Manufacturing Learning and Development Manager

Position overview:

A growing multi-site manufacturing organization is seeking a Manufacturing Learning & Development Manager to improve workforce readiness, strengthen frontline leadership, and support consistent execution across plant operations.
This role partners closely with Operations and works alongside leaders in Quality, Safety, Industrial Engineering, Continuous Improvement, and Human Resources. The focus is on building capability systems that ensure employees are trained, qualified, and prepared to perform safely and effectively.
This is not a traditional classroom training role. The ideal candidate understands manufacturing operations and knows how to develop people, coach leaders, and strengthen execution through practical, site-based capability building.

What This Role Does:

The Manufacturing Learning & Development Manager helps improve operational performance by increasing workforce capability and leadership effectiveness.
This person will:
Identify capability gaps with plant and operations leaders.
Build and improve onboarding, qualification, certification, and cross-training processes.
Coach frontline leaders to improve accountability and execution.
Lead and support a small team responsible for technical learning and workforce development.
Help standardize capability processes across multiple locations.
Partner with cross-functional teams to support operational readiness and continuous improvement.
What Success Looks Like - Success in this role means:
Employees are prepared and qualified for their roles.
Leaders are better equipped to coach and manage performance.
Processes are more consistent across sites.
Workforce flexibility improves through better cross-training.
Operations run with greater discipline, readiness, and consistency.

Qualifications:

Required
Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Operations, Industrial Engineering, Business, Organizational Leadership, or related field, or equivalent experience.
7+ years of experience in manufacturing operations, workforce capability, technical training, learning and development, continuous improvement, or operational excellence.
Experience coaching frontline leaders in a manufacturing setting.
Experience developing onboarding, qualification, certification, or workforce readiness programs.
Strong facilitation, communication, coaching, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to influence cross-functional teams and support change.
Preferred
Experience in food manufacturing, high-volume production, or similar environments.
Prior leadership of a training, capability, or workforce development team.
Exposure to Lean Manufacturing, TWI, Standard Work, TPM, or CI practices.
Multi-site manufacturing experience.

Work Environment:

This role includes a combination of office and production-floor work. Regular visits to manufacturing areas are required, and the candidate should be comfortable working in plant environments with moderate noise, temperature variation, and routine exposure to production activity.

Travel Requirements:

Up to 50% travel is required to support multiple facilities and partner with site leadership teams.