Manager - Instructional Design

New Balance•Boston, MA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Instructional Design Manager is a working manager responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining high-quality learning experiences for the Global Retail Training team while leading and coaching a team of instructional developers. This role partners closely with business stakeholders and regional partners to translate performance and capability needs into effective learning solutions and ensures consistent instructional design standards, on-time delivery, and measurable impact. This position combines strategic thinking, hands-on content creation, and people leadership, making it ideal for an experienced instructional designer ready to expand their leadership scope without stepping away from design work.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Instructional Design, Education, Learning Sciences, Human Performance, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
5+ years of experience in instructional design or learning experience design roles.
1–3 years of experience leading or mentoring instructional designers or developers (formal or informal people leadership).
1-3 years of experience in retail or related field (or equivalent experience)
Demonstrated experience designing and developing end-to-end learning solutions.
Proficiency with common instructional design tools and authoring platforms (e.g., LMSs, rapid authoring tools, collaboration tools).
Strong project management, organizational, and communication skills.
Experience managing a mix of self-produced work and team-delivered projects.
Background in performance-based learning, business-aligned training, or large-scale learning programs.
Experience working with global or geographically distributed teams and learners.
Familiarity with learning measurement and evaluation approaches.

Responsibilities

Design and develop learner-centered training programs, courses, and performance support assets using sound instructional design methodology (e.g., adult learning principles, blended learning, microlearning).
Create and/or oversee the creation of digital learning content, facilitator guides, job aids, assessments, and learning pathways.
Ensure learning solutions align with business goals, performance outcomes, and learner needs.
Apply quality standards for instructional design, accessibility, branding, and user experience.
Evaluate learning effectiveness using agreed measures (e.g., learner feedback, performance indicators) and iterate as needed.
Directly manage and coach two instructional developers, including goal setting, workload prioritization, performance feedback, and development planning.
Review team deliverables to ensure accuracy, instructional quality, and adherence to timelines.
Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and continuous-improvement team culture.
Support skill development in instructional design, tools, project management, and stakeholder communication.
Partner with business leaders, subject matter experts, and cross-functional teams to scope learning needs and define success criteria.
Translate complex business requirements into clear learning strategies and design plans.
Manage multiple projects simultaneously, balancing personal design work with team oversight.
Communicate progress, risks, and outcomes effectively to stakeholders.
Establish and maintain instructional design processes, templates, and best practices.
Contribute to the evolution of the learning ecosystem, tools, and development workflows.
Stay current on learning trends, technologies, and practices; apply relevant innovations where appropriate.