Director of Learning and Development

Company Overview

BTD is a fast‑growing metalworking company. We provide custom metalwork services for some of the world's top brands. Our 1100+ employees work from four facilities throughout the Midwest and Southeast. We invest in our people, our equipment, and our facilities to offer our clients the best value possible. We are also a wholly owned subsidiary of Otter Tail Corporation, a publicly traded company on NASDAQ.

The Director of Learning & Development (L&D) is responsible for the strategic design, implementation, and evaluation of learning and development programs that build workforce capability, strengthen leadership, and support operational excellence across BTD's manufacturing operations. This role partners closely with manufacturing, operations, safety, and HR leadership to ensure learning solutions are practical, scalable, and aligned with business priorities. The Director of L&D brings significant experience in manufacturing environments and understands the realities of supporting multishift operations, ensuring learning is accessible and effective for hourly employees, frontline leaders, and salaried staff across all shifts.

Our expectation is that every employee: 1) strictly follows safety policies, rules and safe work methods. 2) promptly corrects or reports safety hazards or unsafe conditions. Promptly reports injuries for prompt diagnosis and treatment. 3) makes regular suggestions for safety process improvements to support continuous improvement in safety.

• Develop and execute an enterprise‑wide learning and development strategy aligned with BTD's business objectives, manufacturing strategy, and talent priorities.
• Partner with manufacturing and operations leadership to ensure learning initiatives support safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and leadership effectiveness.
• Design, implement, and maintain learning programs across all BTD locations, ensuring consistency while allowing for site‑specific needs.
• Ensure training solutions are accessible and effective across all shifts
  , including nights, weekends, and alternative schedules.
• Oversee leadership development programs for frontline leaders, supervisors, managers, and high‑potential talent.
• Support succession planning and career development by building development pathways and experiences aligned to business needs.
• Lead, coach, and develop the Learning & Development team; establish priorities, performance expectations, and development plans.
• Manage the L&D budget, learning systems, and external vendor relationships.
• Establish metrics and evaluation methods to measure the effectiveness and business impact of learning programs.
• Stay current on best practices in learning, leadership development, and manufacturing workforce development.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on workforce capability, leadership bench strength, and organizational development needs.

This position manages employees within the Learning & Development function and is responsible for hiring, performance management, coaching, and development of the team.

Bachelor's degree in human resources, organizational development, education, business, or related field required. Master's degree preferred.

The…