Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Director of Training

🎯 Role Definition

The Director of Training leads the learning and development function with full ownership of strategy, program design, delivery, measurement, and team leadership. This role translates business objectives into scalable learning solutions—blended, virtual and classroom—that drive measurable behavior change, increase productivity, reduce time-to-competency, and support talent development initiatives across sales, customer success, product, and corporate functions. The Director of Training acts as a strategic partner to senior leadership, HR, and business unit heads, ensuring training investments are aligned to short- and long-term organizational priorities.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Manager, Learning & Development
Head of Training / Training Manager
Organizational Development Manager

Advancement To:

Vice President of Learning & Development
Chief Learning Officer / Head of Talent Development
Senior Director, People & Organization Effectiveness

Lateral Moves:

Director, Organizational Development
Director, Talent Management
Head of Sales Enablement

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and execute a comprehensive, multi-year training and learning strategy aligned to corporate goals, defining clear metrics (time-to-proficiency, performance lift, learner satisfaction, retention) and roadmaps for new hires, managers, and frontline employees.
Lead a cross-functional needs analysis program to identify skills gaps and competency requirements across business units, prioritizing training investments based on strategic impact and ROI.
Design, implement, and continuously improve competency-based curriculum and modular learning pathways (onboarding, technical training, leadership development, compliance, sales enablement) that support career mobility and succession planning.
Oversee selection, implementation, continuous improvement, and administration of the Learning Management System (LMS) and related learning technologies (LCMS, virtual classroom, microlearning platforms), ensuring integrations with HRIS and performance systems.
Manage a team of instructional designers, facilitators, trainers, vendors, and contractors—establishing clear goals, development plans, quality standards, and delivery cadence to scale learning programs efficiently.
Architect blended learning solutions that combine instructor-led training, e-learning, microlearning, video coaching, simulations, and on-the-job performance support to maximize retention and transfer of learning.
Create and own governance for learning program standards, content lifecycle management, version control, accessibility compliance (WCAG), and quality assurance processes.
Develop and manage the training budget, forecast spend for internal and external resources, negotiate vendor contracts, and measure cost-effectiveness of training initiatives.
Partner with People Analytics and HR Business Partners to design evaluation frameworks that use qualitative and quantitative measures (pre/post assessments, behavioral KPIs, business metrics) to demonstrate program impact and influence investment decisions.
Drive onboarding and new hire training strategy to reduce time-to-productivity, including layered onboarding plans, manager enablement, and early-career learning journeys.
Lead leadership and management development programs, designing cohorts, executive coaching engagements, and succession frameworks that strengthen bench strength and promote internal mobility.
Collaborate with Product, Engineering, Sales, and Customer Success teams to design role-specific, product-focused training that supports launches, feature adoption, and customer outcomes.
Build and manage a vendor ecosystem—training providers, content partners, certification vendors, and consultants—evaluating performance against SLAs and learning outcomes.
Implement learning analytics and dashboards to provide real-time insights to stakeholders, identify adoption gaps, and drive continuous improvement through A/B testing and iterative design.
Ensure regulatory and compliance training programs are current, auditable, and delivered on schedule to meet legal and industry requirements (e.g., data privacy, safety, SOX/HIPAA where applicable).
Champion a culture of continuous learning by curating bite-sized content, internal subject matter expert programs, learning communities, mentorship initiatives, and recognition for learning achievements.
Lead change management for major learning initiatives—developing communication plans, manager toolkits, pilot programs, and adoption incentives to ensure behavioral adoption and integration into workflows.
Create certification and credentialing programs to validate competence and provide external/internal recognition that supports promotion and compensation decisions.
Standardize instructional design methodologies (ADDIE, SAM) and adult learning principles across the team to ensure consistency, engagement, and measurable outcomes.
Coordinate with Talent Acquisition to develop training pipelines, early talent programs, apprenticeships, and internship curriculums that feed the organization with job-ready talent.
Oversee content localization and cultural adaptation of global training programs to ensure relevance and compliance across regions and languages.
Lead evaluation cycles for course effectiveness, continually refining curriculum based on learner feedback, performance data, and evolving business priorities.
Serve as a key advisor to executive leadership on workforce capability risks and opportunities, presenting evidence-based recommendations to close skill gaps and future-proof the organization.

