Manager, Instructional Design & Learning Experience

The Canada Life Assurance Company • Montreal, QC

2d • CA$86,600 - CA$130,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Our award-winning L&D team is seeking an experienced L&D leader in instructional design and capability enablement. This role reports to AVP, Learning & Development and work on a hybrid work style (3+ days per week in office). As the Manager, Instructional Design & Learning Experience, you will lead a talented team that brings learning to life across Canada Life. This is a high-impact leadership role for someone who can shape how learning shows up across the organization — not just as a course or program, but as an experience that builds capability, changes behaviour and supports business results. You will set the direction, standards and conditions for your team to create practical, engaging solutions that help employees, leaders and teams learn, apply and perform with confidence.

Requirements

• 7–10+ years of experience in instructional design, learning experience design and/or broader L&D strategy, with a strong understanding of how learning builds capability and supports business performance
• 5+ years of experience leading L&D leaders and teams, with the ability to coach, prioritize, create clarity and build strong team practices across a large, distributed portfolio
• A proven track record managing complex, high-volume learning portfolios where business priorities shift, timelines are tight and the work requires strong judgment, trade-off decisions and stakeholder alignment
• Strong consulting and business partnership skills, with the confidence to ask good questions, challenge assumptions and translate business needs into practical learning and performance solutions
• The ability to lead through ambiguity, balancing strategic direction with day-to-day delivery while helping your team stay focused, adaptable and energized
• Experience using AI-enabled learning tools and digital learning approaches to improve productivity, quality, scale and the learner experience
• Strong analytical skills, with experience using data, feedback and performance insights to measure effectiveness, improve solutions and communicate impact
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to build trust and bring others along in a complex, matrixed environment

Nice To Haves

• Bilingualism is an asset (fluent in French and English) but is required for Quebec only as the position regularly serve our clients with French and English-speaking needs.

Responsibilities

• Lead instructional design function and portfolio management
• Lead and coach the instructional design leadership team and indirectly their 25+ instructional designers
• Manage intake, prioritization, and resource allocation for your team across multiple concurrent initiatives
• Set design standards and ensure quality, consistency, and scalability across all learning solutions
• Partner with the business to build capability
• Collaborate with peers, HR partners, executives and business leads to assess learning needs
• Translate business priorities into effective learning and performance solutions
• Provide consultative guidance on when to use learning, performance support, or other approaches
• Design impactful learning experiences
• Consult, develop and/or support enterprise and business /role specific instructional design learning strategies and solutions
• Oversee the design of multi-modal learning solutions (digital content, instructor-led, virtual, microlearning, and performance support)
• Relentless focus on ensuring all learning solutions are accessible, engaging, and designed to drive performance
• Enable learning through technology and innovation
• Activate AI-enabled instructional design practices and tools that improve productivity, scale, and create an exceptional learning experience
• Define and manage digital asset governance
• Partner with HR Technology and Digital teams to continuously improve the learning ecosystem
• Measure impact and continuously improve
• Define success metrics and evaluate effectiveness of learning solutions
• Use data and insights (e.g., adoption, engagement, performance outcomes) to improve learning experiences
• Communicate impact and recommendations to stakeholders

Benefits

• Career Development: Opportunities for career advancement, access to industry-leading learning programs and up to $2,000 annually towards education reimbursement.
• Health & Wellness: Flexible health and dental benefits, plus a $5,000 mental health benefit to support your well-being.
• Time Off: In addition to regular vacation and personal days, we support community involvement with a volunteer day.
• Financial Security: Company-matching pension plan, share ownership program and additional investment options.
• Rewards and Recognition: Employee recognition programs, service milestone celebrations, employee discounts and more!
• Emphasis on Community: We provide a workplace where employees feel connected and supported through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), mentorship programs, social clubs and events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed