Senior Director, Learning & Development

San Antonio Spurs Sports & Entertainment•San Antonio, TX

15h

About The Position

At Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E), we work in service of something bigger than ourselves. To us, it’s more than a game or concert—it’s about creating moments that excite, memories that endure, and connections that strengthen our community. SS&E owns and operates the San Antonio Spurs (NBA), Austin Spurs (NBA G-League), San Antonio FC (USL), and manages the Frost Bank Center, Toyota Field, and STAR Complex. With a workforce of 1,000+ employees across sports, entertainment, and operations, how we enable our people, matters deeply. We believe our people are our greatest asset. Guided by our values—Integrity, Success & Caring—we are building a modern, inclusive, and data-enabled HR function that empowers leaders to make smarter decisions and delivers an exceptional employee experience. The Senior Director, Learning & Development is a strategic leader within the People & Culture (P&C) function responsible for building and executing an integrated talent and organizational development strategy that prepares the organization for future growth. Reporting directly to the CHRO, this role oversees enterprise learning, leadership development, succession planning, performance management, and change management across all SS&E properties. In addition, the role leads a learning and development team. This leader ensures that organizational capability, leadership readiness, and employee growth are aligned with business goals and the people strategy. This role is a trusted advisor to the CHRO, P&C centers of excellence, People Business Partners (PBP), and business leaders, shaping a culture of continuous learning and high performance.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in Learning & Development, Talent Management, Organizational Development, or related fields.
5+ years of experience managing enterprise-wide initiatives, teams, budgets, and vendors and.
Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s degree is preferred, in Organization Development or Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Proven success building learning and development strategies and frameworks, and leading large-scale programs.
Ability to develop succession planning, performance management, and change management frameworks and tools.
Experience with instructional design methodologies and adult learning principles.
Experience with learning management systems (LMS), analytics tools, and digital learning platforms.
Demonstrated leadership and ability to influence senior executives.
Strong facilitation, communication, and executive-level presentation skills.
Curious, growth-minded, and committed to continuous improvement
Strong problem-solving skills with a proactive mindset.
Comfortable navigating ambiguity, developing clarity, and driving transformation.
Ability to inspire and motivate individuals and teams towards learning and growth.

Nice To Haves

Experience running an internal university preferred.

Responsibilities

Partner with the CHRO to develop and execute a comprehensive multi-year enterprise talent strategy aligned with SS&E values, culture, commitment to the community, and business priorities.
Serve as a senior leader within P&C, providing thought leadership on organizational effectiveness and workforce capability.
Partner with PBPs and business stakeholders to identify capability gaps and future skill requirements.
Lead organizational needs analysis to prioritize learning initiatives across all business units.
Foster a culture of continuous learning, innovation, and performance excellence. Serve as a highly visible leader and champion of learning across the organization.
Oversee the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of learning programs, including Spurs Sports & Entertainment University (SSEU).
Develop signature leadership and professional development programs that reinforce culture, values, and strategic priorities.
Ensure programs service the organization at all levels of the workforce (early careers, emerging leaders, mid-level managers, executive development).
Develop the organization’s succession planning framework, processes, and tools. Ensure the framework identifies and develops high-potential talent.
Partner with business leaders and PBPs to identify critical roles, talent pipelines, and readiness gaps.
Program annual talent reviews and supports the creation of development plans for high-potential talent.
Build transparent, future-focused development strategies that strengthen organizational bench strength.
Partner with the CHRO to develop a modernized performance management strategy, ensuring a consistent, fair, and growth-centered approach.
Refine or redesign the performance management cycle, including goal setting, feedback cadence, reviews, ratings, and calibration.
Train and equip leaders with tools to deliver meaningful feedback and coaching.
Expand and enhance a comprehensive onboarding strategy aligned to organizational culture and talent priorities that are integrated throughout the employee lifecycle.
Own and amplify the new-hire experience, including Day 1 orientation, and subsequent onboarding milestones.
Develop an onboarding program for internal movement.
Partner with the CHRO on enterprise-wide change management strategies for key initiatives and transformations. Ensure smooth adoption and sustained behavior change.
Support development of change toolkits, communication frameworks, and leader readiness plans.
Internal consultant on organizational transformation and culture evolution.
Oversee learning technology platforms, including leveraging existing HRIS infrastructure and evaluating the need for other integrated platforms.
Develop metrics and dashboards for learning engagement, program effectiveness, performance outcomes, and talent pipeline health.
Use data insights to continuously improve learning solutions and talent strategies.
Lead, coach, and develop the Learning & Development team.
Build strong partnerships with other P&C centers of excellence, including Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, PBPs, etc.
Build strong partnerships with business unit leaders to integrate talent solutions across the organization.
Champion a culture of continuous learning, growth mindset, and innovation.