Director of People & Culture Development

Summary of Position

The Director of People & Culture Development designs, delivers, and measures high-impact professional and talent development programs that strengthen leadership capability, elevate employee engagement, and advance a Christ-centered organizational culture. This role authors curricula for online and in-person learning, manages internal and external subject matter experts (SMEs), leads facilitation, and uses pre/post assessments and analytics to drive continuous improvement. The Director partners across various departments and academic/administrative units to align initiatives with institutional mission, values, and strategic goals. This position reports to the Associate Vice President of People & Culture.

Duties And Responsibilities

• Program and content design
  • Design end-to-end learning programs, curricula, and resources for online, hybrid, and in-person delivery (workshops, series, cohorts, micro-learning)
  • Translate institutional strategy into practical learning pathways for leaders, managers, and staff
• Facilitation and delivery
  • Lead engaging training sessions and large/small group workshops; coach facilitators; model best-practice adult learning
• SME management
  • Source, contract, and coordinate SMEs; establish quality standards; ensure content accuracy, alignment to mission, and accessibility
• Assessment and analytics
  • Develop pre/post assessments, pulse checks, and longitudinal measures; analyze outcomes and ROI; translate insights into program improvements and leadership-ready reports
• Talent development and culture
  • Support onboarding, performance development, leadership pipelines, and succession pathways; integrate learning with career progression
  • Advance initiatives that foster employee engagement, belonging, and Kingdom diversity where all employees feel valued and empowered
• Change management and communications
  • Build learning-enabled change plans for strategic initiatives; develop communication and enablement toolkits that improve adoption and reduce resistance
  • Employee engagement insights
    • Implement surveys, focus groups, and feedback loops; synthesize findings into actions with Employee Success & Care/HR and unit leaders
  • Workforce development partnership
    • Partner with Employee Success & Care/HR business partners and leaders to identify skill gaps, align programs to workforce analytics, and prioritize high-impact capabilities
  • Platform and operations
    • Administer/partner on learning management system (LMS) and learning tools; maintain program calendars, vendor relationships, and budgets; ensure documentation and compliance
  • Mission and community standards
    • Ensure all initiatives and content reflect a strong Christian commitment and align to the IWU Community Lifestyle Statement

  Qualifications

  • Education: Bachelor’s degree required in Human Resources, Instructional Design, Organizational Development, Business Administration, Organizational Psychology, or related field. Master’s degree preferred; doctoral degree or equivalent experience is a plus.
  • Professional certifications: With Association for Talent Development (ATD), Cultural Intelligence, Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinder, Working Genius, Birkman, etc. are ideal but not required.
  • Experience: Five or more (5+) years in talent development, learning & development, organizational development, or human resources; Two or more (2+) years leading programs or teams preferred.
  • Experience: Demonstrated success designing curricula and teaching/facilitating for diverse audiences.
  • Experience: Experience coordinating multi-stakeholder projects and managing SMEs/vendors.
  • Education: Higher education or large non-profit experience preferred.
  • Skills: Analytical mindset; able to leverage data/metrics to inform decisions and measure impact of people initiatives. Strong facilitation, coaching, and presentation skills for audiences of all sizes. Demonstrated curriculum/course writing ability and familiarity with adult learning principles. Proficiency with LMS and virtual delivery tools; comfortable with assessment dashboards and basic data visualization. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; proven ability to build allies, collaborate, and influence across levels. Commitment to fostering Kingdom diversity and a culture of belonging. Problem-solving orientation; brings fresh ideas that advance the University’s vision. Commitment to fostering Kingdom diversity with a passion for creating a workplace where all employees feel valued and empowered. Learning platforms (e.g., LMS), virtual facilitation tools, survey/assessment platforms, and basic analytics/BI tools. IWU Kingdom Diversity Statement: IWU, in covenant with God's reconciling work and in accordance with the Biblical principles of our historic Wesleyan tradition, commits to build a community that reflects Kingdom diversity. We will foster an intentional environment for living, teaching and learning, which exhibits honor, respect, and dignity. Acknowledging visible or invisible differences, our community authentically values each member's earthly and eternal worth. We refute ignorance and isolation and embrace deliberate and courageous engagement that exhibits Christ's commandment to love all humankind.