Learning and Development Manager Job Description Template - 2026 Guide

A learning and development manager designs, delivers, and measures the training programs that turn a company's stated skills gaps into an actual, improved workforce. The title covers onboarding curriculum, leadership development, compliance training, skills taxonomies, and the platforms that deliver all of it. Job postings for this work also appear under "Training and Development Manager" and "Learning Manager," and all three point to the same function. Anyone can run a workshop people enjoy. Far fewer can tie a program to a business outcome, defend its budget in a tight year, and prove it worked. That gap is what a strong hire closes, and it is why this guide exists: pair it with our job description best practices guide to write a posting that filters for the second group, not the first.

Last updated: September 2026

Key Highlights

• A real, tracked occupation: BLS tracks this work directly as Training and Development Managers, one of the few HR specialist titles in this collection with its own dedicated occupation code (11-3131).
• Solid pay, faster-than-average growth: the national median wage was $133,000 per year ($63.94 per hour) as of May 2025, and BLS projects 6 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, faster than average.
• A meaningfully sized field: BLS counted about 50,200 people in this occupation in 2025, with roughly 4,100 openings projected each year, a healthier pool than several other specialist HR titles.
• An unusually specific bar to entry: BLS lists typical entry-level education as a bachelor's degree plus 5 years or more of related experience, a higher floor than most management-track HR postings.
• The first line item cut in a downturn, and the reason that's a mistake: training budgets are a familiar early target when finances tighten, largely because the return is less visible than a sales hire, per HR Dive's reporting on L&D budget defense. A capable manager builds the measurement story that makes the budget harder to cut.
• Reports into senior HR leadership: most learning and development managers report to an HR Director, a VP of Human Resources, or a Chief People Officer, and partner closely with department heads and Finance.

Why This Role Matters

Every company says it wants a "learning culture." Almost none can say, with a number, whether training actually changed how people work. That gap between stated intent and measured outcome is why this role exists, and also why it's easy to hire badly. A candidate can walk in with genuine warmth and a portfolio of well-reviewed workshops, and still have no idea how to connect a curriculum to a retention number. The manager worth the salary thinks like a business partner first and an instructional designer second.

According to LinkedIn's 2025 Workplace Learning Report, 88 percent of organizations are concerned about employee retention, and providing learning opportunities is the number one retention strategy respondents named, ahead of pay. The same report found 49 percent of learning and talent professionals agree their executives worry employees lack the skills to execute the company's strategy. Together, those numbers describe an organization that knows it has a skills problem and is betting on training to fix it, without always giving the function the mandate to prove the bet paid off.

That measurement gap gets worse in a downturn. Training is a familiar early target for budget cuts because its payoff is harder to point to than a new sales hire, per HR Dive's coverage of L&D budget strategy. The candidates worth hiring understand this going in and build a measurement habit into the program from day one, so the answer to a hard budget question is a business result, not a satisfaction score. The BLS wage data backs this up: at $133,000 median pay and a 5-year-plus experience bar, this isn't an entry-level HR hire, and it shouldn't be interviewed like one.

Primary Job Description Template

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced learning and development manager to design, deliver, and measure training programs that close real skills gaps across the organization. You will run needs analysis to figure out what training is actually needed, build or source curriculum, administer our learning platform, and report on whether training changed behavior and results, not just whether people enjoyed the session. This role sits at the intersection of instructional design, business analysis, and change management.

You will own the training calendar end to end: onboarding, leadership development, compliance training where it's legally required, and skills development tied to where the business is growing. You will partner with department heads to identify real skills gaps, with IT on our learning platform, and with Finance to defend the budget with evidence instead of good intentions. Expect real time evaluating vendors, and just as much time making the case for continued investment.

The ideal candidate has run a program from needs analysis through post-training measurement, is comfortable choosing between a structured approach like ADDIE and a faster, iterative approach like SAM, and can talk about impact using more than a satisfaction score. You'll typically report to an HR Director or VP of Human Resources and may have one to four direct reports.

Key Responsibilities

• Needs Analysis: Run structured needs assessments with department leaders to identify real skills gaps, distinguishing training problems from process or staffing problems
• Curriculum Design and Development: Design instructionally sound programs using ADDIE, SAM, or a blended approach appropriate to the project's timeline
• Onboarding Curriculum: Own new-hire onboarding content and cadence, closing the gap between orientation and real productivity
• Leadership Development: Build and run leadership development programs for new and existing people managers, often the highest-visibility part of the calendar
• Compliance Training Administration: Manage mandatory compliance training (safety, harassment prevention, regulatory) and maintain completion records for audit purposes
• Skills Taxonomy Management: Maintain a skills taxonomy mapping roles to required competencies, and use it to prioritize training investment
• LMS or LXP Administration: Own the learning platform, including content curation, reporting, and user experience
• Vendor and Content Evaluation: Evaluate external vendors, off-the-shelf content libraries, and subject-matter-expert-led programs for quality and fit
• Training Measurement: Evaluate program effectiveness beyond post-session satisfaction surveys, toward behavior change and business results
• Budget Management: Build and defend the annual training budget, prioritizing programs with the clearest line to a business outcome
• Facilitator Development: Train and coach internal subject-matter experts who deliver training, since most companies can't staff every session with a dedicated trainer

