unit leaders, Subject Matter Experts, and P&C staff to facilitate organizational development and increase workforce performance and employee engagement by designing, administering, coordinating, and evaluating high-quality training experiences.

Primary Job Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions):

• Partner with stakeholders to identify skills gaps and training needs across departments to align learning initiatives with operational needs and organizational priorities.
• Build scalable learning frameworks that align with company goals and support employees at every level, from frontline staff to leadership.
• Develop and implement a long-term strategic learning framework that accelerates capability growth and delivers on key institutional objectives. Develop and execute a multi-year organizational learning and capability strategy aligned to enterprise goals.
• Design, create, and implement comprehensive training programs (in-person workshops, e-learning, onboarding, leadership development)
• Spearhead change management, culture transformation, and leadership development that supports institutional growth. Collaboratively develop talent strategies that solve critical workforce challenges.
• Embed DEAI principles in every facet of learning and development practices.
• Ensure training initiatives strengthen regulatory compliance, mitigate risk, and support operational readiness.
• Deliver dynamic training sessions, facilitate interactive workshops, and lead engaging new hire orientation.
• Drive leadership continuity by fostering a culture of internal talent cultivation; coach and advise senior leaders on succession planning and development strategies.
• Position learning as a driver of operational performance, safety culture, and employee engagement.
• Define and implement strategic L&D KPI's that connect workforce training to measurable performance, engagement, and retention outcomes.
• Deliver executive-level insights on workforce capability and ROI, utilizing analytics to drive strategic, data-informed talent decisions.
• Oversee LMS strategy and digital learning technologies to ensure scalable, compliant, and high-quality user-centric experiences.
• Manage vendor relations, content licensing, and training resources.
• Manage the learning budget in partnership with P&C leadership.
• Actively monitor and adopt emerging e-learning technologies, tools, and industry trends to enhance instructional media and keep pace with best practices.
• Other related duties as assigned to ensure successful achievement of Brookfield Zoo Chicago's goals and objectives.

Position Requirements:

• High school diploma or educational equivalent (e.g., GED.) required. Bachelor's degree in Organizational Development, Human Resources, Instructional Design, Business Administration or related field, or eight years of equivalent experience required.
• Five years' experience in learning & development, instructional design, and/or organizational development that includes supporting senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Expertise in designing and delivering engaging, learner-centered educational experiences that drive performance.
• Skilled in virtual and in-person facilitation that encourages active participation, peer-to-peer learning, and high engagement.
• Experience in full-lifecycle training portfolio from onboarding to leadership development across multiple functional areas of a complex organization.
• Demonstrated capability in instructional design utilizing learning theory and e-learning software.
• Proficiency in designing and executing training needs assessment, leveraging data analytics and evaluation frameworks to track pre- and post- training metrics against organizational performance and ROI.
• English fluency at a professional working proficiency.
• Cultural competency; experience and/or ability to work and interact effectively with a diverse, multicultural audience.
• Valid driver's license required on date of hire. Illinois residents must possess a valid Illinois driver's license at the time of hire or must obtain one within 90 days of hire. A valid out-of-state driver's license is required at the time of hire for out-of-state residents.

Desirable/

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience using a Learning Management System and administration functions preferred.
• Multilingual ability, Spanish fluency a plus.

Additional Information:
This position…