Senior Manager, Learning Design & Innovation.

Aspen Dental•IL - Remote, IL

About The Position

The Aspen Group (TAG) is a leading retail healthcare business support organization. As a Senior Manager, Learning Design & Innovation, you will lead the Instructional Design team and drive innovative, scalable learning solutions across TAG. This role involves translating the Learning Design strategy into team practices, ensuring high-quality learning experiences, and overseeing the design and development lifecycle. You will also lead learning innovation, exploring AI-enabled solutions, rapid development, simulations, gamification, and new platform capabilities. The position requires managing innovation from idea to implementation, including pilots, proofs of concept, and scaling successful approaches. You will collaborate with various L&D teams and business stakeholders to connect learning strategy with execution. This role demands a strong leader, strategist, and practitioner comfortable with team leadership and direct involvement in complex learning initiatives within a fast-paced environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree preferred. Equivalent experience in instructional design, learning experience design, or learning innovation may be considered in lieu of an advanced degree.
7+ years of experience in learning and development, instructional design, learning experience design, or a related field.
3+ years of experience leading, coaching, or directly managing learning professionals.
Strong experience leading the design and development of medium- to large-scale learning initiatives from discovery through implementation.
Demonstrated experience applying adult learning principles, instructional design methodologies, performance consulting, and learner-centered design practices.
Experience exploring or implementing AI-enabled learning solutions, emerging learning technologies, or development efficiencies.
Experience with simulations, scenario-based learning, gamification, rapid development, interactive learning, or other innovative learning approaches.
Ability to move ideas from concept through pilot, evaluation, recommendation, and scalable implementation.
Strong project and workload management skills, including the ability to balance team capacity, competing priorities, timelines, and quality.
Experience developing reusable templates, standards, tools, frameworks, or design systems that improve consistency and scalability.
Ability to use data, learner feedback, and business input to evaluate learning effectiveness and recommend improvements.
Strong business acumen with the ability to connect learning design decisions to operational priorities and measurable outcomes.
Ability to consult with senior leaders, business partners, and subject matter experts to identify performance needs and recommend practical solutions.
Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to partner effectively across functions and organizational levels.
Comfortable balancing strategic leadership, people management, and hands-on involvement in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Responsibilities

Lead and Develop the Instructional Design Team: Provide direct leadership, coaching, performance management, and ongoing development for Instructional Designers. Establish clear expectations, support individual growth, strengthen team engagement, and build capabilities.
Oversee Learning Design Execution and Quality: Guide the design and development of learning solutions from discovery through implementation. Maintain visibility into workload, priorities, timelines, risks, and deliverables, ensuring solutions meet established standards.
Translate Learning Design Strategy into Team Execution: Partner with the Director of Learning Design to translate functional strategy into clear team priorities, standards, operating practices, and development expectations.
Lead AI-Enabled Learning Solutions and Efficiencies: Identify and implement responsible uses of AI to improve learning design, development, evaluation, and learner experience. Develop scalable workflows, tools, resources, and standards.
Advance Innovative Learning Approaches: Lead the exploration and application of simulations, scenario-based learning, practice experiences, gamification, rapid-development methods, interactive solutions, and learning embedded within the flow of work.
Lead Pilots and Proofs of Concept: Design and manage structured pilots tied to defined learner or business needs. Establish hypotheses, success measures, timelines, and evaluation plans.
Scale Successful Innovations Across L&D: Translate successful pilots and emerging practices into reusable tools, templates, standards, playbooks, training, and implementation guidance.
Explore Emerging Authoring Approaches and Platform Capabilities: Partner with Learning Technology and other internal teams to evaluate new authoring methods, tools, and platform capabilities.
Build Learning Design Standards and Resources: Develop and maintain reusable design resources, templates, frameworks, quality standards, and development guidance.
Measure Learning Design and Innovation Impact: Use project data, learner feedback, quality indicators, adoption measures, and business inputs to evaluate the effectiveness of learning solutions and innovation efforts.
Partner Across L&D and the Business: Collaborate with Learning Technology, Learning Optimization and Continuous Improvement, Leadership Development, Learning Experience, HR, and business stakeholders.
Serve as a Senior Learning Design Partner: Act as a trusted advisor on complex or high-visibility initiatives. Consult with stakeholders to clarify performance needs, recommend appropriate learning strategies, and influence solution direction.