Requirements

Must-Have Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Education, or related field, plus 5 or more years of progressive training experience
• Hands-on experience running a program from needs analysis through delivery and measurement, not delivery alone
• Practical knowledge of an instructional design framework (ADDIE, SAM, or similar) and judgment on when a lighter approach beats a heavier one
• Experience administering a learning management system or learning experience platform
• Working knowledge of adult learning principles
• Experience managing compliance training programs and completion recordkeeping
• Strong facilitation and presentation skills, training both individual contributors and managers
• Demonstrated ability to build a business case for training investment using more than anecdote

Nice-to-Have Qualifications:

• Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) or Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) from the Association for Talent Development
• Experience with a skills taxonomy or competency framework project
• Experience evaluating training beyond Level 1 or 2, into behavior change or business results
• Prior experience in a regulated industry with mandatory compliance training obligations
• Instructional design portfolio showing both a long-cycle ADDIE project and a fast-turnaround SAM project

What We Offer

• Competitive Base Salary: Aligned with the market range, benchmarked annually against current survey data
• Performance Bonus: An annual bonus tied to individual and company performance
• Comprehensive Benefits: Health, dental, and vision coverage, retirement plan participation with employer contribution, and paid leave
• Professional Development: Support for Association for Talent Development certification, plus conference attendance
• Growth Path: A defined path toward Senior Learning and Development Manager or Director of Talent Development
• Influence: A genuine seat in workforce planning, not a back-office training-scheduling role

Context Variations

Corporate Environment

In larger organizations, this role typically owns one program area within a broader talent development function, alongside dedicated instructional designers and an LMS administrator. Expect formal governance: an annual training calendar tied to workforce planning, multi-business-unit rollout logistics, and close coordination with Compliance and Legal.

Startup Environment

At a startup, this person often builds the function from nothing: the first onboarding deck, the first manager training, the first learning platform. There is no legacy curriculum to maintain, which means more freedom to prioritize but also more pressure to prove value fast with a small budget. Startups value candidates who can build a credible program with limited resources and explain, in plain terms, why training deserves headcount when every dollar is contested.

Remote or Hybrid Environment

Distributed teams change how training gets delivered more than what gets taught: live cohort sessions across time zones are harder to schedule, and asynchronous, self-paced content has to carry more of the load. A manager supporting a distributed workforce needs strong virtual facilitation skills, a platform that works well asynchronously, and a plan for leadership development without regular in-person contact. Onboarding for distributed hires often borrows talking points from an implementation manager, since both roles turn a new hire's early weeks into fast, confident competence.

Industry Considerations

Regulation, workforce composition, and skills velocity shift the learning and development manager's day-to-day work by industry.

Compensation Guide

National Wage Data

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook for Training and Development Managers, the role earned a median wage of $133,000 per year ($63.94 per hour) as of May 2025. BLS counted approximately 50,200 people in this occupation in 2025 and projects 6 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, faster than average, with about 4,100 openings expected each year. Typical entry-level education is a bachelor's degree, and BLS notes 5 years or more of experience in a related occupation is typically required, a notably specific bar for a management-track HR title.

Employer-Set Market Ranges by Experience Level

The bands below are illustrative, employer-set ranges you can adapt to your own market and location, not figures published by a named survey provider. Treat them as a starting point and validate against your own compensation survey participation before finalizing an offer.

Why Most Training Never Gets Measured Past Level 2

The Kirkpatrick Model, the most widely used framework for evaluating training, defines four levels: whether people found the training relevant (Reaction), whether they actually learned something (Learning), whether they apply it on the job (Behavior), and whether it moved a real organizational outcome (Results). Most companies measure the first two levels well, since a survey and a quiz are easy to run. Far fewer measure Behavior or Results, since that requires tracking what happens weeks or months later, which means planning the measurement approach before the program launches, not after.

Budget Pressure and What It Means for This Hire

Training budgets move with the broader economy, and this function tends to feel the pressure earlier than most. According to the Association for Talent Development's 2026 State of the Industry Report, formal learning hours used per employee climbed to 16.7 in 2025, up from 13.7 the year before, even as the average cost per learning hour fell by more than $400 over the same period. That is a function asked to deliver more training for less money, which rewards a manager who can stretch a budget through smarter content reuse, not just one who can run a good workshop.

