Senior Manager, Learning and Development, Optimization & Continuous Improvement - Project Management and Governance

Aspen Dental • IL - Remote, IL

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About The Position

The Aspen Group (TAG) is a large retail healthcare business support organization. As a reflection of our current needs and planned growth we are very pleased to offer a new opportunity to join our dedicated L&D team at TAG as a Senior Manager, Learning and Development, Optimization & Continuous Improvement - Project Management and Governance. The Senior Manager of Learning and Development Optimization & Continuous Improvement is responsible for executing, measuring, and continuously improving learning solutions that support business performance across TAG’s emerging brands. Reporting to the Senior Director of Learning and Development Optimization, this role focuses on program optimization, analytics, design strategy, and delivery excellence—ensuring learning initiatives are effective, scalable, and aligned to business priorities. This role also owns end-to-end project management of learning initiatives within assigned portfolios, including planning, scoping, timeline management, resource coordination, and stakeholder communication. The Senior Manager ensures strong execution discipline across the full lifecycle—intake, design, development, deployment, and evaluation—driving on-time, high-quality delivery of learning solutions. As a key contributor within the Learning and Development organization, the Senior Manager partners with L&D colleagues, HR, and functional stakeholders to assess development needs, analyze learning impact, and recommend improvements. This role plays a critical part in strengthening intake rigor, prioritization, and governance, ensuring efforts are aligned to business impact and team capacity. With a strong focus on continuous improvement, the Senior Manager evaluates program effectiveness using data, learner feedback, and business input to identify opportunities for optimization. This includes refining content, improving learner experience, increasing engagement, and enhancing scalability of solutions. The role is responsible for translating insights into actionable recommendations and driving iterative improvements that elevate overall program quality and effectiveness. The Senior Manager is a strong performance consultant with a hands-on mindset—comfortable working directly in learning systems, analyzing data, improving content, and supporting stakeholders. Operating in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment, this role helps ensure learning investments are well-managed, continuously optimized, and drive meaningful, measurable results.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or; Master’s degree preferred. Equivalent experience in Learning Optimization and Solution Design may be considered in lieu of an advanced degree
• 7+ years of experience in learning and development, instructional design, or learning and development program optimization
• 3+ years of experience leading projects and mentoring others
• Strong experience managing medium- to large-scale learning initiatives from intake through implementation, using project management tools and structured methodologies.
• Solid business acumen with the ability to align learning solutions to operational priorities and articulate impact in measurable business terms.
• Strong understanding of adult learning principles and instructional design methodologies, with the ability to guide team members in applying them effectively.
• Experience using data and analytics to evaluate learning effectiveness and recommend optimization improvements.
• Ability to consult with senior leaders and functional partners to identify capability gaps and translate business needs into practical learning solutions.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence across departments and levels.
• Comfortable balancing strategic direction with hands-on involvement in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• Willingness to travel as needed.

Responsibilities

• Lead Optimization Needs Assessments for Assigned Functions: Partner with L&D, HR, and business leaders to assess optimization needs within supported teams. Synthesize qualitative and quantitative insights to identify gaps, root causes, and opportunities, and translate findings into prioritized, impact-driven recommendations that inform L&D roadmaps and continuous improvement efforts.
• Execute Learning Optimization Initiatives: Drive execution of learning optimization strategies aligned to the broader L&D vision. Manage initiatives as structured projects—defining scope, success metrics, timelines, and milestones—while identifying opportunities to improve learner engagement, content effectiveness, and program scalability.
• Enable Program Evaluation & Continuous Improvement Capability: Lead and support the development of continuous improvement practices across the L&D team by guiding evaluation of program effectiveness using participation data, learner feedback, and business performance inputs. Build team capability in identifying trends, conducting root cause analysis, and implementing iterative enhancements to improve relevance, learner experience, adoption, and measurable outcomes over time.
• Enable Program Delivery Excellence & Build Project Management Capability: Lead end-to-end project management across design, development, deployment, and facilitation while elevating team capability in project management rigor. Establish and model best practices including clear project planning, timeline and dependency management, risk mitigation, and stakeholder communication. Coach and support L&D team members in adopting consistent tools, frameworks, and operating rhythms to drive high-quality, on-time delivery and sustained operational excellence.
• Analyze Learning Data & Provide Insights: Collect, analyze, and interpret learning metrics (engagement, completion, satisfaction, application, and impact). Translate data into actionable insights, identify optimization opportunities, and provide regular, data-driven recommendations to L&D and business leadership.
• Support Learning Technology Optimization: Partner with LMS administrators and vendors to enhance system functionality, user experience, and content accuracy. Monitor usage trends, identify system-related barriers, and drive continuous improvements to increase adoption and effectiveness of learning technologies.
• Serve as a Senior Learning Partner: Act as a trusted advisor to assigned business areas, aligning learning solutions to evolving skill, performance, and engagement needs while reinforcing a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Mentor & Model Best Practices: Provide guidance and informal mentorship to junior team members. Promote best practices in project management, continuous improvement, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement to elevate overall team capability.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior