ABOUT THE ROLEJoin us at our South Side Soap Box (SSSB) manufacturing facility as the
Learning and Development Associate Manager! In this role you will have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact by shaping learning and development strategies that empower employees and strengthen technical capabilities across Production, Maintenance, and Warehouse operations.
In this role, you'll lead the site's training and qualification programs, collaborating with Operations, Quality, Safety, Health & Environment (SHE), HR, and Manufacturing Excellence teams to align learning initiatives with business goals and regulatory requirements.
You'll bring learning to life by identifying skill gaps, supporting new equipment and process changes, and transforming operating standards into practical, engaging learning experiences. Through these efforts, you'll help employees build confidence, develop new skills, and demonstrate proficiency while contributing to a culture of continuous learning, operational excellence, and growth.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES- Own and maintain role-based skills matrices, qualification pathways and training plans for critical manufacturing positions.
- Lead site training compliance processes, including required learning assignments, retraining, overdue training visibility, escalation and documented closure.
- Develop and sustain onboarding, on-the-job training, train-the-trainer and competency verification programs across shifts.
- Partner with Production, Maintenance, Quality, SHE and Manufacturing Excellence to translate approved equipment setup, centerlining, Daily CIL, troubleshooting and safe-work standards into training materials, qualification criteria and on-the-job coaching.
- Use training records, skills assessments and performance insights provided by site leaders and Manufacturing Excellence to identify learning needs, target instruction and verify that employees can consistently perform required tasks.
- Administer and improve applicable learning management systems and records, including Workday Learning and approved site tools; support future system changes as deployed.
- Create and maintain accessible, accurate training materials, including instructor-led, digital, video and blended learning content, with controlled revision practices.
- Equip supervisors, line leads and qualified trainers with training guides, coaching methods and competency checks; support leaders in reinforcing standards while retaining operational accountability within their functions.
- Establish and report L&D measures including training compliance, qualification coverage, training completion, time to proficiency and demonstrated competency; review results with site leadership to address capability gaps.
- Lead and develop the L&D associate; partner with site leaders and HR to prioritize onboarding, technical training and employee development resources based on documented workforce capability needs.
REQUIRED EXPERIENCE YOU'LL BRING- Bachelor's degree with 5+ years of experience of learning and development or technical training experience in a manufacturing or similarly technical environment or a Master's degree with 3+ years of experience of learning and development or technical training experience in a manufacturing or similarly technical environment
- Qualified Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for future sponsorship.
PREFERRED EXPERIENCES AND SKILLS- Demonstrated experience designing and delivering technical training, on-the-job qualification and training documentation.
- Experience administering learning records or learning management systems and measuring training completion and effectiveness.
- Experience using AI-powered training development tools to create and maintain e-learning, instructional materials, video, assessments and multilingual content, with appropriate validation and information-security controls.
- Experience with Workday Learning, RedZone or comparable manufacturing performance and learning systems.
- Strong instructional design, adult learning and hands-on competency assessment skills.
- Experience developing skills matrices, technical qualification programs and train-the-trainer systems.
- Ability to identify learning needs from operational feedback and evaluate training effectiveness through observed proficiency and qualification results.
- Effective coaching, communication, facilitation and cross-functional project leadership.
- Experience in regulated manufacturing environments and training document control.
JOB REQUIREMENTS- Full-time, primarily on-site manufacturing position; flexibility to support employees and training needs across shifts, including occasional evenings or weekends.
- Regular presence in manufacturing and warehouse areas, with adherence to applicable PPE and site safety requirements.
- This role is not eligible for domestic relocation assistance
BENEFITS AND PERKSAt Lifestyle Brands, we handle our team members with care and provide a variety of benefit offerings to build a supportive environment at work and beyond.
- Subsidized health insurance benefits package
- Competitive vacation + holiday bundle
- Generous retirement match + pre-tax savings options
- Dedicated volunteer time, to be a force for good
- Pioneering events + experiences that build team connection (...ask us about the Packaging Olympics, Bubble Bash, Ping Pong Tournament + more!)
- Access to discounted/free company products
The Company's Total Rewards package is at or above industry levels. The expected base salary range for this position is between 106,480.00 USD - 139,755.00 USD. Job related skills, experience, education, and location will be considered in setting actual starting base salary. In addition to your base salary and depending on job level, eligibility, and performance, a total package may include profit sharing, a short-term incentive and/or long-term incentives. As a family company, benefits are a key piece of our Total Rewards package as well and we're proud to provide a comprehensive, competitive, and differentiated benefits program that our people and their families value.