Factors that move compensation for this role itself:

• Company size: larger organizations with a bigger training calendar typically pay at the higher end of the range
• Industry: technology and financial services tend to pay a premium over retail or manufacturing
• Certification: an Association for Talent Development CPTD credential often supports placement toward the top of a band
• Scope: ownership of a skills taxonomy or enterprise-wide leadership program typically adds to total compensation

This is general compensation guidance, not a substitute for your own market survey data or legal advice. Validate ranges against current, location-specific data before posting a job or extending an offer.

Experience Level Requirements Matrix

Interview Questions

Technical/Functional Questions

1. Needs Analysis: "How do you tell the difference between a real skills gap and a problem training can't fix, like a broken process or a staffing shortage?"
2. Instructional Design Framework: "When would you use a full ADDIE process versus a faster SAM-style approach, and how do you decide which a project needs?"
3. Measurement: "How do you evaluate a program's impact beyond a post-session survey? Walk me through a specific example."
4. LMS Ownership: "What learning platforms have you administered, and how did you use platform data to make a curriculum decision?"
5. Compliance Training: "Describe how you manage mandatory compliance training completion tracking across a workforce with rolling hire dates."
6. Skills Taxonomy: "Tell me about a time you built or maintained a skills taxonomy. How did you use it to prioritize investment?"
7. Leadership Development: "Describe a leadership development program you ran. How did you measure whether new managers actually got better?"
8. Vendor Evaluation: "How do you decide whether to build training in-house, buy a content library, or bring in an external facilitator?"

Behavioral Questions

1. Budget Defense: "Tell me about a time you defended a training budget against a proposed cut. What evidence did you bring?"
2. Difficult Stakeholder: "Describe a situation where a department head disagreed with your training recommendation. How did you handle it?"
3. Program Failure: "Tell me about a training program that didn't work as intended. What did you learn and change?"
4. Fast Turnaround: "Describe building and delivering training on a much shorter timeline than you wanted. What did you cut, and what did you protect?"
5. Influence Without Authority: "Give an example of getting busy managers to complete or reinforce a training requirement without formal authority over their time."
6. Measurement Pushback: "Tell me about a time you pushed to measure a program's real impact when the organization was satisfied with just running sessions."

Culture Fit Questions

1. Facilitation Style: "How do you adapt your approach for a room that includes both eager learners and skeptical veterans?"
2. Feedback Reception: "Tell me about a time a training session went poorly. How did you recover, and what did you change afterward?"
3. Values Alignment: "Tell me about choosing between a training approach leadership preferred and one you believed would actually work. What did you do?"
4. Change Readiness: "How comfortable are you retiring a program that people like but that isn't producing results?"

Evaluation Tips: Listen for candidates who describe a program's impact using a specific metric, not just attendance or satisfaction scores. Strong candidates explain why they chose one instructional design approach over another, rather than defaulting to the same framework every time. Be cautious of candidates who describe themselves primarily as facilitators, since this role spends as much time on needs analysis and stakeholder management as it does in front of a room.

Hiring Tips

These tactics work best alongside general hiring fundamentals; see our job description best practices guide for writing postings that attract stronger applicants across any HR role.

Quick Sourcing Guide

• LinkedIn Recruiter: Search "Learning and Development Manager," "Training and Development Manager," or "Learning Manager," since all three describe the same function
• Association for Talent Development: The professional association for this specialty maintains a job board and certification directory that surfaces credentialed candidates
• SHRM Job Network: A strong source for HR-specific candidates, including those transitioning from a generalist or HR business partner background
• Internal Mobility: Consider a strong sales trainer, sales enablement manager, or subject-matter-expert facilitator ready for a broader, enterprise-wide role

Red Flags to Avoid

• Facilitation without measurement: candidates who talk entirely about how sessions felt, and never mention a business result, often struggle to defend a budget
• One-framework rigidity: be skeptical of candidates who insist on a full ADDIE process for every project regardless of stakes, or who've never heard of SAM as an alternative
• No compliance fluency: a candidate who can't describe how they manage mandatory training completion tracking will create audit risk quickly in a regulated industry
• Vague vendor experience: watch for candidates who can't name specific platforms or vendors they've evaluated and explain why they chose one over another
• No budget conversation examples: this role fails without a credible business case, so a candidate with no story about defending spend is a real gap
• Confusing training with capability building: probe whether a candidate distinguishes running sessions from building lasting capability. A diversity and inclusion manager or general counsel partnering on compliance curriculum will notice fast if a candidate can't