Secondary Functions

Maintain and refine training operations processes (learning calendar, enrollment, certification tracking, access control) to deliver a seamless learner experience.
Support ad-hoc reporting requests and provide exploratory learning analytics to business leaders using LMS and BI tools.
Manage vendor relationships for outsourced training development and delivery, including contract negotiation, SLAs, and performance reviews.
Contribute to the organization's learning technology roadmap and partner with IT for systems integration, security, and scalability.
Assist HR with performance calibration cycles by translating training outcomes into actionable development plans and competency models.
Act as escalation point for complex learning-related issues, resolving conflicts between business needs and learning capabilities while maintaining program integrity.
Facilitate cross-functional working groups to prototype and pilot innovative learning experiences (VR simulations, scenario-based learning, peer coaching).
Coordinate internal subject matter experts and SMEs to ensure technical accuracy and business relevance of training content.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proven expertise designing and implementing enterprise learning strategies, curricula, and certification programs tied to business outcomes.
Deep experience with Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Cornerstone, SuccessFactors, Docebo, Workday Learning, Moodle, or similar, including administration and reporting.
Instructional design mastery with tools and authoring platforms (Articulate 360, Storyline, Adobe Captivate, Camtasia, Rise) and strong command of adult learning theories (ADDIE, SAM).
Strong data literacy: ability to build learning analytics dashboards, define KPIs, run A/B tests, interpret pre/post assessment data, and present impact to executives using BI tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker).
Proficiency managing virtual classroom technologies and webinar platforms (Zoom, Webex, Teams, Webinars, Virtual Training tools) and producing high-quality recorded content.
Experience with performance support tools, microlearning platforms, knowledge management systems, and integrations with HRIS/ATS (Workday, ADP, BambooHR).
Budgeting and vendor management skills—negotiating contracts, managing SOWs, measuring vendor ROI, and ensuring vendor compliance with SLAs.
Familiarity with compliance training design and legal/regulatory audit requirements applicable to industry (data privacy, safety, financial regulations).
Project and program management capability, including Agile or iterative delivery methodologies, roadmap planning, and cross-functional stakeholder coordination.
Proven experience building and leading high-performing L&D teams, including hiring, coaching, performance management, and people development.

Soft Skills

Strategic mindset: ability to align learning initiatives to business strategy and translate high-level goals into actionable training plans.
Strong stakeholder management and executive presence—skilled at influencing senior leaders and driving cross-functional alignment.
Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to create compelling business cases and training content for diverse audiences.
Coaching and mentoring aptitude to develop internal trainers, facilitators, and leaders.
Change management acumen—able to drive adoption, manage resistance, and sustain behavior change across organizations.
Analytical and results-oriented: comfortable using data to make decisions, optimize programs, and recommend continuous improvement.
Empathy and learner-centric orientation—designs with inclusivity, accessibility, and adult learning needs in mind.
Adaptability and innovation mindset—keeps current with L&D trends and experiments with new modalities to improve outcomes.
Collaboration and team-building skills to create cross-functional partnerships and learning communities.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple initiatives and meet deadlines.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Education, Organizational Psychology, Instructional Design, Business Administration, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Learning & Development, Organizational Development, Human Resources, Educational Technology, or an MBA with a focus on people strategy.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Human Resources Management
Organizational Development / Psychology
Instructional Design / Educational Technology
Business Administration / Leadership

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 8–15 years in learning & development, training management, or organizational development, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.

Preferred:

10+ years of progressive experience building enterprise training programs
Demonstrated success scaling L&D functions in fast-growth or matrixed organizations
Experience across multiple disciplines (sales enablement, technical training, leadership development, compliance)
Proven track record of using learning analytics to demonstrate business impact and influence executive decisions