Vice President, Learning & Organization Development

Easterseals Southern California (ESSC) provides essential services and on-the-ground supports to more than 15,000 people each year – including early childhood programs, autism services, adult daily and independent living services, employment programs, veterans’ services and more.

Learning and organization development are crucial to ESSC’s mission and ambitious goal to make Southern California the most inclusive place for people with disabilities to live, learn, work and play.

We’re looking for a Vice President, Learning & Organization Development to collaborate with executive and service line leaders, share insights and best practices, drive digital transformation, and guide evolving processes to ensure learning resources and programs, along with succession planning and DE&I initiatives, support current goals and long-term objectives.

About ESSC

For more than 100 years, Easterseals has worked tirelessly with our partners to enhance quality of life and expand local access to healthcare, education and employment opportunities.

Today, our public education, policy and advocacy initiatives positively shape perceptions and address urgent and evolving needs for people with disabilities – a group that includes one in four Americans. Together, we’re empowering people with disabilities, along with their families and communities, to be full and equal participants in society.

We are a passionate group of people who work together to make a difference and sustain a supportive, inclusive work environment. ESSC values the uniqueness and dignity of each individual and their contribution. Our strength is in our diversity, and every day, we strive to uphold our values of respect and inclusion for all.

About the Role

The Vice President, Learning & Organization Development will be a thought leader for managing and supporting organizational needs assessment, professional development and continuous learning program design, execution and evaluation for all ESSC associates.

Reporting to the Chief People Officer, the VP, Learning & Organization Development will effectively collaborate with key stakeholders on critical initiatives impacting ESSC objectives and strategies including our commitment to be an employer of choice. With significant focus on accessibility, the VP, Learning & Organization Development will lead implementation of an associate-centric learning and organization development function, while serving as a senior leader for organization-wide change management and the creation of an effective, strategic succession planning process.

The VP, Learning & Organization Development will leverage data and analytics to guide strategy, assess ROI for programs and investments, evaluate trends, support decisions, and share results. Further, this role is responsible for leading and coaching the DEI team to ensure accessibility, diversity, and inclusion are woven into all ESSC processes and programs, as well as collaborating with leaders and managers organization wide to ensure our DE&I culture is reflected in everything we do.

Salary Range: $170,000 - $190,000 / Year

• Create and execute innovative, effective Learning & Organization Development strategies and solutions to enhance ESSC associate satisfaction and retention while contributing to ESSC’s reputation as an employer of choice
• Lead, develop, and inspire a high performing team of professionals
• Collaborate with People Services team to promote and support ESSC’s “One Team” philosophy
• Architect ESSC’s succession planning process including collaborating with organization wide leadership to regularly review and adjust
• Select and implement leadership development resources to support succession planning
• Contribute to associate performance management and development as a thought leader and subject matter expert
• Work with internal and external partners and subject matter experts to architect and implement associate and leadership development strategies supporting ESSC’s culture of accessibility, diversity and, belonging
• Leverage Human Capital Management (Workday) system and workflows to design robust performance management processes
• Act as a consultant to executive, service line and People Services leadership supporting organizational innovations to improve service line and organization-wide performance
• Create and implement an excellent associate experience including transparency, accessibility and inclusiveness
• Investigate and introduce best practices for continuous learning, succession planning, leadership development, DE&I and change management
• Evaluate results with data and metrics including associate and manager satisfaction
• Perform benchmarking and competitive analyses to guide strategies and recommendations to enhance effectiveness and engagement

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required with an advanced degree preferred
• 10+ years’ experience designing, building and executing innovative, effective learning and development strategies and solutions
• Proven experience creating and implementing a sustainable succession planning process integrated into culture, accessible to all and understandable across all organizational levels
• Experience using HCM systems to create and manage succession planning processes, performance management and LMS; Workday experience highly preferred
• Knowledge of non-profit and for-profit operations and experience working with multiple business units and distributed locations a plus
• Demonstrated success creating and implementing L&OD programs and supporting HCM (Workday) implementation
• Driven to create and sustain a positive, engaging learning and development culture
• Strategic and collaborative approach to relationship building and problem solving
• Focus on associate experience and employer of choice services
• Robust analytic capabilities to support decisions and strategy with facts and data
• Tenacious and passionate about using expertise to make a difference
• Growth mindset and dedication to advancing positive change
• Driven to provide excellent service and results for associates and service lines
• Demonstrated capability to deliver in a complex, multi-site fast-paced environment
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with proven success managing multiple internal stakeholders, external vendor relationships and cross-group collaboration
• Understanding of government regulations such as the Department of Disability Services, Residential Care, Child Development, etc.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional certifications in specialty areas are a plus